Pregnancy is uncomfortable. This is a fact that cannot be overstated, and one that I realized very early on in my first trimester. As my belly began to grow, I found that sleep felt not just difficult, but nearly impossible. Despite the fact that I was endlessly exhausted, I was just so uncomfortable in bed: my back ached and I didn’t like sleeping on my side. Before my baby could get bigger and make things even more painful for me, I did my research and knew I needed to invest in a good pregnancy pillow. So, I went on Amazon, did a lot of searching, and finally settled on the PharMeDoc pregnancy pillow, which is quite possibly one of the best purchases I have made in my lifetime.
I’m confident in saying that the PharMeDoc pillow is the only reason I have gotten any sleep at all during my pregnancy. There have been two nights that I have slept without it since getting pregnant, and both nights were, to put it lightly, torture. The PharMeDoc is the only thing that keeps my back, hips, and belly supported while still actually feeling comfortable - or, at least, as comfortable as one can feel when they are carrying a tiny human inside of them.
When looking for a pregnancy pillow, you’ll be confronted with a few options: there are pillows that just support your belly, C-shaped body pillows that are mainly for your back, and U-shaped body pillows like the PharMeDoc. My prenatal yoga teacher recommended a U-shaped pillow for optimal support, and so that’s what I went with. Before buying it, I was simply propping pillows all around my body. These moved a lot and required constant adjustment, and just didn’t feel that supportive.
The PharMeDoc promises to support your back, hips, knees, neck, and head to “help ease discomfort associated with pregnancy, sciatica, fibromyalgia, gastric reflux, and more.” And it’s not just a gimmick: experts have said that body pillows are great during pregnancy. Dr. Iffath Hoskins, clinical associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NYU Langone Health, told Romper, “A good body pillow provides the support ... to maintain the muscles and bones in good position, thus minimizing discomfort.”
This is exactly what the PharMeDoc does: it minimizes discomfort and makes it possible to get to sleep. It has been really hard for me to adjust to sleeping on my side, but the way this pillow fits around my body makes it hard for me to do anything else. I can wrap my legs around one side so that my hips are more aligned, and my back is totally supported due to the other side of the pillow. I can also rest my belly on the pillow, which feels essential. It’s firm enough to keep me stable, but not so firm that it hurts -actually, any less firm and I don’t think it would be quite as effective.
Aside from the fact that the pillow generally keeps backaches and hip aches at bay, I particularly love the detachable extension, which you won’t find on every U-shaped body pillow. Basically, you can remove one side with a zipper and use it on its own, or just use the main body pillow. It’s super flexible so that you can make it work for you. I love it because I can lift up that side and get into bed easier, which makes me sound lazy, but trust me: getting into bed is hard once you’re pregnant.
Overall, I have to say that I would be a lot more grumpy and in a lot more pain if I didn’t invest in the PharMeDoc early on in my pregnancy. I have even toted it around to various hotels when I’ve traveled, despite the looks I get from bellhops. And I’d also recommend it to anyone who isn’t pregnant but is just suffering from back or hip pain, or something similar: this body pillow offers ideal support. At $40 (less than a lot of similar pillows), it’s a sound investment in your own sleep. In fact, I’m pretty sure I may need to keep using it even after this baby is born, so... apologies to my husband.