Pregnant mums get just 5 hours sleep during pregnancy

Mums to be suffer hugely when it comes to getting their forty winks, a survey has found.

A poll of 2,000 parents by Happy Beds found that 20 per cent of women had their sleep ‘extremely disrupted’ during pregnancy, with 9 in 10 having their sleep affected to a certain level. 



Fifty-seven per cent broke down in tears at some point during their pregnancy because of a lack of sleep.

There were a variety of aspects keeping Mums up at night, but top of the list were needing to get up for the toilet, heartburn and being too hot. Some partners weren’t helping either – 15 per cent said that their snoring partner was stopping them getting their essential forty winks.

More than four in 10 women also suffered from nausea at night – while these sleeping problems understandably made mornings tough; three quarters struggled to get out of bed in the morning.

The survey found that concerned partners did all they could to help make Mums more comfortable, with partners opening windows in cold rooms, massaging their partner’s back and even sleeping in separate rooms.

However, understandably just one in 20 women worried about how their lack of sleep was affecting their partner.

Joy Richards, Sleep Specialist at Happy Beds said: “It’s ironic that the time women need to sleep the most is a time when it’s often the hardest.

“Trouble sleeping is something almost every pregnant woman goes through, for all kinds of reasons, from physical discomfort to worries on the mind.

“A bed or mattress that has been comfortable for many years can suddenly feel like the most uncomfortable place in the world, and it can leave women – and their partners – feeling helpless.”

Mums found that pregnancy’s lack of mobility caused great problems; three in five struggled to turn over when they feel like it in bed, and a quarter reported issues with sore hips stopping them from dropping off.

Due to this, a majority of respondents felt that their mattress wasn’t as comfortable as they like, and a new mattress would assuage their sleeping problems.

Twenty things that keep pregnant mums awake at night:

1. Being unable to turn over when you want to
2. Heartburn
3. The baby moving
4. Being too hot
5. The baby kicking
6. Restless legs
7. Sore hips
8. Feeling sick
9. Worrying if the baby will be healthy
10. Partner snoring
11. Worrying about what giving birth will be like
12. Worrying whether the baby is moving / has moved
13. Morning sickness - at night
14. Money worries
15. Thinking about what it will be like when you're a mum
16. Worrying about how you'll ever function without sleep
17. Fear of suddenly going into labour
18. Uncomfortable mattress
19. Wondering whether you're keeping your partner awake
20. Wanting to get up but knowing you can't do it without help