Pregnant women are being given new advice about their sleeping position during late pregnancy as a result of research carried out in East Lancashire and other hospitals in the UK and overseas.
The Midlands and North of England Stillbirth Study (MiNESS) compared sleeping habits and other aspects of pregnancy between 291 women who had a stillbirth at or after 28 weeks of pregnancy with 738 women who had a live birth.
MiNESS found that women who went to sleep on their back in late pregnancy were twice as likely to have a stillbirth.
Speaking about the research, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, and Principal Investigator Mrs Liz Martindale, said: “This is an important study for pregnant women and sharing the results will hopefully lead to a further reduction in stillbirths.
“The international research teams have called for women to be made aware of the research, and informed that going to sleep on their side in late pregnancy could reduce their risk of stillbirth.
“I want to thank East Lancashire patients who agreed to take part in the MiNESS study and the outstanding work of our Family Care Research Team and the support we have received from the University of Manchester.”
Two previous research studies in New Zealand and Australia found links between a mother’s sleeping position and an increased risk of a stillbirth but the MiNESS study, conducted in the UK, involved much larger numbers of pregnant women.
To raise awareness of the research findings, MiNESS study supporter Tommy’s launched the ‘Sleep on Side’ campaign to encourage and provide advice to pregnant women to help them sleep on their side.