Are you pregnant and in desperate need of a good night’s sleep? Then you need a pregnancy pillow! I had to get one around halfway through my pregnancy so I could be more comfortable. Today I will go through some of the best options you can buy or add to your registry for your pregnancy. I’ll also let you know why you should get one in the first place.
Pregnancy Pillows
Here is a quick round-up of some great pregnancy pillows that are available on the market:
If you are wondering one I would recommend, see below.
The Best Pregnancy Pillow
I would recommend this Milliard pillow from Amazon as your maternity pillow! It is affordable, and is made from memory foam. I really think memory foam is a must when choosing a pillow. From my experience, I had a Boppy maternity pillow and it quickly lost its support throughout the pillow (which was just polyester stuffing). Just thinking about it, I can feel the pain in my knees I would experience at night when I tried to sleep with the pillow between them haha. I believe that you need a much more supportive filling that won’t get smashed down throughout your pregnancy. This is a very important – which I will get into below.
This pillow is also much larger than the Boppy Pillow, which might be necessary for you if you are taller. I also think the double-sided pillow is useful to support your back. I would just use regular pillows behind me when I slept on my side, and they were not supportive at all.
That being said, it leads me to my next point – you are going to HAVE to sleep on your side later on in your pregnancy. A pregnancy pillow is a must for that!
Why Do I Need A Pregnancy Pillow?
A pregnancy pillow is a necessity for so many reasons!
Like I said earlier, my OBGYN recommended that I sleep on my left side when I entered the second and third trimester. This is because the weight of the baby on your blood vessels would suppress blood flow for you and the child if you sleep on your back. And obviously, you can’t sleep on your stomach with a baby belly!
A pregnancy pillow makes side sleeping much more comfortable, and it is important for good alignment of the hips!
Pregnancy Pillow for Avoiding Breech Baby
It is also very important to use a pillow between your legs while pregnant, to help the baby turn into a head-down position closer to the last months of your pregnancy. When you sleep with a pillow between your legs, your legs are separated and there is more room between your hips. This makes it easier for the baby the flip. My baby was breech around 28 or 30 weeks (can’t remember exactly) but I made sure to make a lot of space available between the hips to help her turn head down. She did!
Of course, I can’t guarantee this for you, but I truly do think it is worth it to add to your routine to try to prevent a breeched baby. Also, I am not a professional in any way – just have experienced this personally. I am not 100% sure these things correlate.
How To Use Pregnancy Pillow
Make sure you use your pregnancy pillow every night, especially in the third trimester! it will help make you more comfortable, help knee pain and create space between the hips. It also can help prevent you from rolling over and sleeping on your back if that is an issue for you. I was a habitual back sleeper before pregnancy, and sleeping on my side wasn’t my favorite. Having the pillow behind me let me lean back a little for a different position, but still prevented me from flipping all the way over when I was sleeping.
How To Sleep With A Pregnancy Pillow
There are lots of different options and shapes to choose from when it comes to pregnancy pillows. This makes sleeping with a pregnancy pillow perfect for a great night’s sleep. There are ones that wrap around your body completely or ones that just go under your stomach. There are also pillows that are like one giant tube that doesn’t have support around the back, and that you have to use your own pillow for your head.
When To Start Using A Pregnancy Pillow
You can use them at any point in pregnancy, and even after! Use it early on as another comfy pillow, or use it when you get bigger towards the third trimester. As I said above, you will need to use it less for ”fun” later on and more for ensuring you are sleeping properly on your side and not back. And trust me – later on you will want it for preventing knee pain as well. This can occur when you sleep on your side and your knees are stacked on top of each other. Adding a comfy pillow between helps prevent this!
Also, don’t forget that I mentioned you might want to use a pillow to keep space open between the hips for a baby to turn down into the preferred head first position, as you get closer to your due date.
Read More:
I hope this helps you and if you are interested in skincare during pregnancy, be sure to check out my pregnancy skincare archives!
Read More: Maternity/Pregnancy Skincare Archive
Best, Mia
This content is for informational purposes only, and what has worked for me personally based on my own opinions. I am not a professional/medical doctor, and you should always consult your doctor or dermatologist on what will work best for you. The information presented here is not legitimate, official advice from a professional. If you choose to rely on any information from this blog, you do so at your own risk. Please refer to the “Blog Disclaimer” tab in the menu bar to read more information and the official disclaimer statement.
