Insomnia during pregnancy is the problem that only two dozen percent of women managed to avoid. For most, falling asleep turns into real torment, adversely affecting the health status of the expectant mother and fetus. It is noteworthy that insomnia during pregnancy can be encountered at almost any period. Some women begin to suffer from it from the very moment when two treasured stripes appear on the test, and others - at a later date, when a growing belly and baby begin to deliver a number of unpleasant sensations.
Reviews of insomnia during pregnancy give an idea that doctors take this problem quite seriously and try to help their patients cope with it as quickly as possible. And this is natural, because a woman exhausted during the night can inadvertently harm herself by performing the simplest actions, she has a noticeable lack of energy that is required for the development of the baby, and the psychological state is gradually becoming more and more oppressed. Therefore, if you are not familiar with such a problem as insomnia during pregnancy, then our article is for you.
Talk about insomnia
If you look into any of the medical directories, you can find out what constitutes a given physiological state of the body. According to this information, insomnia can be called any sleep disorders, expressed in its insufficient quality, short duration and problems with immersion in it.
Insomnia during pregnancy often becomes a constant companion of women, regardless of the timing. With a good combination of circumstances, she may stop tormenting the future mother on her own, but many write that it was the lack of proper sleep that became their most serious problem for the entire nine month.
It is difficult to say what to do with insomnia during pregnancy when you are not familiar with the mechanism of this phenomenon and its types. And this information can turn out to be extremely important, because at every stage of bearing the crumbs, sleep problems have completely understandable reasons. If you are aware of them, then you can find for yourself several effective ways that will help alleviate the condition of the pregnant woman and return her the opportunity to fully relax at night.
Let's try together to deal with the types of insomnia. During pregnancy, this will help you correctly determine the causes of your condition and tell the doctor about them, who will select a list of the most effective recommendations.
We classify insomnia
Physicians insomnia during pregnancy, as at any other time, is divided into three types. They are described in medical directories, where their detailed characteristics are given:
- situational;
- short-term;
- chronic
For pregnant women, each of these classifications has its own rationale and reasons.
In the first trimester of pregnancy, insomnia is most often situational. It occurs after a serious emotional outburst, and it can be both positive and have a negative color. Since the hormonal state of a woman expecting a baby is extremely unstable, any strong emotions instantly deprive her of sleep. Insomnia in this case can last several days or weeks. It usually goes by itself, when the impressions gradually fade away, and emotions cease to be so significant. In order to avoid such conditions in the future, the relatives and friends of the pregnant should protect her from negativity and surround her with care. If you manage to do this fully, then you will not have to treat insomnia in the first trimester of pregnancy.
Short-term sleep disturbances have very real physiological causes. For example, at the 35th week of pregnancy, insomnia can occur due to violent movements of the fetus. Also, a similar disorder manifests itself as a result of stress, cardiovascular problems and the use of certain drugs. Short-term insomnia may well last for thirty days, and this is the period during which serious harm can be received. The body of a pregnant woman is extremely sensitive to lack of sleep, so do not hide this problem from the doctor. Even two weeks in this mode can be very dangerous for the expectant mother.
Chronic insomnia is the most difficult type of sleep disorder. It rarely occurs in connection with pregnancy. Most often, a woman suffers from it for many years and, while waiting for a baby, insomnia only worsens. In this case, the problem requires serious treatment, but the doctor in the antenatal clinic must necessarily correct it. Since drugs taken regularly before the conception of a child can be categorically contraindicated for the next nine months.
The dangers of insomnia for women who are expecting a baby
It may seem to many from the outside that if the future mother is tormented by insomnia, then this does not threaten pregnancy. In fact, this is a wrong assumption, because all the dangers of this condition, doctors have long identified.
Experts quite often put a lack of sleep on a par with pregnancy signs such as drowsiness and toxicosis. Every woman knows that from the moment of conception, all the forces of her body are aimed at its hormonal restructuring. Therefore, insomnia during pregnancy in the early stages does not allow the expectant mother to fully relax. An organism forced to work for two is depleted twice as fast. Any everyday business becomes difficult to do, the concentration of attention drops several times. As a result, a woman can harm herself due to her own absent-mindedness.
In addition to physical fatigue, which increases with each new stage of pregnancy, insomnia adds psychological discomfort. The expectant mother becomes irritable, tearful and prone to depression. She loses control over her actions and is not able to make the right decisions. This is especially dangerous when a woman drives a car or does something that requires an increased concentration of attention.
Features of insomnia in pregnant women
What to do with insomnia during pregnancy, we will tell readers a little later, and now we will try to classify the problems of sleep disturbance that future mothers most often face.
Many women have a starting form of sleep disorder. Starting insomnia during late pregnancy is the most common occurrence. It is expressed in the fact that a woman cannot sleep in the evenings for a long time. The expectant mother tosses and turns, side by side, solves a lot of problems, thinks about the upcoming birth and is tormented by excessive baby activity at night. In the later stages, women can lie awake until morning, they are disturbed by a large belly and other physiological changes that have occurred with their body. As a result, they cannot replenish their supply of strength and in the morning they feel overwhelmed and exhausted.
Other pregnant women fall asleep perfectly, but wake up regularly, which significantly reduces the quality of night rest. A similar disorder can occur at any time: in the first, second and third trimester.
During pregnancy, insomnia can be of a different order. It lies in the fact that a woman wakes up in the morning and can no longer fall into a dream. Thus, the rest is not complete, and the expectant mother will feel as tired as possible.
The physiological causes of insomnia
Each specialist is able to name a lot of causes of sleep disturbance. Among them, physiological and psychological can be distinguished. There are situations when only one reason deprives a woman of sleep for a long time. And in some cases it is necessary to neutralize a number of causes that caused insomnia.
Most often, insomnia occurs during pregnancy in the third trimester, therefore, the causes of its appearance are mainly physiological in nature. These primarily include inconvenience due to the large abdomen. It is difficult for a woman to find a comfortable sleeping position, in the search for which she can spend most of the night.
An enlarged uterus causes pulling pains, they often manifest in full in the evening and last until the morning. Naturally, falling asleep in this state is quite difficult.
Kids often begin to behave actively with the onset of evening twilight. The baby can spin and spin for several hours, during which the mother cannot even try to fall asleep.
Growth of the abdomen causes stretch marks on the skin. They are accompanied by itching, worse at night. Getting rid of it is quite difficult, so women suffer for a long time from insomnia.
In the last trimester of pregnant women, they often suffer from heartburn, spasms of the calf muscles and lower back pain. All these symptoms do not allow a woman to relax and feel asleep in the morning.
By the end of pregnancy, the baby begins to put strong pressure on the bladder, so often the expectant mother gets into the toilet several times a night. It is not surprising that with such a frequency of getting out of bed it is difficult to sleep.
Psychological background for the occurrence of insomnia
Any woman who is expecting the birth of a baby has a lot of reasons for sleep loss. At a certain stage of pregnancy, she begins to experience chronic fatigue and stress. Added to them is fear for the unborn baby and the upcoming birth. Thoughts about this can deprive even the woman who will not give birth for the first time.
Some expectant mothers complain of nightmares, they make the rest inferior and cause real stress, which is difficult to overcome even during the day.
If you also have insomnia, then you urgently need to learn how to deal with it. Indeed, otherwise the situation will only worsen.
First trimester: what do we know about insomnia
Hormonal restructuring of the body is a huge stress, which not for every mom passes without a trace. The fact is that in the first months of pregnancy, progesterone produced in large quantities allows you to save the unborn baby.
Because of this, the body literally comes on alert and completely focuses on its main task - to create conditions for the full development of the child. Naturally, the amount of the hormone does not decrease at night, and this, in turn, deprives a woman of sleep.
In parallel, the expectant mother begins to think about her health, thinks about different situations and starts planning for the future. These psychological prerequisites are complementary to the changed hormonal background and increase insomnia.
Of course, nothing can be done about the amount of progesterone in the first trimester, but you can completely protect yourself from stress and other emotional outbursts. This will contribute to a good night's rest and the sleep disorder will gradually recede.
Second trimester: what happens to the pregnant woman
In the second trimester of pregnancy, insomnia usually recedes. This is due to the fact that the body for this period is already adapted to the changes that have occurred. The nervous system copes with the growing load, and the kidneys and liver easily adapted to the gradually growing uterus. She, in turn, has not yet reached such a size as to compress internal organs and cause woman discomfort.
If at this time you still have insomnia, then most likely its cause is increased nervous excitability and stress levels. In this regard, it is worth learning to control your emotions and protect yourself from unnecessary problems.
Insomnia in the 3rd trimester
In the later stages, sleep disorder usually returns, many women complain that for a long time they can not fall asleep, constantly spinning and often wake up. Some wake up long before dawn and then suffer for several hours.
We can say that there are a lot of reasons for this condition and it is very difficult to correct the situation in the later stages. Experts believe that the next hormonal storm is the culprit of insomnia. By the upcoming birth, the level of progesterone begins to decline sharply. This causes an unstable psychological state, accompanied by fears, nightmares, increased excitability and constant expectation of fights.
To this condition is added physical discomfort caused by pain in the lower back and lower abdomen, heartburn, uterus pressing on the internal organs and the baby is actively moving. In the third trimester, almost eighty percent of women experience insomnia, and if earlier it was caused by one or two reasons, now the prerequisites are forming a whole complex. Therefore, to solve the problem of night rest is becoming more difficult, but still possible.
So, how to deal with insomnia during pregnancy? Let's do it together.
Helping ourselves in early pregnancy
Since the causes of sleep disorders at different stages of the baby’s expectation vary, the ways to deal with it cannot be identical. If you encounter insomnia in the first trimester, you can help yourself by adjusting the sleep and wakefulness regime, as well as by paying attention to your daily diet.
Despite the fact that now many go to bed well after midnight, the pregnant woman must accustom herself to go to bed no later than eleven o'clock in the evening. If you do this daily, then after a few weeks the dream will come automatically. This habit will have a good effect on health.
Try not to take food for three hours during sleep, otherwise the stomach will be overloaded and all the forces of the body will go to digest food. Naturally, you cannot fall asleep for several hours.
Refuse strong black tea and coffee, even if you can’t exist without these drinks, you will have to replace them with decoctions of herbs for a good sleep. Without consulting a doctor, you can brew chamomile and mint. If desired, these herbs can be mixed, a warm broth is drunk half an hour before bedtime. A glass of warm milk also has a sedative effect, it will not only help you fall asleep, but also quench your hunger.
It is not recommended to brew herbal preparations with a large number of components, it is better to ask your doctor for advice about them. Otherwise, the decoction can cause allergies or harm the baby.
In the early stages of pregnancy, an evening walk helps to fall asleep. If you do not have such an opportunity or by the evening there simply is no strength left, then ventilate the bedroom well. In autumn and spring, you can even leave the window open all night.
Insomnia in the third trimester of pregnancy: what to do
In the latter stages of pregnancy, women can experience all sleep disorders at the same time. Some fall asleep badly, others fall into dreams, barely touching their pillows on their heads, but then more than once break out of Morpheus' embrace, while others awaken long before the alarm clock and lie in the dark for a long time, thinking about everything in the world. Sometimes expectant mothers in the third trimester manage to experience even all types of insomnia in turn.
In order to cope with sleep disorders, experts recommend laying on the left side. This method is good for starting insomnia. In this position, the baby receives enough oxygen, and the internal organs can easily work, performing their basic functions.
If you can’t find a comfortable pose, get a pillow for pregnant women. With its help, you can plunge into a cozy nest and fit your tummy, while raising your head, which will contribute to sound sleep.
Those women who suffer cramps at night should have calf and foot massages . This procedure not only relieves muscle cramps, but also neutralizes psychological stress, often the culprit of insomnia.
An orthopedic mattress is also worth a try. Pregnant women often say that as soon as they purchased a new mattress with independent springs or with the right layer, it became much easier to find a comfortable posture for relaxation.
If you have a fairly large tummy, then be sure to wear a bandage during the day. , , , , , .
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