Almost every pregnancy woman will go through a period where she has trouble sleeping at night. Insomnia can occur any time after conception, and without enough rest, it is easy to become tired and irritable during the day.
There are many things that may affect your ability to sleep. During early pregnancy you may find that you are more affected by caffeine. Other pregnancy complaints, such as hemorrhoids, or the constant urge to urinate may wake you from a comfortable sleep.
Emotional concerns, and anxieties about your pregnancy can leave you wide awake at night, perhaps woken by a disturbing dream. Fears about your pregnancy may control you during the darkness and quiet of the night. Later in pregnancy you may wake to discover your baby kicking you. Your baby's internal clock is on a different cycle to yours: after all there is no day or night in the uterus. Instead the baby's metabolism will keep it awake for up to twenty four hours at a time. Your baby will continue to grow, putting more pressure on your bladder and increasing your urge to urinate.
If you are having trouble sleeping at night, start by trying the traditional remedies for insomnia. Take a warm bath before you go to bed and go to bed with a nice hot milky drink: of course the trouble with this is that you may wake up in the middle of the night to empty your bladder.
No results found. Click here for amazon.com
Ask your husband to give you a relaxing massage at the end of the day, then curl up in bed and read a good book or watch television until you feel tired. Try to stay cool in bed. You might want to turn on a fan so that there is air blowing over you.
Some women find that vigorous exercise during the day can make them sufficiently tired that they have no trouble sleeping at night. Others find that the time they spend alone at night can be a perfect time to get in touch with their baby. In the later stages of your pregnancy your baby can hear you talk and both of you may be calmed by your reassuring voice.
While you are lying awake in bed, consider practicing your relaxation and breathing techniques. These exercises will prepare you for the time ahead, and leave you ready to drift into sleep.
If you find that nothing is helping, get up and do a chore that you've been putting off for some time. Or you may decide to choose this time to prepare the nursery for the baby growing inside you.
Unfortunately there are no magic solutions to insomnia during pregnancy. Do not take any over the counter sleeping medications, because they can cross the placentaThe placenta is a large disk shaped membrane responsible for providing nourishment to the fetus during pregnancy. It consists of three parts, the fetal part made up from the chorion membrane surrounding the fetus, the maternal part, formed from the decidua basalis layer of the uterine lining, and the intervillous space between the two plates. It is connected to the fetus by the umbilical cord and consists of tissue from both the mother and the embryo.
Its function is complex. It has been described as a simple organ that combines the functions of a kidney-dialysis machine, heart and lung machine and intravenous drip. It consists of enormous numbers of blood vessel branches that permit the exchange of nutrition and oxygen, from the mother's bloodstream to the fetus and the removal of wastes to the mother to be excreted. The placenta's remarkable quality is that it does so without the blood of the mother mixing with that of the baby.
It also is responsible for the production of vital hormones including, estrogen, progesterone, and human chorionic gonadotropin. After birth, the placenta is delivered, and is sometimes referred to as the afterbirth.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions. and affect your baby. Your doctor will not prescribe any sleeping pills, except in extreme cases, and then only after trimester two.
No results found. Click here for amazon.com
