Re: Supine position in pregnancy

From: ainsron (ainsron@sbcglobal.net)
Thu Jan 26 18:56:58 2006


You're telling the same things I do. It's of more significance in labor or in the OR with regional anesthesia. Then you not only have hypotension from the position, but also from the anesthesia wiping out their sympathetic response.

Ronald E. Ainsworth, MD, FACOG

-----Original Message----- From: ob-gyn-l@obgyn.net [mailto:ob-gyn-l@obgyn.net] On Behalf Of Natalie Melanson Martin Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2006 2:57 PM To: Multiple recipients of list OB-GYN-L Subject: Supine position in pregnancy

I am looking for clinical evidence that sleeping on one's back in pregnancy is dangerous. Pregnant women who read "What to Expect WHen You're Expecting" and the like live with the constant fear that they will seriously harm their baby if they lie on their back. I try to reassure them by telling them that while there is a theoretical risk of compressing the vena cava and thus decreasing oxygen flow to the baby, they would likely feel dizzy and nauseous and naturally roll over. Also, I doubt that women's bodies are so ill-designed as to make it that easy to harm their babies. That said, I also tell them that it is best to avoid sleeping on their backs (if they can still do it in the 3rd trimester!) but not to panic if they wake up on their back.

What are you all telling your patients about this? I have heard different doctors/midwives say different things, ie. absolutely avoid it, don't worry about it, etc.

Does anyone know of any current research on this, or is this risk completely theoretical? Has anyone heard/seen actual cases where a baby was harmed because its mother slept on her back? I wasn't able to find anything about this on the Internet, other than the usual parenting websites, but nothing medical or scientific.

thanks,

Natalie Melanson

Registered Midwife

Ontario, Canada





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