While you’re supposed to rest and relax your body during pregnancy, many women instead suffer from unrelenting insomnia. The insomnia can be a chronic condition or can happen only intermittently but, either way, it causes a great deal of anxiety in the pregnant woman.
There are also female physical complications such as aches and pains, cramps, frequent urination, leg cramps and stress. It is so difficult just to get comfortable enough to get to sleep. There is a lot going on in the life of a pregnant woman, including things like fixing the nursery, going to baby showers, anticipating the baby, selecting the baby’s name and worries about delivering a healthy baby.
Sleep Medications During Pregnancy
One cannot take much medication for sleep during pregnancy but you can do things like yoga, meditation and other relaxation techniques. Taking a comfortable warm bath or shower before pregnancy goes a long way toward helping you get some sleep. You can also ease your mind with the use of music therapy or white noise therapy.
Some women find that if they make a daily to do list before bedtime, they don’t ruminate so much before going to sleep. In addition, there are a lot of excellent sleep products out there that can help a woman feel comfortable when sleeping, such as a body pillow that supports the uterine weight while a woman sleeps.
Frequent Urination and Sleep Problems
If you have a problem with urinating frequently, it is recommended by doctors that you limit your liquid intake just before retiring in order to have less in your bladder to urinate. If you area person that has a serious sensitivity to outside sounds and smells, try wearing earplugs or use white noise to block out other sounds. Have a nice scented candle or other scented item to block out unwanted smells. Have a fan running in your room so that you can feel a cool breeze and hear the white noise sound as much as possible.
Try a small snack and a warm tea or warm milk before going to bed as long as you don’t consume caffeine. Stick with a high carb snack that will stay with you at night so that you don’t awaken during the night, still hungry and wanting more. Don’t forget to relax and enjoy your pregnancy. Pregnancy is a normal and natural thing that billions of women have successfully accomplished.
Many times, the insomnia shows up halfway through the second trimester and in the third trimester. This is when the body is physically having a hard time getting to sleep. The baby is pushing on the bladder too much at this point in the pregnancy so that the woman has to get up often to go to the bathroom during the night. Many pregnant woman claim that the go to the bathroom at night and have to go again as soon as they return to their bed again. It can be very frustrating for some women.
With these problems and the constant flow of worries and thoughts going through a woman’s mind during pregnancy, it’s a wonder that women are able to sleep at all during this special time.
Tags: Insomnia Tips