How a pregnant mum sleeps may affect still-birth risk

Researchers have found that sleeping on the back or right side, rather than the left, doubled the risk to almost four in 1,000.

EXPERTS HAVE CALLED for urgent research to see if the position a woman sleeps in during late pregnancy affects the risk of a still-born baby.

The British Medical Journal reports that a University of Auckland study compared 155 women who had late still-births to 31o who had healthy pregnancies.

Sleeping on the back or right side, rather than the left, doubled the risk – but only to almost four in 1,000.

The New Zealand study found that left-side lying helps blood flow to the baby as the mother’s major blood vessels are unimpeded by a heavy womb.

The researchers who compiled the University of Auckland data called for larger studies to test the findings.

According to the BBC, the UK-based Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologist said other factors are also linked to still-birth including obesity, age of the mother, ethnicity and congenital anomalies.

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