Maternity Pillow - A Boon for Pregnant Women

The greatest discomfort that a pregnant woman faces is her inability to relax and sleep. Maternity pillows are those miraculous simple cushions whose designs help alleviate the discomforts of an expectant mother.

By the second trimester, the increasing weight of the baby and uterus makes it increasingly difficult for the mother to sleep on her side and back for several reasons. Sleeping on the side is uncomfortable and medically unsafe as well. It puts the full weight of the uterus on a woman's back, intestines and inferior vena cava, resulting in backaches, hemorrhoids, poor digestion, swelling of the extremities, reduced circulation, breathing difficulties and even a drop in blood pressure. Normal pillows are not of much help since they do not provide the correct support.

Types of Maternity Pillows Pillows for pregnant women come in special designs that cradle the contours of a pregnant woman. This prevents any soreness or stiffness that a woman experiences while sleeping. Made of special ultra-soft fills, these special pillows and cushions are adjustable to support your head and back at the right incline. Some pillows also have side sleepers, back sleepers, and stomach sleepers to provide the ultimate comfort. There is a wide range of maternity pillows available that supports the belly and lower back, while helping to align the hips.

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There are four general types of maternity pillows:

Basic maternity pillow : This pillow supports the growing belly and the lower back at the same time. The pillows support you from both sides while you sleep in the middle. There is an adjustable Velcro pad between the two support cushions. This helps you adjust for your personal comfort and serves as convenient carry handles.

The wedge : This type of pillow is a small rectangular cushion that is wedged under the belly to provide simple support. The wedge comes in useful in the beginning of the second trimester when you have just begun to grow.

The full-length body pillow: These are around five feet long and support the back, belly and knees. They are the ultimate in comfort since they wind around your body to give you total support.

The Bean: This pillow for moms to be has the shape of a kidney bean so that it wraps from under the belly to between the knees. This pillow is especially useful in the later part of the third trimester. Its unique contoured shape gently supports for optimal side sleeping. Just place it between the knees to relieve pressure on the hips and back.

Multipurpose Functions of Maternity Pillows

Many of these pillows have the option of converting to nursing pillows after the baby is born. This is an invaluable help for new mothers since it holds the baby in the perfect position for feeding. At the same time, it supports the back of the mother. This prevents the mother from getting a stiff back as she has to sit in one position for a long time.

Maternity pillows are hypoallergenic and machine washable. They are extremely lightweight and easy to carry around. Some of them come with detachable features.

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