Sleeping on your back... how BAD is it, really???

[CloudyDay]

Thanks, girls, for all your input to this thread! Wow, there's a lot of differing opinions on the topic. For those who asked about why the left is better than the right: a coworker told me it's because of the way your kidneys or liver function... sleeping on your left helps one of those organs out more than sleeping on the right.

I saw my obstetrician today and told her about my problem. She didn't seem too concerned and basically said what a lot of you said... you just can't help it if it happens in your sleep. She said in due course, as baby gets bigger, I just won't be able to stand sleeping on my back anymore anyway as it will be too uncomfortable. She told me that in the meantime, if I'm really concerned, at the very least, what I can do is stuff a pillow under my right hip. That way, the uterus is at least slightly angled and not sitting right ON the vena cava.

Now... let's see if I really CAN stop getting paranoid!