What is the best sleeping position for pregnant women in the fourth month? What is the effect on the fetus?

Generally speaking, the adjustment and arrangement of sleeping positions by pregnant women during pregnancy will often have an impact on the health of the fetus. So, what is the best sleeping position for pregnant women in the fourth month?

What is the best sleeping position for pregnant women in the fourth month?

Lying on the left side is the correct sleeping position for pregnant women. The correct sleeping posture for pregnant women will help them fall asleep peacefully.

Generally, the heart is on the left side, so it is best to sleep on the right side because this can reduce the pressure on the heart. But the opposite happens for pregnant women, because as the pregnancy gets longer, the uterus continues to grow larger and even occupies the entire abdominal cavity. This will squeeze the nearby tissues and organs, and the uterus will rotate to the right to varying degrees, putting the ligaments and mesentery that protect the uterus in a state of tension. The blood vessels in the mesentery that provide nutrients to the uterus are also pulled, which will affect the oxygen supply to the fetus and easily cause chronic fetal hypoxia.

If pregnant women sleep on their left side, they can reduce the right rotation of the uterus and relieve insufficient blood supply to the uterus, which is beneficial to the growth and development of the fetus and the delivery of the pregnant woman.

What impact does an unscientific sleeping posture have on the development of the fetus?

As the pregnancy progresses, the uterus continues to grow larger. By full term, the total weight of the uterus, fetus, placenta, amniotic fluid, etc. can reach about 5kg. Just imagine, when lying on your back, the 5kg uterus will inevitably press backwards in front of the spine, and the abdominal aorta and inferior vena cava in front of the spine will also be compressed by the uterus. Compression of the abdominal aorta will affect the flow of arterial blood to the pelvic cavity, causing a decrease in blood supply to the uterus and placenta, which will inevitably hinder the normal development of the fetus. It may even cause chronic hypoxia in the fetus due to reduced blood oxygen supply, threatening the safety of the fetus. The enlarged uterus compresses the inferior vena cava, preventing the venous blood in the lower limbs and pelvic cavity from returning to the heart smoothly, and instead retains in the pelvic cavity and lower limbs, causing lower limb edema and varicose veins, and is also related to the formation of hemorrhoids during pregnancy.

Sometimes, when a pregnant woman suddenly lies down on her back, the huge uterus will compress the inferior vena cava, making a large amount of blood in the inferior vena cava unable to return to the heart, causing the heart to "suffocate". Less blood is forced out during heartbeat, causing ischemia and hypoxia in important organs such as the heart and brain, leading to low blood pressure, cold sweats, nausea, vomiting, etc. This is called supine hypotension syndrome of pregnancy. After supine hypotension syndrome of pregnancy occurs, as long as the pregnant woman's body is turned into a lateral position, the pressure on the inferior vena cava will be reduced or eliminated, and a large amount of blocked inferior vena cava blood will be able to return to the heart smoothly and promptly, so that the heart can supply sufficient blood to important organs such as the heart and brain, so that the ischemia and hypoxia of these organs can be corrected, and the symptoms of hypotension syndrome in pregnant women will quickly disappear.