Sleeping on Your Side When You Have Pelvic Girdle Pain

With all the research presented to us with regard to adopting a side-sleeping position as opposed to sleeping on your back or your tummy, it is safe to assume that all pregnant mums will be snoozing on their sides. But some women suffer from chronic pelvic pain during pregnancy – Symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD) or pelvic girdle pain (PGP) – making it very difficult to get comfortable, and to sleep on their sides in particular.

Sleeping on your side can be life-saving and can lower your risks of experiencing a stillbirth. According to research, women who suffered a stillbirth after 28 weeks gestation were 2.3 times more likely to have slept on their backs than on their sides, the night before the stillbirth occurred. 

With such compelling evidence to support sleeping on your side during pregnancy, what can be done to help mothers who are afflicted with pelvic girdle pain? What exactly is this condition and how can you alleviate your pain and make sleeping on your side through the night an easier task? 

Pelvic pain during pregnancy

Symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD), or pelvic girdle pain (PGP)

SPD is an uncomfortable pregnancy condition that affects 1 in 300 pregnancies. Pregnancy comes with a host of uncomfortable aches and pains, and pelvic pain that involves your symphysis pubis joint, which is located in front of the pubic bone, is a common complaint.

Prior to delivery, your ligaments are supposed to stretch and relax. This is your body’s response in conjunction with getting ready for the birth of your child.

SPD occurs when the ligaments that normally keep your pelvic bone aligned during pregnancy, relaxes and stretches well before your due date, leading to making the pelvic joint, that is the symphysis pubis, unstable. The painful condition causes pain in your pelvis, a sensation that the two sides of your pubic bone are sliding up and down against each other, as well as a few other uncomfortable symptoms that we will read about. 

It is estimated that up to 60% of women experience pain in their symphysis pubis while pregnant, according to Dr. Sheila Hill, an Ob-Gyn in the hospitalist division of Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women. In its most severe form, SPD can lead to an actual separation of the pubic bone, with women experiencing extremely painful pelvic and hip pain in this case. However, Dr. Hill notes that pubic bone separation is uncommon, occurring in less than 1 percent of pregnancies.

Pelvic pain during pregnancy – Symptoms of SPD

SPD pain is characterized as a focused pain on the pubic and groin area, but in some cases it radiates to the upper thighs and perineum. 

The most common symptoms are difficulty when walking, and a wrenching pain that feels like your pelvis is tearing apart. 

You may also suffer from the following:

• Back and/or hip pain, and pain at the back of your pelvis or hip 
• Pain together with a grinding or clicking sensation in your pubic area
• Pain directed at your inner thighs or between your legs
• Pain that worsens when you part your legs, walking, perform weight-bearing activities, take the stairs or move around in bed
• Pain that worsens at nighttime and disrupts your sleep. The pain sometimes makes going to the bathroom in between sleep, extremely painful

The condition can occur at any time during your pregnancy or after giving birth, and you may notice it for the first time during the second trimester of your pregnancy.

Tips to make side-sleeping easier when you have SPD

There are a few steps you can take to ensure sleeping on your side is a little easier if you suffer from SPD. 

• Sleep with a pillow in between your knees. This will help keep your pelvis aligned and will take the stretch off your hip and pelvic muscles when lying on your side by slightly elevating your top leg. A regular extra pillow may be used for this purpose, or you may want to invest in a specialized pregnancy pillow, a body pillow or leg spacer.
• Prop a pillow under your belly when sleeping to list your stomach and take pressure off your low back and improve your spinal and pelvic alignment
• Swap your regular cotton nightwear with silk or satin pajamas as you can slide around in bed, rather than having to pick yourself up to turn over
• Wear a belly band, or a pregnancy support band to support the pelvic bones and help maintain correct alignment, thereby reducing pain

However, if none of this works and you are very uncomfortable sleeping on your side, trying sleeping at an incline, or even in a recliner chair or on the couch propped up with pillows.

Talk to your doctor about safe pain relief medication if your pain is too severe. Pregnancy is a long journey that can sometimes be made difficult by conditions such as these. We hope you hang in there mamas, and that our tips help you. 

This article has been republished with permission from theAsianparent Singapore.