A recent study carried out by researchers from the University of Auckland has established a link between risks of stillbirth and sleeping positing during pregnancy. Researchers have found that women who sleep on the left were at a lower risk of stillbirth as compared to those who sleep in other positions.

Figures have revealed that there were more than 4,000 stillbirths in 2009 and almost a third of these occurred late in the pregnancy term, after 37 weeks. Tomasina Stacey, a Midwifery Lecturer at University of Auckland, who led the study, said that stillbirth is bigger problem than most of the people realize. She further added that women must look after their sleeping positions and other habits carefully so that they can deliver a healthy child.

The researchers carried out a study on more than 450 women, including 155 who had a stillborn to evaluate the risk associated with sleeping positions during pregnancy. The results of the study have also revealed that the risk of stillbirth for those sleeping on the left side was 1.96 per 1,000 births whereas the risk was 3.93 per 1,000 births for any other position.