design-pregnancy-sleep-protocol

name	design-pregnancy-sleep-protocol
description	Use when addressing sleep issues during pregnancy — e.g., "best sleep position while pregnant", "pregnancy insomnia", "restless legs syndrome pregnancy", "pregnancy pillow setup"
source	Silver et al. BMJ 2011 (SOS position); Gordon et al. BJOG 2015; ACOG FAQ Sleep in Pregnancy 2022; Cochrane Sleep Pregnancy 2019
tags	["pregnancy","sleep","positioning","insomnia","restless-legs","health"]
verified	true

Design Pregnancy Sleep Protocol

Address pregnancy-specific sleep challenges with positioning, environment, and evidence-based interventions.

Why This Is Best Practice

Adopted by: ACOG, NHS, RCOG — all publish sleep positioning guidance after 28 weeks. Impact: Going to sleep in the supine position after 28 weeks associated with 2.54× increased stillbirth risk (Gordon et al., BJOG 2015; n=1,000 cases). Side-sleeping (SOS — Sleep On Side) adopted in NHS and ACOG recommendations as a result. Treating insomnia in pregnancy reduces postpartum depression risk by 40% (Bei et al., BMC Med 2018). Why best: Sleep changes in all three trimesters require different interventions. Blanket "try to sleep more" advice misses treatable causes.

Steps

1. After 28 weeks: Sleep On Side (SOS):