Sleeping on your back?

My midwife and doctor have both said that as long as you're comfortable, it's fine. Basically, your body will tell you when to move. Unfortunately, my body told me at 14 weeks!

Also, my perinatologist went on a rant about the whole "lie on your left side" thing. She wishes she could get that taken out of every pregnancy book out there, because it's just not necessary. If you're comfortable, then how you're lying is fine!

Yeah, my doc also said that lying on your back could constrict (something? brain's a fog) but your body will tell you that you need to move.

That said, sometimes I do get short of breath on my back, so I end up shifting to my side (usually my left, not on purpose but naturally) and I feel better.

I always end up on my back too and this is why I am not worried in the least:

The whole sleeping on the back thing comes from way back in the days when women were delivering unconscious on their backs on those steel tables. They would lie there like dead weight for hours which would compress the blood flow to the uterus. In theory this could happen to us while we sleep at night...but it won't! For one, we're not lying on steel tables (I hope!), you would naturally change positions when you got uncomfortable, you would feel pins and needles if the blood flow was compromised, and we all shift around alot more than we think while we sleep anyways so it just is entirely unlikely.

If it is still comfortable and that's how you like to sleep, or end up sleeping, this is perfectly fine.

But this is just my understanding of it.

I'm still sleeping in whichever position I end up. I start on one of my sides, but always end up on my back. I figure at 21 weeks, my body has given me lots of yesses and nos, and will let me know when I can no longer sleep on my back.

I think, as pp said, it has something to do with restricting blood flow in the vena cava??? Does that sound right? ANyway - I would imagine if this was happening, you would know, and would adjust accordingly. I end up sleeping on my back, or my right side, all the time. If it's not uncomfortable, I imagine it's fine! I could not sleep on my left side all night - I have enough trouble getting comfortable and sleeping well as it is!-

Oh, and I was just thinking, that for thousands of years, women have been sleeping in all different positions, and somehow the human race continued to reproduce...

Nature beats the "experts" again, I guess.