Worcester and Droitwich Branch
Sleep tips for pregnancy by Joanne Phillips
One of the few things I hated about being pregnant was not being able to sleep properly. If I wasn‟t getting up every hour for a
wee, my baby was awake and kicking, or I woke with pins and
needles down one side because my bump was too heavy for me
to turn unconsciously in my sleep and moving it was like trying to
turn a lorry in a side street! I also found it difficult to relax because so many thoughts were whizzing around my head - anxiety about the baby not having kicked for an hour, thinking about
what to pack in my hospital bag, or just worrying that I couldn‟t
sleep and would be exhausted in the morning and still have to go
to work.
I don‟t think anything can ensure that a heavily pregnant woman
sleeps for 8 solid hours, but here are a few things that helped me
to relax and at least get more sleep than I would otherwise have
done:
Having a bath: not too hot, and perhaps a few drops of relaxing
lavender oil or some nice bubble bath added to the water.
Reading a book: definitely NOT about babies or
pregnancy but a novel or something that takes your
mind off your bump for half an hour or so before going to sleep.
A couple of drops of lavender oil on your pillow or on a handkerchief near your head. or put a dollop of face cream in the
palm of your hand and use your finger to mix in a drop of lavender before using it – it really is a very relaxing smell.
Listening to a relaxation/meditation CD or doing some simple
stretching exercises before bedtime. Also listening to music
can be very relaxing. As a leaving present from work I got a
CD boxed set from Classic FM called Time To Relax which I
Worcester and Droitwich Branch Autumn 2015
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