Many women experience difficulty sleeping during their pregnancy, especially during the last few months. South African lifestyle blogger, Chantal Philander, quickly discovered the best way around this: The “SOS” (Sleep on Side) pregnancy sleep position.

In her latest blog post, Sleeping while Pregnant, Chantel explains that sleep became more challenging for her during the second trimester of her pregnancy. Although she’s usually a back sleeper, Chantel soon realised the SOS pregnancy sleep position was the safest position for her and her baby. Read her blog post to find out more about the SOS pregnancy sleep position and how to get comfortable in the last stages of pregnancy.

If you’re losing shut-eye during your pregnancy, and you think your mattress might be to blame, ask yourself these questions:

• Is my mattress more than 10 years old?
• Does my mattress have lumps and/or springs sticking out of it?
• Does my mattress feel like it’s sagging along the edges?
• Do I roll towards the middle (and my partner) during the night, because of the “v-shaped” mattress?
• Do I wake up with aches, pains, stiffness or numbness?

If you’ve answered yes to two of the questions above, your lack of sleep might have nothing to do with your pregnancy sleep position and it could be time to invest in a new mattress. You’ll want to get as much sleep as you can before your baby arrives!

If you’re heading in-store to buy a mattress, read this first:

We suggest lying on a bed in-store before buying it. However, before you begin your shopping trip, there are a few things to think about – buying a new mattress is not only about price alone. Use our handy Store Locater to find your nearest Sealy mattress stockist. The sales people at these locations know all about Sealy mattresses and will be able to explain the product differences.

Try out different beds and take notes on how you feel on each bed. Once you find the comfort level and support you like, be sure to discuss the following with the salesperson:

• The return policy
• The mattress warranty (A Sealy warranty is backed by our commitment to continually improve our products and services through the application of a quality management system, as guidelined by the ISO (International Standards Organisation) quality management principles.

Visit different retailers to find the best fit for your comfort requirements and your budgets. Don’t be afraid to negotiate – and remember to think of your purchase as a valuable investment in yourself and your health.