# Stomach sleeping during pregnancy



## caters (Feb 27, 2017)

I have seen videos about stomach sleeping in general not being bad unless it causes back and neck pain. And I have seen videos about stomach sleeping in pregnancy including one on how to make your own DIY pregnancy pillow out of normal pillows(specifically for 8 months pregnant).

I know that sleeping on your back in the second and third trimesters is not recommended because of circulatory issues that can result. Sleeping on your stomach is generally not recommended when pregnant not because of circulation issues but more because of the pressure worsening some pregnancy symptoms(such as nausea). However it won't trigger labor since the uterus can withstand a lot of pressure without contractions and the amniotic fluid also acts like a buffer preventing there from being too much pressure on the baby.

So I figured that my Kepler Bb humanoids when pregnant can sleep on their stomach throughout the pregnancy and might even prefer stomach sleeping over side sleeping.

So just so that you can understand this better I will convert their Kepler units to the earth equivalent.

Kepler Bb pregnancy length: 1300 earth days or about 43 months, 3.5 earth years(this is 9 Kepler months in earth units) 
Human gestation: 280 days measured from LMP, About .75 years

So their pregnancy is long but every time unit except for the second is longer partly because of more smaller units per larger unit and partly because of each smaller unit within a larger unit(except for seconds, those never change in length in my worlds) being longer. So their bodies are adapted to this 3.5 earth year pregnancy.

They may be pregnant for a longer period of time but this would explain why they develop so much faster as babies than we do(at 3 months, a human baby might or might not be able to sit with support, at 3 Kepler months, a humanoid baby can sit without support). The fact that they don't have a hunger cry might be from the way they evolved. A hunger cry would have signaled predators that a baby is here if the predator could hear past its maximum distance of sight or even if it couldn't hear past where it could see. It would also signal predators if the predator couldn't see the baby, just the mom. And since crying is usually the last hunger cue that a baby gives, it clearly isn't as important as crying from illness or from pain or boredom or any other thing that could cause a baby to cry. Both of these things might have led to natural selection preferring those humanoid babies that cried less when hungry and eventually those that didn't cry from hunger at all.

Anyway, I was wondering if stomach sleeping would be beneficial at all during pregnancy. I mean obviously circulation isn't an issue unless the woman already has circulatory issues. And pressure isn't much of an issue either. Sure it could cause nausea or worsen preexisting nausea but nausea can easily be relieved with water, ginger, other herbs, and during pregnancy, eating can relieve nausea or worsen it. And likewise, pain can easily be relieved.


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## Mythopoet (Feb 27, 2017)

Wow. I don't know what to say except I have never given this matter this much thought and I've been pregnant 5 times. I can't really think of anything that would be beneficial about sleeping on the stomach during pregnancy, but I'm not an alien.


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## A. E. Lowan (Feb 28, 2017)

Stomach sleeping can be achieved comfortably, but usually pillows get involved, one behind the knees with the knees tucked in and two under the chest to sort of "float" the belly without putting pressure on the mother's gut.  Remember, there's not just a baby in there.  There is also a bladder, and intestines, and whatnot as well as some serious arteries.

The popular pregnancy guide _What to Expect When You're Expecting_ just released a new edition and they address sleeping postures.  You might see if your local library has a copy.


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## CupofJoe (Feb 28, 2017)

It is your world and you make the rules, but I don't really understand why 34 months more time in pregnancy would only give 3 months more infant development at birth? 
I would have expected far more from something lasting three and a half years longer than a standard human pregnancy. It seems like a lot of stress and risk to the mother for very little gain. 
Now if the infant could walk/run [like horse can - I believe], feed themselves, use tools from soon after birth then I could understand a somewhat longer longer pregnancy.


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