When to Start Using a Pregnancy Pillow and Its Health Benefits

One of the greatest challenges you might face during your pregnancy is getting adequate sleep. For some, the troubles start right in the first trimester, while others begin to experience difficulties in the third trimester.

In many cases, pregnancy pillows are the game changers that'll make it easy for you to get your full 8 hours and wake up fresh with fewer aches or pains. Most women start using a pregnancy pillow in the second trimester, but there are many exceptions!

So when should you start using a pregnancy pillow? There can be benefits to using a pregnancy pillow at every stage of your pregnancy, as well as after. In this guide, we'll help you figure out when to start.

Table Of Contents

1. Benefits of Using a Pregnancy Pillow
2. When to Start Using a Pregnancy Pillow
3. Types of Pregnancy Pillows
4. Tips for Using a Pregnancy Pillow

A pregnancy pillow supports your body in a lot of different ways. By understanding its benefits, you'll be able to tell when it's time to use one yourself.

• Maternity pillows help align your body by taking the pressure off of certain key points. As a result, they can help prevent back, hip, neck, and pelvis pain.
• Pregnancy pillows make it easier to remain in a left side-sleeping position, which is the safest position for pregnant women to sleep in (especially by the third trimester). A pregnancy pillow will help you stay comfortable while preventing turning onto your back or stomach throughout the night.
• When side sleeping, the belly droops downwards. The maternity pillow helps gently take the pressure off and support your stomach, reducing back pain.
• By helping you stay in a safe side-sleeping position (especially on your left side) a pregnancy pillow also improves your breathing, blood flow, and digestion. If you're starting to experience acid reflux or sleep apnea, this might be your sign to start using a maternity pillow.

You should start using a pregnancy pillow the moment that sleeping feels uncomfortable. It doesn't matter which stage of pregnancy you're in! Many women continue to use their pregnancy pillows even after giving birth. Here's what you should know about starting to use maternity pillows at every stage.

First Trimester
Maternity pillows can improve your quality of sleep even if you're very early on in your pregnancy. In many cases, the women who gravitate towards body pillows early on have had pre-existing issues that disrupted their sleep. You might find yourself wishing that you had started using one long before getting pregnant!

If you experience back pain, acid reflux, or any other troubles related to sleep posture, it's not too early to transform the way you sleep with a pregnancy pillow.

Second Trimester
Most women buy a pregnancy pillow when they're in the second trimester. This is the point when your growing belly starts to get in the way of good sleep, and stomach sleeping is no longer on the table. You might start feeling aches and pains.

A maternity pillow can help you get used to a new sleeping position while providing support wherever your body needs it. This is also when many doctors advise pregnant people to sleep on their left side, which a pregnancy pillow helps facilitate.

That said, the latest science suggests this only becomes critical in the third trimester, as we'll discuss in more detail below.

Third Trimester
By the third trimester, your maternity pillow should be your best friend. Your stomach will be quite cumbersome, and will almost certainly need support. You might be more prone to aches and pains because of the additional pressure your stomach can exert on the spine.

This is also the stage when bad sleep posture can actively harm you or your child. Studies show that from week 28 onwards, back sleeping may correspond with complications and stillbirth. If you haven't mastered side sleeping yet, a maternity pillow could be the secret solution.

After Birth
You can still use a maternity pillow after giving birth! Our WildBird pregnancy pillow, for example, doubles as a soft, safe feeding pillow whether you're breastfeeding or bottle feeding.

It can take your body a while to bounce back after pregnancy, so there's no harm if you wish to keep using a pregnancy pillow to support you in bed.

There are a few types of pregnancy pillows. You might prefer to stick to one type throughout your pregnancy, or you can switch things up as your body changes.

Straight Pillow

Straight pregnancy pillows like our WildBird Maternity Pillow are long body pillows that you can fold around you based on your needs. They're flexible and easy to maneuver but offer plenty of support and protection, so they're great at any point in the pregnancy.

C-Shaped

C-shaped maternity pillows are large but flexible. They can be folded into a little nest or opened up to provide both front and back support. Because of their size, they can still take up a lot of space.

U-Shaped

U-shaped maternity pillows are large and solid, with large arms to protect you from every side. This is great if you find it very difficult to stay in one position when you sleep, but can be unwieldy.

Wedge Pillows

Wedge pillows are small, designed to support just one area at a time. They're great if you only need stomach or back support, and you'd rather conserve space.

You should figure out how to use your pregnancy pillow based on the type of pillow you have and your personal needs. Here are a few tips that'll help you figure it out.

Choose a pillow that'll give you the right level of support and fit comfortably on your bed. When getting into position, first decide how to rest your head, arms, and stomach. The most popular position is a front, full-body hug.

To get into this classic position, rest your head on the top pillow with your arms hugging it against your chest and your stomach gently supported. You can also rest your head on a separate pillow, instead.

Make sure to place one leg over the pillow, and another underneath it. This will help align your back and pelvis to prevent pain.

If you often turn on your back in your sleep, adjust your pregnancy pillow so that one of its arms is behind your back.

Try a few positions to find the one that's right for you, especially if you'll also be using other pillows. Different women need slightly different levels of support, so don't be afraid to experiment.