Best Mattresses For Pregnant Women UK (2024)

You’re pregnant. Your belly is growing larger and larger every week. Leg cramps and heartburn start to interfere with your sleep. Your body can no longer sleep in positions you previously found comfortable. All round, nighttime has become uncomfortable.

These are just some of the common issues that pregnant women struggle with when trying to get a good night’s sleep. While you have no control over how your body is changing, you can control your environment to ensure that you’re still able to get a good night’s sleep.

If you already sleep on your side or on your back, then you’re in luck. But if you normally sleep on your stomach, then you’ll need to adjust. As your belly grows, you’ll no longer be able to sleep on your stomach. This means that you need to find a mattress that’s comfortable for back and side sleepers.

You also need to choose a mattress that offers great support and reduces back pain. You can opt for a soft orthopaedic mattress to relieve some of the tension. You can also choose a soft memory foam mattress. Memory foam is particularly well-suited to pregnancy as the foam adapts well to the contours of your body, offering that real cocooning support.

You might also want to enjoy a larger mattress. While single or standard double mattresses can be sufficient in size, we highly suggest that you opt for larger mattresses, like the 150 x 200 cm king mattress, 180 x 200 cm super king mattress, or even the 200 x 200 cm emperor mattress. You’ll be much more comfortable with a mattress of this size. It also ensures that both you and your partner have enough room to move.

Having a great mattress certainly helps but there are also some common tips and tricks you can make use of to help you get a good night’s sleep.

Sleeping on your side is recommended, and we’d highly recommend that you sleep on your left side. This sleeping position improves the flow of blood ^[1] and nutrients through your body and to your baby.

This sleeping position also takes the pressure off your kidneys and liver, making it easier to eliminate fluids and waste substances. In turn, this helps with swelling in your hands, ankles, and feet.

Nutrition also affects the quality of your sleep. We’d recommend that you eat lighter foods and avoid spicy foods, especially from your second trimester onwards. This will help reduce heartburn.

If you’re in your third trimester, you can also put a pillow between your knees, behind your back, and under your stomach to help relieve pain and unease. A pregnancy pillow will also be of great use.

While conventionally the answer to this question would be no, this is no longer true. There are new several revolutionary inflatable mattresses that allow pregnant women to sleep their bellies. These mattresses have a hole in the middle that’s intended for the pregnant belly to slide in to, making it possible for a pregnant woman to sleep on her stomach.

In the UK, you’ll find two of these types of mattresses on Amazon, the On The Chest ^[2] and the QLOA inflatable mattresses ^[3]. Both of these have been specifically designed to allow pregnant women to sleep on their bellies.

Despite seeming like an unnatural position to lie in when pregnant, it actually helps relieve back pain associated with pregnancy, elevates the hips, and decompresses the spine. It may not be the type of mattress you’d choose to spend your night on but it can definitely help to ease pregnancy-associated aches and pains throughout the day.

The purchase of a mattress for pregnant women is a complicated task. When pregnant, your body changes rapidly and your needs and preferences constantly change.

While many of the comforts can be addressed with a great pregnancy pillow, it is important to start off with a great mattress that’s soft enough to offer comfort but firm enough to offer sufficient support.