Hi All,

i was speaking with one of my friends today , she was telling me that if you sleep on ur back after the fifth month, it actually can cause the umbilical cord to wrap around the baby , that sounds very very scary ...

till now, i had only heard that if you sleep on the back , then the uterus puts its weight on the veins going to the legs, affecting the blood circulation ..

i tried googling on this topic but did not get more info , do any of u know more abt it ??

Take care,
-P hopingfortejas replied. Thanks for answering my question, it has put my mind at rest abt this issue ...the instance i thought abt cord wrap , i felt it would be fatal for the bay , feeling happy that it need not be :) :)

As you suggested, i would just ask my doc abt it when i meet on Monday :) ...

-P archie replied. hopingfortejas,
hetal provided the best explanation and you should be worry free. Also like TA mentioned it's something that you won't have control over and is absolutely rare to happen.
This is why in third trimester especially close to delivery time and with breech presentation your Dr. will advise you to count baby movements. Only way to figure some trouble is feeling no or very feable movements at the time of day when usually your fetus is active. That also could be due to many reasons but cord can be one of the resons.
Interestingly cord wraps in most cases do not lead to fatality so baby will face no trouble but if during labor baby find tought to get enough oxygen from your blood (can happen if there is cord wrapped around body) then you will end up having an emergency C-section. By large cord wrap is less likely affect your baby.

You will be surprised to hear that by this time of pregnancy your baby has been tumbling, rumbling and swinging as there is enough space in uterus and there is high possibility that there were cord wraps and baby knows how to resolve them without trouble. This can be tought for baby close to labor becasue of crowded uterus.

As usual give a call to your Dr. or have this discussed on your next visit.

Archie Hetal replied. hi,
Although there's no real harm in sleeping on your any side, lying on your left side is actually good for you and your baby: It improves the flow of blood and nutrients to the placenta and it helps your kidneys efficiently eliminate waste products and fluids from your body. That, in turn, reduces swelling in your ankles, feet, and hands. If you train yourself to sleep on your left side early on, you'll have an easier time falling asleep when your belly is bulging later.

During the second half of pregnancy, avoid sleeping on your back, a position that puts the full weight of your uterus on your spine, back muscles, intestines, and the inferior vena cava (the vein that transports blood from your lower body to the heart). just like you mentioned.
Back-sleeping can also put you at risk for backaches and hemorrhoids, inefficient digestion, and impaired breathing and circulation. Lying on your back in the second and third trimester can also cause changes in blood pressure. For some women, it can cause a drop in blood pressure that can make cause an unwanted increase in blood pressure.
however, any of the sleep positions does not affect the cord at all in any terms. when it comes to cord, it wraps and such a situations happens after at 8th month and onwards, when baby is very active and when he has less space to grow inside belly...that too for 3% of such cases,,not all. its very rare to happen...
so take care, and dontworry,,sleep well.and if it really bothers,,ring up your dr !Good Luck TA replied. Hi hopingfortejas,

Mine is not a medical opinion. I have unfortunately had to read info about cord accidents after I lost my pregnancy last year (not due to that reason). From what I recall, there is not much you can do to prevent the umbilical cord wrapping around the baby. There are some factors about the cord itself which might predispose it to wrap around the baby but none of those can be controlled by the mother. It is one of those unfortunate things that just happen.

But you will be heartened to know that the chances of that happening is rare. Unfortunately whatever you find online will be worst case scenarios. There are many myths which spell out what can cause a cord accident. If they are easy to follow you could certainly do so for your peace of mind. God knows I am staying away from mundane things this pregnancy!

The only solution I can think of against unavoidable things is prayer. Hope someone else will contribute a more medical and scientific explanation.

Good luck, TA MotherToBe replied. One of my frineds also said that while sleeping do not roll from one side to other. Instead get up and then go to the other side. Seems it does harm to the baby and your cord wraps around.

I asked my doc and she said it is nonsense but i guess they say this in India.

Take care