Insomnia in the third trimester of pregnancy

The third trimester of pregnancy presents expectant mothers with a lot of unpleasant sensations: the baby is hard to carry, it is already big, the body is actively preparing for childbirth, and therefore pains of various origins become familiar companions of the daily life of pregnant women. Insomnia sometimes occurs.

Causes

Pure insomnia (like the inability to fall asleep in principle) is not so common among expectant mothers. Much more often you can hear women's complaints about the inability to sleep well, about intermittent and inadequate sleep, which does not give a feeling of rest.

Insomnia is called insomnia or dyssomnia in medicine. Not every sleep disorder can be considered insomnia.

It is important for expectant mothers to understand that poor sleep for a couple of days is not insomnia. Insomnia is a long-term clinical symptom that recurs at least 3 times a week.

Human sleep is regulated by the central nervous system. During late pregnancy, overexcitation of the cerebral cortex is very often observed, which ultimately is the basis of all possible causes of insomnia known to date. An expectant mother may fall asleep and sleep poorly shortly before childbirth for the following reasons:

the conditions in which she falls asleep are unfavorable: stuffy, noisy, uncomfortable bed, cramped, uncomfortable to choose a sleeping position;
the woman is under the influence of severe long-term stress, for example, fear of childbirth;
a change in the usual routine: after going on maternity leave, many women begin to sleep longer in the morning, sleep during the day, and then, for quite natural reasons, have difficulty in resting at night;
the expectant mother consumes too much tea and chocolate (they, like coffee, contain caffeine);
the pregnant woman has neurological diseases, endocrine pathologies, respiratory diseases;
the bladder is compressed by a large and heavy uterus, and the woman needs to empty it several times a night - frequent episodes of urination do not contribute to the normal course of sleep phases.

Most pregnant women in the last trimester are prone to a depressive mood, any little thing can make them gloomy, increased anxiety.

Psychiatrists have not yet come to a consensus about whether it was depression or insomnia in the beginning. On the one hand, the anxiety state gives rise to the inability to fall asleep, and on the other hand, prolonged insomnia provokes an anxiety state.

It is difficult for a woman to toss and turn in a dream - the possibilities of the expectant mother are limited by two positions: on the right side and on the left. There are no other options. When turning from one side to the other, there is an increased load on the spine, pain in the pubis, coccyx can torment, which makes sleep "ragged", superficial, unproductive.

Women aggravate the situation themselves: every evening they begin to worry in advance whether they will be able to fall asleep or not, which leads them to a state of anxiety and stress, the cerebral cortex is overexcited and as a result, it is impossible to fall asleep.

The skin on the abdomen, chest and thighs is stretched, itching may be present, and it can also be difficult to fall asleep with.

How dangerous is it?

Insomnia is aggravated by anxiety, a woman is often in a depressed mood, she does not tune in to childbirth positively - the way it is needed for a successful delivery. She sees the world in dark colors, there is a large amount of stress hormones in her blood.

Considering that the child in the last third of the gestation period has its own hormonal background, and the maternal does not affect it so much, Mom's insomnia, from this point of view, is not as dangerous for the fetus as it seems. The baby has its own sleep and wake cycle. But a small part of the stress hormones from the mother's blood still passes through the placental barrier and goes to the baby, which makes the fetus more restless.

Insomnia is more dangerous for the expectant mother herself. Against the background of prolonged insomnia, the likelihood of developing true clinical depression, which may require psychiatric help, increases, and the likelihood of developing postpartum depression increases. The memory of a woman suffers, it becomes difficult for her to perceive new information, to make decisions quickly.

The probability of cardiovascular diseases, in particular, heart attack and stroke, increases tenfold. Woman's bones become more brittle - osteogenesis is impaired. Women who suffer from severe insomnia gain extra weight very quickly because they have a slow and defective metabolism throughout the day.

Can drugs be available?

Not being able to choose an effective sleeping pill makes pregnant women more creative. In the third trimester, in contrast to the first two, more is allowed, and therefore, after agreement with the doctor, such herbal sedatives as "Persen" and "Novo-Passit" (not alcoholic tincture!) May be available. They, of course, do not affect the phases and mechanisms of sleep, but they slightly relieve the overexcitation of the nervous system, reduce anxiety, which creates the prerequisites for normal falling asleep.

Some find salvation in homeopathic remedies, for example, in Nervohel, but their effect (according to the scientists of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who recognized homeopathy as a pseudoscience), is the placebo effect: a woman drinks peas of a homeopathic remedy, believes that she heals the nerves, calms down and falls asleep. Despite the lack of a proven effect from homeopathy, if it helps you, then why not.

How to get sleep better?

To understand how to cope with insomnia without medication, you need to take another close look at the causes of insomnia in the later stages. By eliminating them, you can achieve an excellent effect.

Go to bed only in a well-ventilated room, if possible, sleep with an open window in winter, and with an open balcony door in summer. Fresh air will make you sleep more soundly.
Make sure that the mattress is moderately soft - the spine should be flat in a dream, a woman cannot fall into a bed that is too soft, but she should not suffer from the hard surface of the sleeping place.
Use a special pregnancy pillow - it allows you to comfortably place your upper leg in a lateral position and supports your stomach.
Take a walk before bed in the fresh air. While you can walk with your spouse or alone. A family tradition will gradually form - to go for a walk before bedtime, because after giving birth you will, out of habit, go for a walk with your baby before going to bed.
Even on maternity leave, stick to the daily routine, do not sleep too long during the daytime, fill the day with events, deeds, movement.
Before going to bed, do not do anything demanding that requires tension. Take a shower, turn on the aroma lamp, ask your spouse to massage your feet - this will surely calm you down and set you to fall asleep easily.
See a counselor or attend classes at a pregnancy school to learn how to effectively deal with your fear of childbirth. This will help get rid of anxiety, tune in to an easy and quick delivery without pain and tears, which will definitely help in the birth process.
In order to wake up to the toilet less often at night due to "small need", it is worth stopping drinking liquids after 19 pm, and before going to bed, be sure to visit the toilet. If a woman cannot fall asleep due to itchy skin and stretch marks, it is worth using moisturizing fatty creams or special means for preventing stretch marks.
Try to sleep in complete silence and darkness. Even the ticking of a clock can prevent a woman from relaxing, so get some blackout curtains and remove from the bedroom anything that makes sounds and glows in the dark.