Using a pregnancy pillow can provide a variety of benefits for pregnant women, including:
- Improved sleep: Many are designed to provide support and comfort in all the right places, which can help pregnant women get more restful and comfortable sleep.
- Reduced pain and discomfort: Pregnancy can be tough on the body, with common complaints including back pain, hip pain, etc. A pregnancy pillow can help to alleviate these symptoms by providing targeted support where it’s needed most and relieve tension within the body.
- Better alignment: A full-length pregnancy pillow can help to keep the spine in a more aligned position, which can reduce strains and improve overall comfort.
- Well-being: A pregnancy pillow which can be adjusted to your liking: firm or soft, will help you improve sleep, and you will feel more rested throughout each stage of your pregnancy.
Which is better, U-shaped or C-shaped pregnancy pillow?
“The most important feature of a pregnancy pillow that will help you is not what original shape it has, but rather how adaptable it is,” explains Dr Tavares. “If it’s adjustable in length, shape and firmness, you’re on to something good.”
Both U-shaped and C-shaped pregnancy pillows can be effective, depending on your individual needs and preferences. In short, a U shape pregnancy pillow is a top pick for women who liked to sleep on their backs pre-pregnancy and for mums-to-be in need of extra lower back support. The downside, however, is that they take up a lot of bed real estate and aren’t as good a choice for wriggly sleepers.
By comparison, C-shaped pregnancy pillows are better for plus-sized women and mums looking to use their pillow post-partum as a nursing prop.
In terms of what support U and C shape pregnancy pillows provide, the former will support everything from your neck down to your ankles while the latter stops slightly higher up the body, providing relief no further down than the knees.
As Illiyin Morrison aka Mixingupmotherhood, midwife and birth trauma expert at The Baby Show which takes place at the NEC in Birmingham, adds: “This really comes down to preference but with the C-shaped pillow you often won’t get the support that you need across your whole body whereas the U shaped pillows, as much as they might kick your other half out of bed, they will help in a better way. The problem is, they’re quite cumbersome so for some people they can be quite irritating. A C-shaped pillow is smaller, easier to put away and can easily be adapted for breastfeeding or bottle feeding later.”
When should I start using a pregnancy pillow?
It’s generally recommended to start using a pregnancy pillow as soon as possible, before you begin to feel uncomfortable or experience pain while sleeping. As Baby and Parenting Expert, Rachel FitzD, who will be speaking at The Baby Show at the NEC Birmingham, says: “You can use a pregnancy pillow from as early in your pregnancy as you like. Those with more flexible joints might even start to ache and get pelvic girdle pain in the first trimester. For most women though, sometime from around 20 weeks, as the tummy starts to get heavier and ‘pull’, the pregnancy pillow starts to come into its own. Use it for as many months during pregnancy as you need to and right on into your parenting journey – for many women their ‘pregnancy’ pillow simply becomes their ‘always’ pillow. Just take care if you use it postnatally and choose to bring your baby into bed for night feeds or for safe co-sleeping that your pregnancy pillow is either swapped out for a regular one or is used in such a formation as to keep it well away from baby.”
Does a pregnancy pillow help with back pain?
Whether you’re in pain or not, a pregnancy pillow will help make you more comfortable and able to rest and relax. Proper alignment or 5-point support during rest/sleep may also aid your back and body in the healing process.
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