Left side Sleeping could avoid still-birth risk during pregnancy

Widespread media coverage has been given to a study on the risk of stillbirth and the sleeping position of the mother. A New Zealand study has suggested that sleeping on the left side during late pregnancy could help women avoid still-birth risk.

Sleeping on the right side or back doubled, but only to almost four in 1,000, the risk of left-sided sleepers. Left-side lying aids blood flow to the baby, as the mother's major blood vessels are unimpeded by a heavy womb. If women slept on their right side or their back in late pregnancy this risk was 3.93 per 1,000, compared to 1.96 per 1,000 if they slept on their left side.