Pregnant and can't sleep? Buy a body pillow

Body pillows are giant pillows designed to support the pregnant woman's shape. They usually come in a big "C" shape as in the picture. But you do find giant square shapes too.

The "C" shape is the most popular because it relieves pressure on the hips. You usually sleep with it with the long bit around your back and the bottom part of the "C" inbetween your legs. This opens the pelvis and relieves pressure on the hips. The long bit around the back supports your spine (the pressure of the baby bump usually pushes you backwards towards the pillow). Some women prefer to sleep with the long bit around the baby bump and the end again tucked inbetween the legs. The thing to do is to experiment to see which suits you best.

Most mothers will have already tried to build a makeshift version of the body pillow by stacking standard pillows around them as they sleep. But the trouble with standard pillows is that they move around during the night, frequently ending up on the floor. Body pillows for pregnant women however will remain in place as you will have tucked it in between your legs.

You can also get U shaped pillows (sometimes known as back and belly pillows) - these are more expensive, but tend to be softer and more luxurious.

Body pillows (also known as pregnancy pillows) can also be used after the birth to support you and your baby while nursing (i.e. they double up as nursing pillows or breastfeeding pillows).

The best seller pregnancy pillow is the Cozy Comfort pregnancy pillow followed by the Comfort u total body pillow. You may also wish to visit the following page on Maternity Pillows