- A good pregnancy pillow can help support a growing bump and take the strain off your back and joints so you can get a good night's sleep.
- The $4 is our top choice because it's supportive, soft, and affordably priced.
When my wife was pregnant with our first child, getting a good night's rest became almost impossible for her by the middle of the second trimester. At first, it was heartburn that forced her to use large pillows that perched her up almost in a sitting position.
By the time the heartburn subsided, her belly had grown to such proportions that her days of stomach sleeping were done until after the birth. She had to adapt to side sleeping, a process which had us at first trying all manner of arranging the pillows we already head in the house, and which ultimately led to the purchase of several pregnancy pillows of varied size and design.
Long, large maternity pillows allow a woman to take some of the pressure off her body by supporting that growing belly, providing relief to both her back as well as her core and her abdomen. These pillows also allow for better alignment of the knees and hips, which reduces pressure on the spine and upper body. In other words, they help her feel almost normal and let the expectant mom get comfortable enough to actually sleep for a few hours now and then.
Now that we're well into our second pregnancy, the big pillows are back. This time, my wife was well prepared and set up what we call her pillow fort weeks before she even needed it, thus adapting more easily to sleeping on her side while flanked front and back by big tubes of supportive fluff before a huge baby belly forced a change in position.
Does she or any other very pregnant woman get a perfect night's sleep each and every night of the week? Oh hell no. But I can only imagine how much less rest she would get without the assist from a good pregnancy pillow.
And for the record, these pillows are also priceless for postpartum respite as a woman's body recovers, and they even work for nursing. It's never too late in a pregnancy to get a great maternity pillow, in other words!
Here are the best pregnancy pillows you can buy:
- Best pregnancy pillow overall: $4 $4
- Best inexpensive pregnancy pillow: $4
- Best strain-reducing pregnancy pillow: $4
- Best pregnancy pillow for stomach sleepers: $4
- Best maternity pillow wedge: $4
Updated on 11/01/2019 by Lisa Sabatini: Updated prices, links, text, and formatting. Replaced $4, which is out-of-stock, with $4 as our Best Inexpensive Pregnancy Pillow pick. We are currently testing new products, so we'll update this guide soon.
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