Most people associate pregnancy with sleep and unexplained tiredness on a frequent basis; However, only those women who have had children can confirm that this is true, but that there are various stages throughout the 9 months of gestation that are very easy to identify. Many pregnant women say that they do not feel a little fatigue or light sleep, but that the most similar feeling is that of exhaustion, so many women who perhaps had little sleep become people who need to rest several hours a day, although this usually occur during the first stage of pregnancy.
Also, sleepiness and tiredness can be accompanied by other symptoms during pregnancy, which may increase or decrease depending on the number of weeks that have passed since you have been carrying your baby. If you are waiting to be a mother and you ask yourself: is it normal to be sleepy in the third trimester of pregnancy? We advise you to read the following FastlyHealarticle to answer this and other questions.
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The sleepiest stages of pregnancy
The first weeks of pregnancy are some of the most difficult for women, as they cannot sustain their sleep. Likewise, other very annoying symptoms such as nausea and vomiting begin to appear , so it is recommended that the future mother stays at home as much time as possible to rest.
At the end of the first trimester, hormonal levels begin to stabilize again and the placenta is already formed, so fatigue and sleep improve significantly. Many call the second trimester the happy stage because many women begin to feel very happy thanks to the fact that the major discomforts of the first trimester disappear and they can already enjoy the arrival of their child more.
Despite the above, the uterus and the belly begin to grow considerably, at the same time as the weight of the child increases, so the blood vessels of the pelvis and abdomen are compressed and there is a restriction to the movement of the diaphragm, which is why which the woman begins to feel very tired again and much in the third trimester of pregnancy.
During this period, the pregnant woman must carry excess weight since the baby, by that time, would be weighing around 3 kilos; however, 6 or 8 kilos of water and amniotic fluid and another 2 kilos of placenta and uterus are also added. Consequently, women are obliged to constantly carry more than 12 kilos than they did in previous quarters. It is a very large weight gain in a fairly short period of time, so the body must get used to it and suffers from various symptoms, such as being sleepy regularly and various pains and musculoskeletal injuries may appear due to the fact that progesterone acts in muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints.
Likewise, fatigue during the end of pregnancy is very common, since in addition progesterone begins to actuate the central nervous system and with the physical changes that are also experienced, the ideal situation is created for the pregnant woman to feel very sleepy all the days. At the same time, the physical conditions make the expectant mother unable to rest properly at night. One of the reasons is because the belly does not allow the woman to sleep on her stomach or on her back, in addition to the fact that the doctor may not recommend it, so she must spend the whole night asleep on her side. In the following article, we explain in detail what is the best posture for sleeping while pregnant .
In addition to the above, women in the third trimester of pregnancy feel the need to urinate constantly due to the pressure of the uterus on the bladder, so they must get up several times during the night to go to the bathroom. Therefore, the third trimester can be one of the most sleepy times a woman goes through due to the physical and hormonal changes that she has during that final stage.
Causes of tiredness during pregnancy
The fatigue and excessive sleepiness during pregnancy may feel greatly during the first and third trimester. This may be because, in the first stage, a large number of physiological and hormonal changes are experienced in the body of the woman who is expecting a baby. Of all the hormones, the one that undergoes the most changes in its levels is progesterone , since it increases approximately 500%. It is essential for the development of the fetus and the correct course of pregnancy; however, it causes side effects such as excessive sleepiness and tiredness that many translate into exhaustion.
Likewise, the effect that progesterone causes on the central nervous system is highlighted, which produces various physiological changes in the woman’s body itself and provides that feeling of wanting to be lying down all day.
Another of the most frequent causes is that, during the first weeks, the pregnant woman must develop the fetus at the same time that she generates the placenta in order to properly nourish the baby during pregnancy. These processes require a lot of energy, so your body is responsible for prioritizing them and causes the woman not to have as much strength for her daily activities.
The body’s oxygen demand increases considerably during pregnancy, causing hormones to demand greater activity from the brain to increase the basal respiratory rate in expectant mothers. This is why physical activities begin to become intolerable and exhausting for pregnant women.
Another reason for this normal fatigue during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy is that the mother begins to divert blood and part of the blood flow to the fetus for its proper development, which can cause a decrease in blood pressure.
In addition to the above, women waiting for their child may suffer from fluid retention, which thins the blood and causes a small relative anemia , which further influences sleep.
Ways to relieve sleep in pregnancy
Even though it is considered normal to have sleep in the third trimester of pregnancy, it is important to see the doctor for a check-up if it is excessive or begins to be a limitation for daily activities. In the meantime, you can follow some measures that will help you cope with this fatigue, including:
- Rest for as long as possible.
- Don’t make unnecessary efforts.
- Change to a balanced diet according to the recommendations of specialists to have more energy.
- Sleep whenever the body asks for it.
- Request at the workplace that they allow you 10 or 15 minutes every so often to let you rest.
You can also consult the recommendations that we give in the article Tips to avoid fatigue in pregnancy .
This article is merely informative, at FastlyHeal .com we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to Is it normal to be sleepy in the third trimester of pregnancy? , we recommend that you enter our Pregnancy and baby health category .
I am a Surgeon with a diploma in comprehensive ultrasound and surgical care residency, an area I am specializing in. During the exercise of my profession, I have realized the need for patients to know the diseases they suffer, and I can tell you that a large part of their complications is due to a lack of information. Being a health web writer allows me to transmit my experience, without borders, to all those readers eager for knowledge, educate them in the prevention of diseases and promote a healthy lifestyle.