Expectant mums are being advised to sleep on their side from 28 weeks of pregnancy following the launch of a new campaign.
The Sleep on Side; Stillbirth Prevention Campaign follows new evidence that has the potential to save the lives of around 16 unborn New Zealand babies a year.
Research shows lying on your back from 28 weeks presses on major blood vessels, which can reduce blood flow and oxygen to the baby.
Professor Lesley McCowan from the University of Auckland says, "We can now confirm that going to sleep on either your left or right side halves the risk of stillbirth compared with going to sleep on your back.”
The campaign was developed by the University of Auckland and the Ministry of Health, in partnership with child health research charity Cure Kids.
"While it's been common for women to be advised to sleep on their side when pregnant, a decade of research carried out in four countries across different ethnicities has now confirmed the very consistent association between going-to-sleep position and stillbirth," says McCowan.
Approximately one in 20 women in New Zealand go to sleep on their back in the late stages of pregnancy and each year around 160 New Zealand babies are stillborn in the last three months of pregnancy.
It's estimated that if all pregnant women go to sleep on their side from 28 weeks of pregnancy, there would be a 10 percent decrease in late stillbirths nationally.
"We anticipate a further increase in expectant mothers changing their sleep behaviour thanks to this campaign," says McCowan.