Insomnia during pregnancy - Symptoms and Treatment

Insomnia is an issue with which many pregnant women are familiar. As your body is going through all these alterations during pregnancy, it becomes tough for an individual to get a good night’s rest specifically in the early months of pregnancy.

Doctors at Mobidoctor are here to assist you in finding the cause of your insomnia and trying new methods to make sleeping a little bit easier.

While there are a number of probable causes of insomnia, which can affect anyone, there are various things, which are particular to pregnant women. These specific causes are:

Hormonal alterations
As your body is adjusting to pregnancy, it goes through a number of changes and it is quite likely that you may find it hard to relax at night. Particularly, the temperature of your body will go up and down, hence you need to invest in thinner blankets in case if you feel warm at night.

Having to get up in the night
Morning sickness, in spite of its name can occur at any time of the day. Regretfully it means that you may have to get up for the toilet even in the middle of the night. Indigestion is one of the very common issues for mothers to be, as you are growing baby it is putting pressure on your belly. This pressure is influencing your bladder too, which means that you might be required to pee more often even at night.

Unable to get comfortable
Breast tenderness, cramps in the leg, back pain and shortness of breath are just a few of the problems that pregnant women are prone to. These are very noticeable when you are drifting off to sleep.

Anxiety
There are a number of causes why a mother to be might feel anxious. Worrying about labor, the health of your baby, and if it is your first child then the prospect of being a parent is able to call creep into your head just when you are trying to sleep.

Now that we are well aware of what keeps you from getting rest at night, we are able to look at methods through which you can solve these problems and get a good night sleep. Here are a few things that you can try:

Having a routine
Wherever it is possible, you should get a goal of going to bed and getting up at roughly the same time every day. This will allow your body to have a consistent Circadian rhythm, so it is automatically ready for sleeping at nighttime.

Getting comfortable
It is prone to take a lot of trial and error, but getting a position of sleep, which is most comfortable for you in this period, is crucial for getting sufficient sleep. There are pillows available for pregnant women, which are going to provide comfort and support to you and are specific to your needs.

Creating the perfect environment for sleep
If you are irritated by noise or light, try getting an eye mask and earplugs so that you are able to have the silence and peace, your mind needs. Setting the thermostats to a temperature which is most comfortable for you to sleep in and making sure that your pillows and mattress are comfy enough will also assist you in getting a good night’s sleep.

Taking a warm bath
Warm baths are a great approach for soothing your muscles and relaxing your mind. However, make sure water is not too hot because then it will be having a bad impact on your body instead of good. Keep water below 38 C.

Avoid drinking too much water too close to bedtime
You do not want to go to bed thirsty, but having too much water before the time of bed is going to make you pee a lot. If you don’t want to get up to pee a lot in the night then start moderating water intake in the evening and at the time which is too close to your bedtime.

Getting exercise regularly
Exercise is a proven way through which you can use up your energy and make sure that you are ready for bed at the end of the day. However, the issue of exercise in pregnancy is quite complex.
How much should you exercise without hurting your baby or yourself? Which one is the best exercise for pregnant women? Our doctors at Mobidoctor are available to answer all your queries regarding such matters.

Avoid tossing and turning
If you are unable to sleep then get up and read in another room for a time until you start feeling drowsy. Lying awake and staring the ceilings is going make you more anxious.

Do not nap for too long
If you are feeling sleepy in the middle of the day, it is quite all right to take a short nap. However, try not to prolong them, as it is going to stop you from sleeping at night.

If taking self-care is not helping you to get rid of insomnia then our doctors are available to assist you by recommending effective options of treatment. Often, these are aimed at treating the basic reason for your insomnia. Sleeping tablets are only prescribed for a short period until an adequate treatment can begin and they are considered as a last resort for the treatment.

For instance, if your anxiety is the cause which is not letting you sleep then our doctors will be referring you to a specialist of mental health for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). In this therapy, you are going to learn to manage your feelings and stopping them in coming in the way of your sleep.

Mobidoctor gives you the opportunity to book an appointment seven days a week and consult a doctor online from the comfort of your house.

Not having enough sleep can be very frustrating for the mothers to be but it is not going to harm your baby.

Although, the impact of insomnia is able to make it tough for you to stay alert and concentrate during the day, which raises the risk of accidents, for example, falling down. Such accidents can pose a risk to the health of the baby, so it is crucial to deal with insomnia as soon as the symptoms have been noticed.

Mobidoctor allows you to talk to a doctor confidentially and privately about all your concerns from your own home and at your own comfort.

It is very tempting to grab an over the counter solution for insomnia, but it is a very poor substitute for getting assistance from doctors. You have to make sure that the pharmacist knows that you are pregnant, as some of such medicines are not advised during pregnancy.

In the long term, sleeping pills are not going to fix your insomnia.

They are not used often in pregnancy but clinicians are prone to weigh up the benefits against the risks involved.

As a fact, they are known to have side effects, which can make you feel even worse. It may feel like they are working, but all they really do is mask the actual basic cause of sleeplessness, and leave it untreated which is having the potential to get worse with time.

Do not forget that speaking to a doctor is always a good idea before taking any medicines while you are pregnant.