How to Choose the Best Mattress for Pregnancy
Pregnancy is an exciting time. However, it also brings some unique challenges with it — like trying to get a good night’s rest. From heartburn to lower back pain, many of the side effects that accompany pregnancy can make getting a decent snooze a challenge. Plus, finding a comfortable position can be tricky when you’ve got a baby bump to deal with!
The right mattress can help. Your body changes significantly during pregnancy, so it’s perfectly reasonable to adapt your sleeping setup accordingly. Choosing a fitting mattress can help improve sleep quality, ensuring you get the rest you need. Discover which mattress is best for a pregnant woman below.
How Being Pregnant Affects Your Sleep
Most doctors recommend pregnant women get eight to 10 hours of rest every night. Unfortunately, many women have trouble sleeping during pregnancy. Understanding how your sleeping patterns may change throughout the various stages of pregnancy, from your first trimester to your third, can help you prepare accordingly.
First, a growing belly can put pressure on your internal organs, like your bladder — increasing the need to urinate. When you’re hopping up to pee constantly, sleeping through the night can feel impossible. A growing bump also places pressure on the diaphragm, raising the risk of uncomfortable heartburn and acid reflux.
Hormonal changes during pregnancy are another factor. In the third trimester, for example, increased levels of estrogen can cause nasal tissue swelling. This can increase the risk of sleep apnea and snoring. Hormones can also cause issues like hot flashes, which can leave you overheating, sweaty, uncomfortable — and unable to snooze.
Restless leg syndrome (RLS) is yet another issue common among pregnant women that can interfere with a decent night’s sleep. This is characterized by an uncontrollable need to move your legs, causing twitching, kicking, and other unpleasant sensations. (Don’t stress, though: RLS in pregnant women usually disappears shortly after the baby has been delivered.)
Last but not least, there’s the challenge of finding a comfortable position when you’re dealing with a big baby bump. If you’re normally a stomach sleeper, for example, you may find your usual sleep position impossible to maintain. Meanwhile, if you like to sleep on your left side, you might find the position of your stomach uncomfortable without adequate support.
The Importance of Sleep During Pregnancy
Sleep is critical to a healthy and comfortable pregnancy. Sleep deprivation can leave moms-to-be fatigued and drowsy during the day, interfering with appetite, mood, memory, and more. Additionally, research suggests that sleep deprivation increases the risk of gestational diabetes. This is likely because sleep helps to regulate blood sugar levels.
Further, insufficient sleep is thought to increase a mother’s risk of high blood pressure. This can contribute to a condition known as preeclampsia, which can lead to complications during pregnancy because it results in decreased blood flow to the placenta. Preeclampsia can also complicate labor and delivery.
Finally, getting enough rest is also important for the baby’s health. Some studies suggest a lack of quality sleep can be one risk factor for low birth weight or preterm birth. There are also findings to suggest that if a woman sleeps poorly during pregnancy, the baby may have more sleep problems after birth. Ensuring you get your zzz’s now can spare you sleepless nights later, too.
How to Choose the Best Mattress for Pregnancy
The great news is that the issues interfering with your sleep during pregnancy are temporary. Common problems like RLS and heartburn should subside after you’ve given birth. However, given the importance of a good night’s sleep to a healthy pregnancy, you can’t wait until then. It’s important to get a new mattress that accommodates your unique needs during this time.
Discover what to look for and what types of mattresses are suitable for pregnant women below.
Choosing a Mattress Firmness
Mattresses offer different firmness levels, with firmness options broadly categorized on a 10-point scale as soft (1 to 2), medium-soft (3 to 4), medium-firm (5 to 7), and firm (8 to 10). In general, softer mattresses are recommended for side sleeping, while firmer mattresses are better suited for back sleepers and stomach sleepers.
The ultimate goal, whatever your sleep position, is to ensure spinal alignment. For example, let’s say you sleep on your side. If you’re sleeping on a very hard mattress, certain pressure points like your head, shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle will automatically make contact with the mattress.
However, areas between those points — like the portion of your lower back between your hip and shoulder — will be slightly elevated and lack proper support. That’s why a softer mattress is better for this sleeping position: It fills that “gap” and ensures support of the lower back so the spine doesn’t sag and cause back pain.
sleeping position while pregnant when selecting firmness. It’s best to avoid sleeping on your back, which can cause issues with breathing and digestion. Sleeping on your stomach is also a no-go. Many women find it comfortable to sleep on their side with a firm pillow beneath their belly. A softer mattress for side sleepers may be ideal for pregnancy.
A Mattress With Motion Isolation
Firmness is just one characteristic to consider when selecting your pregnancy mattress. You may also want to look at models featuring motion isolation. These mattresses are engineered to minimize motion transfer across the surface so, if you’re tossing and turning in bed at night, you won’t keep your partner up (and vice versa).
Motion isolation mattresses generally work in one of two ways. Some are made with individually pocketed coils within the mattress, which react independently to body weight loads without disturbing neighboring coils. This is unique from traditional innerspring mattresses in which the coils are all interconnected.
Other motion-isolation mattresses are made with all-foam layers, conforming to the body’s contouring to minimize surrounding weight transfer. Foam mattresses consist of billions of tiny foam cells, each one like a small shock absorber. Each cell absorbs motion, flexing underneath pressure until it’s maxed out — at which point, it passes the load on to the next cell.
A motion-isolation mattress can also serve you well after pregnancy, making it a worthy investment. These mattresses support all body types and can be great if you or your partner is a light sleeper. They’re also handy if you have pets or kids who like to get in bed with you, ensuring Mom and Dad can keep snoozing without interruption.
Mattress Temperature Regulation
Finally, the best mattresses for pregnancy will also take into account those pesky hot flashes. Temperature regulation is a big boon when you’re dealing with these! The best cooling mattresses are usually made with gel memory foam, which is cool to the touch and shifts from a solid to a liquid state as body heat temperature rises.
This cooling technology draws heat away from the body, enhancing breathability and keeping hot sleepers cool. Cooling gel beads can be used in various mattress materials, from memory foam layers to polyfoam. They can also be added to mattress toppers, incorporating a cooling top layer to a regular mattress.
To boost the airflow-enhancing effects of a cooling mattress, make sure to invest in the appropriate bedding. Look for breathable materials that wick sweat away from the body, like bamboo, linen, and organic cotton. A mattress topper can add another comfort layer of softness, providing pressure relief on aching joints.
Discover How PlushBeds Provides Optimal Sleep During Pregnancy
Head to PlushBeds to get the best mattress for pregnancy. You’ll find everything from memory foam mattresses to cooling gel mattresses, latex mattresses, hybrid mattresses, and more. Whether you prefer a medium-firm mattress or more cushioning, there’s something for you. Trust our mattress reviews to help you make your choice.
Whatever luxury mattress you choose, you can expect high-quality, eco-friendly craftsmanship characterized by fantastic durability. Our California manufacturing facility is certified organic and dedicated to sustainable practices. Last but not least, you’ll benefit from our white glove delivery service, a 25-year lifetime warranty, and a 100-night sleep trial period.
We know how important great sleep is when you’re pregnant, and we want to make sure you get it.
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