When chatting with pregnant mothers, I often hear such complaints: “I used to sleep well, but since I became pregnant, my sleep has become very bad. I lie in bed tossing and turning for an hour or two, sometimes I can’t fall asleep until midnight. I finally fell asleep and dreamed. Do you think this is normal? This is very common, if I may say so.
Three Common Causes of Insomnia during Pregnancy
Some people think that, Insomnia during pregnancy may be a natural way to prepare you in advance, Because in the first few months after the baby is born, you will inevitably suffer from sleep deprivation in order to take care of him. From a scientific point of view, insomnia symptoms during pregnancy have certain scientific basis. Common causes of insomnia in pregnant mothers include: hormone changes, frequent urination and leg cramps in the middle of the night.
1. Let’s talk about hormone changes first.
Pregnant women are mentally and psychologically sensitive, Stress tolerance also decreases, Often melancholy and insomnia, This is caused by changes in hormone levels in the body. The hormones that affect the human body during pregnancy are mainly estrogen and progesterone. It can make pregnant mothers feel unstable and lead to insomnia. Therefore, moderate stress adjustment, such as turning over a few pages of relaxing books before going to bed, doing relaxing exercises, taking a warm bath, and family consideration and care, is very important to stabilize the mood of pregnant mothers.
2. Besides, frequent urination affects sleep,
Pregnant mothers often urinate frequently. Half of pregnant mothers may urinate frequently in the early stages of pregnancy. In the later period, Nearly 80% of pregnant mothers suffer from frequent urination, I get up at night and run to the toilet. Seriously affecting sleep quality. Most of the frequent urination is due to the enlargement of the uterus and compression to the bladder. Let the pregnant mother always urinate. Besides, There are also some common diseases during pregnancy that can also lead to frequent urination, Some pregnant mothers find that their secretions increase or urinate frequently. It is thought that it is a normal phenomenon and is not dealt with. Or refuse to see a doctor for fear that taking medicine will affect the healthy development of the fetus, It may eventually lead to serious consequences such as abortion. Therefore, Pregnant mothers who urinate frequently must also pay attention to whether there are other infections at the same time. For example, candidal vaginitis. This disease is also relatively common during pregnancy, and there are also drugs that can be used safely during pregnancy, such as clotrimazole vaginal suppository and external cream, which belong to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s safety grade B drugs and can be used safely under the guidance of doctors.
3. Finally, say leg cramps in the middle of the night
By the end of the pregnancy, Many pregnant mothers develop cramps, This also affects the quality of sleep. Cramps are mostly related to sleeping posture. If you often cramp during sleep, You must adjust your sleeping posture, sleep on the left side as much as possible, and pay attention to the warmth of your lower limbs. Add a pillow when you sleep, and put your legs on the pillow when you lie on your side. In case of cramps, please ask your family to help you with hot compress and massage to relieve the pain of cramps and fall asleep early.
Five types of pain that can cause insomnia
In addition to the above common causes, there are the following kinds of pain during pregnancy, which may also cause insomnia:
First, headache. A few pregnant mothers will have an increasingly serious headache after 6 months of pregnancy. Some are accompanied by vomiting and vague vision. At the same time, there are edema of lower limbs, increased blood pressure and protein in urine. If this happens, you should see a doctor in time.
Second, chest pain. Chest pain occurs from time to time during pregnancy, mostly between ribs, and the pain site is not fixed. It may be caused by some degree of calcium deficiency caused by pregnancy, or thoracic swelling caused by diaphragm elevation.
Third, stomachache. During pregnancy, due to the slow peristalsis of digestive organs and muscles, people have stomach fullness and discomfort. Other pregnant mothers are helpless because of continuous acid water and heartburn pain. This is because pregnancy causes retrograde peristalsis of the stomach, causing reflux of acidic contents in the stomach and stimulating mucosa. To relieve such symptoms, you can try calcium carbonate oral suspension that neutralizes gastric acid. This medicine can be used safely during pregnancy.
Fourth, low back pain. With the increase of pregnancy time, pregnant mothers will feel heavy, standing or walking, in order to ensure the balance of the center of gravity moving forward, must hold out their chests, protruding their stomachs, plus the eight-character separation outside their feet, which will inevitably cause excessive lordosis bending of the lumbar spine and cause spinal lumbago.
Fifth, abdominal pain. Some women (especially those with backward uterus) feel traction pain or falling sensation in the pelvic region at the beginning of pregnancy. If the lower abdominal pain is more severe during pregnancy, And there is vaginal bleeding, which may be a sign of abortion or ectopic pregnancy, and must be treated quickly. The increasing uterus enters the pelvis and is also easy to cause pain in pubic symphysis or sacroiliac joint.
Sleeping pills can seriously harm the fetus.
In case the pregnant mother’s mood adjustment is not good, The problem of insomnia cannot be relieved for a long time. Be sure to seek help from a specialized psychologist or psychiatrist. Avoid risks as much as possible. Never use sedatives and sleeping pills indiscriminately. The commonly used sleeping pills are tranquilizers, Most of these drugs are classified as D or X drugs in the safety classification issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. We all know that long-term use of these drugs can lead to dependence and addiction. However, taking it by pregnant mothers will cause the fetus and the baby after birth to produce soft baby disease, showing symptoms such as muscle tension drop, hypothermia, dyspnea, etc. These symptoms will easily lead to fetal distress in utero, development retardation, and may also cause neonatal respiratory tract infection, which is very dangerous.
Therefore, once poor sleep or insomnia occurs during pregnancy, do not abuse hypnotics, but should give priority to life conditioning to improve sleep.
This article is taken from the book “Ji Lianmei Talk: Chinese Should Use Drugs This Way”, which is reprinted by the author’s authorized clove garden.