Insomnia and pregnancy

[Lind779]

So I'm into my 3rd trimester and anxiety and insomnia has kicked in.

I get to sleep eventually only to be woken 45 mins later with heart pulpitations? Is this normal and what did others do to help? I have 11 weeks to go so the thought of having this for that long scares me!

Im only getting 2 hrs a night!

[MarkJT]

Lind779, quite clearly i do not have much experience in being pregnant!! However I will try to help if i can.

I do however have some experience in anxiety. What i do is practice mindfulness. Do not know if you have ever tried it but it works a treat for me. There are numerous apps out there (I use Smiling Mind) that i do every morning. It has really helped me control the anxiety when it comes on.

Deep breathing exercises as well. There is a real art to learning how to breath. Again, there are apps that can assist you with this. Listening to music is a great grounder. Perhaps youtube some relaxing music and tune into it when you go to bed and see how that goes.

With these though, I had the distinct advantage of not being pregnant so see how you go.

Have you spoken to the GP or your obstetrician to discuss this? That might be a conversation well worth having.

Look forward to hearing back to see how you are going.

Mark.

[BballJ]

Hi Lind779,

Like Mark, I won't be of much great help on this particular topic of pregnancy.

But I would 100% recommend speaking to your GP, I am sure you will get timely response from people who may have dealt with this but surely there is something the doctor can do for this, I am assuming it is pregnancy related or have you had this type of anxiety before you were pregnant?

My best,

Jay

[LaraDarwin]

Hi Lind779,

I'm 32 weeks pregnant and had been warned early on that pregnancy insomnia can effect some women. It struck me like a freight train around 27 weeks and I still haven't had a full nights rest. However, I have learned some strategies to help me manage it and get a couple more hours each night.

Firstly, I spoke to my midwife about it and she was fantastic. She tried to see whether the insomnia was physical or as a result of anxiety or other cause. I tried plenty of things, so we're useless, but the following has worked for me:

*walking for about 40 minutes each day in the afternoon

*pregnancy yoga twice a week

*having an early dinner of foods that are not very acidic (it helps with the heartburn) and then having yoghurt or a small glass of milk later in the evening (it also helps with the heartburn but makes you feel full to go to sleep)

*using an essential oil massage oil after a shower and before bed - I highly recommend Weleda stretch mark oil for pregnancy

*sleeping with two pillows under my head and one under my upper back to prop myself up a little higher and take the load off the back. Sometimes I also use a pillow between my knees if I'm on my side to release the pressure from my hips and lower back. It took a little getting used to but I find it helps with the physical pain of trying to sleep with a big belly and sore back.

*when I wake in the night I don't turn on anything with a bright light, like the phone or TV, or that tells the time. It stressed me out too much watching the clock. Now when I wake I just pop on the reading light and start reading a novel. Sometimes I drop off within 30 minutes, other times I can be up for a couple of hours before falling back asleep but avoiding the bright lights of technology and the time really helped.

Overall, I think talking to the midwife and trying heaps of different things really helped for me and I would encourage you to do the same. When I realised that pregnancy insomnia is normal and accepted that it was happening to me I felt a lot better about it all. I still can't sleep through the night but I can get up in the morning feeling more rested than I did 4-5 weeks ago.

I wish you luck my friend!

ps apparently it can stick with you until birth but just see how you go.

[Lind779]

Thanks Mark. The GP mentioned Smiling Minds also and will give that a go.

I had severe anxiety prior to becoming pregnant and 10 weeks into my pregnancy I started feel great so I went off meds for the baby. I felt amazing mentally for 5 months and then 2 days ago, anxiety raised its ugly head!

I was really mad at myself and I couldn't believe I allowed this to happen again. I thought it was all behind me but it wasn't. I have a wonderful partner who is very supportive and got me through my last episode...

I will get through this again, I know I will and be my happy self with a growing bub. Just might take some time.

[Lind779]

Hi hun.

Im glad in a way that I'm not alone on this. Its hard to determine what is anxiety induced or hormone/pregnancy induced. For me, Im going anxiety as I've had these symptoms before.

Im going to try what you suggested, I like the not looking at the clock. I started practicing this when I felt great but was up peeing a million times a night so I always went back to sleep quickly if I didnt look at the time. Now I have anxiety, Im looking at the time every sec and I dont think thats helping at all!

The doctor was going to give me a sleeping tablet but as it was a category C he thought giving me something else to help me sleep was a better option for now. Just typing this now is making my nausea go away, thats when I know its my mind creating these symptoms. Very frustrating!!!

I wish I had a midwife for this pregnancy but opted to just see my OB. She has moved on and Im now with a male OB that is great but not the same and he has cone into my pregnancy very late.

How far along are you now? How has pregnancy been for you?

[Lind779]

Sorry hun, you had mentioned already that you're 32 weeks 😊

[MarkJT]

Lind, easy for me to say but i would suggest that you shouldn't get angry at yourself. You did an act, going off meds, for your baby and that deserves nothing but respect. Intentionally sacrificing your own health for that of you baby. Respect.

I agree that you will be fine. You have been through this before and you will get on top of it again. You have such a wonderful bundle of joy coming your way.

Let me know how Smiling Mind goes. I love it.

Mark.

[MarkJT]

Lara, welcome to the forums and your first post is absolutely magnificent.

Thank you for getting involved, your post will be read by so many and will help so many.

Mark.

[LaraDarwin]

Yes, 32 weeks and counting... my pregnancy has been ok. I haven't had anything too serious happen, which has been a relief because I have a tendency to stress over the little things. I have to say the worst things for me have been insomnia and the heartburn. I was in tears most nights in the first couple of days I was experiencing insomnia. I know I mentioned it in my post above but I couldn't have been more grateful for the guidance from my midwife, trying different things and being kind to myself.

It doesn't sound like your new OB is very supportive of your needs and it's unfortunate the good OB moved elsewhere. I don't know how comfortable you would feel about getting in contact with your local community midwife program but I would recommend it. In Darwin, the community midwives hold a fortnightly meeting for women to discuss anything they want about pregnancy and provide advice. It's free, available to anyone and there is play equipment for if you already have children and bring them along. It's also a forum to meet other women who might be experiencing the same issues. Ssomeone usually brings along a nice plate of delicious food too! I'm sure similar programs are offered in other jurisdictions, maybe start with the local hospital or community childbirth education association.

I agree with Mark, that you're heading in the right direction. This is such a special time in your life that finding solutions to help you manage will allow you to more readily enjoy the time with yourself and the developing little person. I hope that you manage to get a couple more hours rest each night (albeit it might be broken sleep) and feel more rested in the day.

Once again, I wish you luck and I hope you find something that works for you.

p.s. at the suggestion of the midwife, I tried aqua-aerobics. I felt like a sinking whale and couldn't stop laughing at how useless I was. It was on my list of things to try to help with insomnia, it clearly didn't work for me but I got a good laugh (and so did the others in the pool) trying it out. I hope you have a similar experience if you try something and it doesn't work but you can still have a good laugh 🙂