Sleep In Different Trimesters Of Pregnancy
During the nine months of pregnancy, pregnant women go through physical and emotional changes. Chances are you’ve already heard that being pregnant doesn’t mean being sick, and that’s true. But occasionally pregnant women feel so bad and have so many illnesses and symptoms that they need to rest longer in order to regain their energy and feel better.
Both fathers and mothers know that when the baby is born they will feel very sleepy, and will be tired because babies require a lot of attention and often wake up several times during the night to be fed, or for basic needs such as changing the diapers are satisfied or simply feel their parents’ body heat to calm down again.
But the reality is that while it’s true that when a baby is born, parents get fewer hours of sleep, pregnant women can experience this discomfort of lack of sleep long before the baby is born. During the first trimester you may feel more need to sleep than you are used to, which is totally normal as the body will be very tired due to all the changes that are going on inside you.
During this phase the placenta is forming, and the body is producing a lot more blood, which requires a lot of energy. You, in turn, will feel tired all the time. The problem is that many women cannot sleep when they are pregnant, whether for lack of time or for other reasons. It is necessary to learn how sleep is at different stages of pregnancy (in each trimester) to understand the situation and look for the most appropriate solutions for each case.
Sleep at different stages of pregnancy
With all the hormonal and physical changes that happen in pregnancy, it’s no wonder that most women experience sleep problems. Each trimester comes with different unique challenges and sleep won’t be less in each one. Different sleep problems may arise at different stages of pregnancy and it is important to recognize them.
first trimester of pregnancy
During the first trimester of pregnancy you will feel much more tired during the day and you will find that you feel powerless to carry out daily activities, which before pregnancy you did without effort. Also, when night comes, you may experience some sleep changes because of the physical and emotional stress you are beginning to feel.
As if that wasn’t enough, you’ll wake up more often during the night to go to the bathroom, which will also interrupt your sleep, increasing fatigue the next day. You may even have nausea and vomiting not only during the day or sporadically, you may need to get up at night to go to the bathroom and vomit if you feel like it.
second trimester of pregnancy
During the second trimester of pregnancy, most women feel some relief from sleep problems and other typical pregnancy discomforts. But during this phase there may also be some sleep problems that you will need to recognize if they happen to you. Although there are fewer trips to the bathroom, and you have a better quality of sleep, during this phase your belly starts to swell and you may find it difficult to find a sleeping position, and you may also experience acidity or heartburn at night.
third trimester of pregnancy
Most sleep challenges appear in the last trimester of pregnancy. It’s the final stretch and pregnant women will feel heavier, more uncomfortable and big changes both physical and emotional will take place.
At this stage you may notice leg cramps, nasal congestion, muscle pain, great difficulty moving in bed or finding a suitable position to sleep, and frequent trips to the bathroom return as the baby starts pressing heavily on your bladder.
Knowing all this, you will be able to better understand if you experience any problems during sleep at each stage of pregnancy, and why this happens. That way, you can be calmer and know that it is normal and common to all pregnant women. Furthermore, there is also a high percentage of pregnant women who suffer from insomnia throughout the months of pregnancy.
