World Sleep Day 2014: Tips to sleep well during pregnancy and post childbirth

Are you not getting enough shut eye? We have solutions for both the new mommies and the expectant mums

Written By: Debjani Arora | Updated : June 29, 2015 11:15 PM IST

March 14 is World Sleep Day.

During pregnancy everyone gives you the best advise possible - to eat right, exercise, smile often, listen to good music, educate yourself about labour and childbirth, doles out parenting tips - but often forgets to tell you how important it is for you to sleep during pregnancy.

Sleep plays a very important role in the mother's and the fetal wellbeing. It helps you to deal with pregnancy niggles; build stamina to pull through the nine whole months, rejuvenate, help in fetal growth and development and to relax. Studies have shown that sleep deprivation coupled with depression during pregnancy increases the levels of stress hormones in the mother which can be passed to the fetus through the placenta, contribute to fetal distress and also give rise to birth defects in the newborn.

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These facts make one thing clear, that you need to sleep well and sleep often during pregnancy for the sake of your baby's wellbeing and that of yours.

What comes in the way of good sleep during pregnancy?

There can be a number of reasons that can hamper sleep during pregnancy. 'Most of it would not need any medical intervention. These are pregnancy induced sleep troubles which have to be managed effectively to sleep better,' says Dr Veena Zaveri consultant gynecologist from Kohinoor Hospital, Mumbai. Some of the common sleep hurdles during pregnancy are:

A heavy pregnant body: As your belly grows and protrudes it makes movement difficult, no more tossing and turning in the bed while you hit it. This makes it difficult to sleep with ease during the later stages of the pregnancy.
Increased fetal movement: Some babies make it a point to keep mums awake even before their arrival, probably preparing the mother for the sleepless nights ahead. 'Many women complain that increased fetal movement during night keeps them awake,' says Dr Zaveri. At such time you can stroke your belly gently side to side and from top to bottom to relax your baby and steal some sleep.
Frequent urination at night: The bulging uterus puts pressure on the bladder that can make you run to the rest room often resulting in fragmented sleep.
A medical condition: 'Unless one is suffering from insomnia or other sleep condition during pregnancy medications are not prescribed. If the sleep trouble is interfering with the health of both the mother and the developing baby, medical assistance becomes necessary. Else the other reasons need to be managed on its own,' says Dr Zaveri.

How much of sleep is necessary during pregnancy?

'While it is good to stress on the importance of sleep during pregnancy, it should be noted that over sleeping is not necessitated. Instead if you can chip in eight hours of shut-eye every day most of your sleep troubles can be put to rest,' says Dr Zaveri. Though she also suggest that your sleep time should be slightly more during pregnancy than what it was prior to conceiving. 'Understand that during pregnancy your cardiac output increases and that shoots up the fatigue levels. This is the reason why one feels tired and weary during pregnancy. As your pregnancy progresses it's going to be more tiring for you. It's like running on the treadmill 24 hours a day for the whole nine months. Sleeping enough and giving your body the needed rest is just a common sense to be put in place,' says Dr Zaveri. Follow these simple tips to help self lull into a peaceful sleep during pregnancy:

Maintain a proper sleep routine. Go to bed at a particular time and stick to your routine.
If you are sleep deficit and have troubles to get eight hours of shut eye try going to the bed an hour early and wake up an hour late to compensate for the deficit. Make sure you hire help or ask family to cooperate so you can enjoy those extra sleep hours.
Avoid using your smart phone, laptop, iPad at least 20 minutes prior to your sleep time. Rays from these devices cause harm to your eyes and also delay the onset of sleep.
Try soft music, a massage, shower anything that relaxes your body and prepares your systems to get into resting mode. Though many women wind up the day reading a book, but reading can at times make you more alert than lull you to sleep. Find out what suits you.
'Try a warm glass of milk before bedtime. It has been a tried and tested remedy which usually helps to induce sleep,' says Dr Zaveri.
Take small naps during the day. 'This should be excluding your eight hours of night time sleep. Even if you don't sleep lie down and rest. This helps your body to fight the fatigue better,' says Dr Zaveri. If afternoon naps is not possible during the weeks make use of the weekends and make up for extra sleep.

How should one sleep during pregnancy?

The common wisdom is that, it is advisable not to sleep on your back during pregnancy. While this is true, Dr Zaveri explains how you can get into a comfortable position to sleep well during those no-sleep nights. 'From six months onwards we advise a pregnant woman to sleep on her sides and not on her back. The reason being, the bulging belly puts a pressure on the abdomen interfering with the blood circulation, affecting the blood flow from the legs to the heart. A slightly tilted position can take off the pressure and ensure smooth blood circulation,' she says. In case you have trouble sleeping on your sides and want a better position, 'keep a pillow placed on your side to make sure that your sleep position doesn't affect the circulation inside your body,' cautious Dr Zaveri.

How to get enough sleep post delivery?

This is difficult and challenging too. Most mothers know that sleep eludes post childbirth. Add to it the demands of a newborn and the whole world goes for a toss. Though it is difficult to get any sleep after your baby arrives, try these simple tips to help yourself get enough rest if not enough sleep.

Always try to sleep when you baby does. 'This isn't easy but it's not difficult too. Just lie down if you can't sleep and ditch your phone, social media and the urge to call back a friend or relative to update on your new mommy status. This can be done later. The need of the hour is your sleep to help you pull through the later part of the day with your newborn,' says Dr Zaveri.
Drink adequate fluids. 'Keep yourself hydrated and help your body flush out all the toxins. One never realizes but these minute things can interfere in a restful sleep,' says Dr Zaveri.
Have a balanced diet. 'This is important as you would be sleeping less and in fragments your body needs to be healthy and have enough stamina to sustain the postpartum issues. So eat well to refuel your body,' says Dr Zaveri.
Exercise. If it's possible for you to squeeze out sometime of the new-mommy routine. This will help your body retire soon when you hit the sack, sure after putting your baby in the cradle.
Don't miss your medications. Be very particular about you calcium and iron doses. 'They don't directly help to induce sleep, but if you are low in iron and calcium, this will only make your boby exhausted and can lead to other problems couple with less sleep, like postpartum depression,' informs Dr Zaveri.

Quick Tip:Most of your postpartum troubles arise due to your lazy attitude during pregnancy. 'A woman who exercises, eats right and have taken good care of self during pregnancy can fight the postpartum blues better. To ensure better sleep take good care during pregnancy so that your baby is born within the normal weight range. A low birth weight baby can give you sleepless nights as she can wake up frequently due to hunger. Low birth weight babies cannot sustain themselves for too long without a feed,' informs Dr Zaveri.

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