A small wedge, when a full body pillow is more than you need or have room for
If you are pregnant and short on bed space, a small wedge under your belly or behind your back gives you support while leaving the rest of the bed free. That is what your answers point to.
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In short: A small foam or latex wedge sits under your belly or behind your back and leaves the rest of a small or shared bed free for sleeping.
The fit
| Part | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Shape | A wedge that slopes from a tall edge to a thin one. Published heights are 4.5 inches on one maker's page and 4 inches on another. |
| Length | About 12 to 15 inches on the longest edge: 13.25 x 15 inches on one page and 12 inches on the straight edge by 10 deep on another. Height does not change this. |
| Fill | Foam, listed as CertiPUR-US PU foam and memory foam on one page, or organic shredded latex on another. |
| Cover and washing | A removable cover that goes in the machine. One maker says to machine wash and air dry the cover, and that the insert may be spot cleaned with a damp cloth only (source). |
| Where it goes in the bed | Under the belly or behind the back, for lying on one side (ACOG). A U shape listed at 30 inches wide (source) is half of a 60 inch queen (size guide). |
Lengths and fills come from published maker dimensions and the sources cited on this site; this site measured nothing and gives no medical advice.
Reading your answers back
Your bed was the deciding answer. A Twin mattress is 38 inches wide and a Full, also known as a double, is 54 inches wide, according to one mattress seller's size guide. A U shape listed at 30 inches wide (source) would take most of one sleeper's half of either bed. A small wedge fits beside a sleeper on either bed without pushing anyone out.
Pregnancy support usually means holding the belly and the back at once, which is what the curved shapes are for. ACOG says that sleeping on your side during your second and third trimesters may be best, and that it may help to place a pillow between your knees and another under your belly. A wedge covers the belly half, and a pillow already on the bed can do the knees.
Height counted for less here than it would for a long pillow. A wedge only has to fill the gap between the mattress and your bump, so its size does not grow with the sleeper's height.
If you mostly lie on your back, ACOG notes that in the second and third trimesters, lying on your back may compress a major blood vessel that takes blood to your uterus. A wedge behind the back gives something to lean against while lying on one side. A midwife or doctor can say what applies in each pregnancy.
If your situation changes
Turning from side to side through the night is the main reason to look past a wedge. Each time you turn, you move it. If that broken sleep costs more than the lost space, a U shape supports both sides without being moved. How does a U-shaped body pillow differ from a long straight one? compares the two. A roomy queen weakens the case too.
Feel is the second thing that shifts the answer. One maker's wedge has a two-sided design with a soft face and a firm face, so you flip it rather than choose once. Solid foam holds its shape, while shredded latex is the closer match for a soft, mouldable feel.
Washing the whole pillow is the one need a wedge does not meet. One maker says its latex insert should only be spot cleaned with a damp cloth. Plan on washing only the cover.
Trying the fit in your own bed
Measure the space you sleep in, not the mattress. Leave room for a knee pillow. Then lie on your side and set the wedge's tall edge under your bump. Check that it lifts the bump a little without tilting your hips back or forward. How do you use a pregnancy pillow? shows other placements. What does a pregnancy wedge hold up, compared with a U or C shape? covers when readers move up to a larger shape.
Other body pillow guides
- What does a pregnancy wedge hold up, compared with a U or C shape?
- How do you use a pregnancy pillow?
- When is the right time to start using a pregnancy pillow?
Back to which shape and length
Sources
Gathered here, the outside pages this body pillow guide quotes, each beside the part of the guide that needed it.
- one maker's page (hiccapop.com), needed in “The fit”.
- another (theorganicmattress.com), needed in “The fit”.
- ACOG (acog.org), needed in “The fit”; “Reading your answers back”.
- source (regalo-baby.com), needed in “The fit”; “Reading your answers back”.
- size guide (turmerry.com), needed in “The fit”; “Reading your answers back”.