From Pregnancy to Postpartum: How to Get More Use From Your Pregnancy Pillow

You bought it because sleeping stopped working.

The belly grew. The hips got tender. Your ordinary pillows slid apart every time you rolled over.

Then the baby arrives, and a fair few mums look at this enormous thing taking up half the bed and wonder whether it goes in the cupboard now.

It doesn't have to. Not because it replaces anything made for babies, but because the thing it was doing all along, holding your body so you're not holding it yourself, is just as useful in the weeks after birth.

 

Pregnancy doesn't end with delivery

The changes don't stop when the baby comes out.

The early weeks involve a surprising amount of sitting still. Feeding, holding, resting, getting in and out of bed, sleeping in short stretches rather than long ones.

All of that puts you in positions you're holding for a long time with no support. Which is exactly the problem the pillow was solving before.

 

1. Use it for nursing support

Feeding means holding your baby steady for a long stretch, and it's your shoulders, upper back, and arms that take the load.

The Australian Breastfeeding Association suggests getting yourself supported before you get the baby latched, rather than the other way around. A body pillow wrapped around your waist gives your arms somewhere to rest so you're not carrying the weight with your shoulders for twenty minutes.

One rule about how you position it: the pillow supports you, not the baby. Keep a secure hold on your baby at all times and follow the feeding guidance from your midwife or child health nurse.

 

2. Use it as sitting support

You'll be sitting more than you expect.

Feeding, expressing, contact naps, or just being still for a bit. Couches and armchairs aren't built for long stretches, and neither is propping yourself on a stack of cushions that shift every time you move.

Tucked behind your lower back, or around your hips in a chair, a full-body pillow makes the same seat considerably more bearable.

 

3. Your pregnancy pillow can become a comfort station

Stop thinking of it as a maternity item and start thinking of it as a thing that moves around the house with you.

• In the feeding chair, it supports your arms and back
• In bed, it supports your body while you rest
• On the couch, it sits behind your back or along your side
• On the floor, it gives you something to lean against during supervised play

Same pillow, different job depending on where you've parked yourself.

 

4. Why shape matters after pregnancy

During pregnancy, most of the support goes to the belly. Afterwards, what you want changes: back, arms, sitting comfort.

A U-shape handles that reasonably well because it can be turned around and used from either end, either wrapped around you or folded behind you. It isn't adjustable in the sense of changing firmness, so it's worth trying a few arrangements early on to find the ones that work for you.

 

5. Fabric and temperature still matter

Sitting for long stretches with a baby against you gets warm, and postnatal night sweats are common in the early weeks.

A breathable cover helps, and it's worth knowing what yours is made of. Our cover uses a polyester and cotton blend in a 140cm by 80cm U-shape.

Fabric only does so much, though. A cooler room and lighter clothing matter more, and unusual sweating is worth mentioning to your midwife or GP.

 

6. Easy-care features matter more once the baby arrives

During pregnancy you have time to look after your things. Afterwards, you don't.

Between feeds, nappies and washing, a removable cover you can strip off and put through the machine stops being a nice detail and starts being the reason you keep using something. Ours unzips and comes off.

 

7. Don't use a pregnancy pillow as an infant sleep surface

This one matters more than everything above it combined.

A pillow that supports a parent is not a safe place for a baby to sleep. Red Nose Australia is clear on this: babies sleep safest on their back, on a firm, flat surface, with nothing soft in the sleep space.

So:

• Never use a pregnancy pillow in a cot or bassinet
• Never leave a baby resting on one, even briefly
• Never use it as a substitute for an approved sleep space
• If it's near your baby at all, it's for a supervised activity with you awake and present

Whatever you've read online about propping a baby on a pillow, this is the line. Follow the safe sleeping guidance from Red Nose and your child health nurse.

 

8. It's a comfort tool, not a recovery plan

The first weeks are not a race, and bodies differ enormously.

Some women feel like themselves quickly. Others have lingering discomfort through the back, hips or pelvis for months.

If something is persistent or worrying you, talk to your GP, midwife or a women's health physiotherapist. A pillow makes sitting more comfortable. It doesn't answer a question that needs a professional.

 

9. Why a multi-use pillow makes sense

The simple argument: you don't have to stop using it.

During pregnancy: belly support, hip and knee support, and something to hold while side sleeping.

After birth, feeding support, sitting support, and somewhere to rest against.

That's the difference between a thing you use for four months and a thing you use for two years.

 

How to set it up after birth

There's no single correct arrangement. Start with whatever you do most often.

For feeding: around your waist, so your arms rest while you hold your baby.

For sitting: behind your back, or along the side you lean on.

For resting: whatever lets you change position without rebuilding the whole setup.

Give each a couple of goes before deciding. What works in the first fortnight often isn't what works in the third month.

 

The pillow doesn't have to go in the cupboard

The best pregnancy pillow isn't the biggest or the most expensive one. It's the one still getting used after the baby arrives.

Belly support turns into arm support. Side sleeping turns into sitting comfortably through a feed. Same pillow, different phase. The Pain Free Aussies Pregnancy Pillow ships free, with 30 days to send it back if the shape doesn't suit you.

 

This information is general in nature and is not medical advice. Never use a pregnancy pillow as a sleep surface for a baby. Follow safe sleeping guidance from Red Nose and your child health nurse, and speak with your GP or midwife about any ongoing discomfort.