Dizziness when sleeping on left side

Women are very delicate during pregnancy. Many things that they can tolerate at ordinary times may not be tolerated during pregnancy, and their lifestyle and preferences may change. Some pregnant women feel dizzy when sleeping on their left side. Why does this symptom occur? Usually the cause of this symptom may be the sleeping position of the pregnant woman, or it may be anemia or low blood sugar. Let's learn about it together.

1. Why do pregnant women feel dizzy when sleeping?

Dizziness is mainly caused by insufficient blood supply to the brain. If a pregnant woman feels dizzy while sleeping, it may be because her sleeping posture affects oxygen supply and causes dizziness.

1. Improper body position, compressing blood vessels

This type of pregnant woman usually has an attack when she is lying on her back or sitting on the sofa watching TV, but not when she is lying on her side or standing. This type of dizziness in pregnant women is a condition called supine syndrome.

In the late stages of pregnancy, due to the enlarged uterus, when the woman lies on her back or sits lying down, the heavy uterus presses on the inferior vena cava behind it, preventing blood from returning to the heart from the lower body. The amount of blood returning to the heart is sharply reduced, and the cardiac output is reduced, resulting in reduced blood supply to the heart and brain, causing dizziness, chest tightness and other discomforts.

2. Low blood pressure, cerebral ischemia

This type of pregnant woman usually faints when she stands up suddenly or takes an elevator. In the early and middle stages of pregnancy, due to the formation of the placenta, blood pressure drops to a certain extent, generally 1.33-2.67 kPa lower than usual, which is physiological.

For pregnant women with pre-existing hypertension, the drop in blood pressure will be even greater. When blood pressure drops, blood flow to the brain will decrease, resulting in insufficient blood supply to the brain, causing cerebral ischemia and hypoxia, which in turn causes dizziness.

3. Eating too little and low blood sugar

This type of pregnant women sometimes suffer from bouts of dizziness, accompanied by palpitations, fatigue, and cold sweats, which usually occur when they eat less. During pregnancy, I ate less because of the pregnancy reaction - vomiting.

Eating less will cause low blood sugar. Blood sugar is the raw material for muscle cells and brain cells to produce energy. When blood sugar is low, cell energy is reduced, leading to fatigue, dizziness, cold sweats, palpitations and other discomforts.

4. Anemia in pregnant women

This is also a common cause of dizziness in pregnant women. Pregnant women should usually consume iron-rich foods, such as animal blood, pork liver, lean meat, etc. Once anemia occurs, iron supplementation should be done urgently. Pregnant women may also experience symptoms such as dizziness and headaches.

If the disease further develops into preeclampsia, it can cause convulsions and coma, endangering the lives of pregnant women and fetuses. This is the most serious complication during pregnancy and should be diagnosed and treated early.