Getting In and Out of Bed With a Pregnancy Pillow

Relvay makes a pregnancy pillow. We also tell you below when you should not buy one.

The short answer

Keep one edge of the bed open on the side you get out from. Put the bulky part of the pillow behind you or on the wall side, never across your way out, and give the knee pillow a set spot to land.

• Wall side? Swap sides or face the room.
• Up three times or more? Use smaller pieces.
• What matters: nothing sits between you and the floor.

3:12 a.m., climbing over the wall

Most pregnant side sleepers get up to pee several times a night, and every pillow between you and the edge of the bed turns that into a small climb. This is what it feels like.

3:12 a.m.

Our bed is pushed into the corner of a one-bedroom apartment, and I sleep on the wall side because Luis leaves for work at five. At 33 weeks I was getting up three or four times a night.

I had a big U pillow by then. It was lovely for about ten minutes. Then I needed to pee, and to get out I had to sit up inside the U, lift my leg over its arm, then crawl over Luis without kneeling on him. Every time. In the dark.

By the second trip he would mumble “you okay?” and I would say “fine,” and then I would lie back down and try to rebuild the whole thing by feel. Some nights I just stayed in the bathroom a minute longer than I needed to, because going back to bed was work.

• If you finally get comfortable and then realize you need to pee...
• If your way out of bed goes over a pillow, a partner, or both...
• If you come back to bed and spend ten minutes putting everything back...
• If you have started to dread lying down because getting up is coming...

You are not clumsy. The pillow is sitting across your way out.

“Got into the right position, with all the pillows in place.... and now I gotta pee.”YouTube comment

“Then you have to try to escape the legion of pillows and quilts you’ve assembled around yourself every time you have to wake up to pee.”YouTube comment

“getting out of bed over 10x at night has been a struggle”YouTube comment

What most of us try first

Most people try swapping sides, moving the pillow, or taking it off the bed each time. Each one fixes the exit and costs something else.

1. Swapping sides with a partner.Bianca took the outside, Luis took the wall. But his alarm went at five, and climbing over her bump was worse for both of them.Clear exit, but now someone else is trapped.
2. Sliding the U down the bed.She pushed it lower so its arm sat below her feet instead of beside her. It held for one night. By morning it had crept back up and her head was half off the top.The exit opened, the support moved.
3. Throwing the pillow on the floor before each trip.Quick to get out. But at 3 a.m. she was dragging a pillow longer than she is tall back onto the bed, then getting back in around it.Out was easy. Back in was the problem.
4. No pillow on the open side at all.The way out was finally clear. Her top knee dropped, and she woke with her hip aching and her back twisted.Free exit, lost the support she needed.

Why is getting out of bed with a pregnancy pillow so hard?

Because most full-body pillows close the edge you get out from. To leave the bed you first roll toward that edge, and that is exactly where the pillow sits.

The edgeA U closes both edges. A C or long pillow closes one. Whatever is on your exit side has to be climbed or moved.

The rollWith a bump, getting up usually starts with turning onto your side toward the edge. A pillow there blocks the turn before you even sit up.

The way backEvery piece you move to get out has to go back in the dark, by feel, while you are half asleep.

A bigger pillow makes each of these harder, because there is simply more of it on every side.

Getting out of bed is not a strength problem. It is a layout problem: the side you leave from has to stay open.

Once Bianca saw it that way, she changed one thing about where the support sat, and the 3 a.m. climb disappeared. The free layouts come first, then what worked for her.

Why do you get up so often at night when pregnant?

Needing the bathroom a lot is one of the ordinary reasons pregnancy sleep breaks up. The NHS lists it alongside lying down feeling uncomfortable, and from later pregnancy you are also advised to go to sleep on your side.

So the exit route gets used far more than before you were pregnant, often several times a night, and always while you are sleepy. A layout that is fine once a night can be miserable four times a night. That is why it is worth planning the way out, not only the way you lie.

How do you set up the bed so the way out stays clear?

Decide which edge you leave from, then keep that edge free of anything bulky. Find your bed below and use the layout next to it.

Your situation	Exit edge	Where the bulky support goes	Knee pillow
Bed against a wall, you on the wall side	Over your partner, or the foot of the bed	Against the wall, behind your back	Small, so it can stay put or drop at the wall
Bed against a wall, you on the open side	Your own side	Behind you, toward the middle of the bed	Lift it onto the bed as you sit up
Both sides open	Your own side	Behind you; face the edge you get out from	Same
Up three or more times a night	Your own side	Smaller pieces only, nothing that crosses the edge	A loose pillow you can find by feel
Partner gets up first	Each person uses their own edge	Keep support on your half	Same

Then set it up like this:

1. Face your exit edge when you settle in, so getting up starts with a short roll forward, not a turn across the bed.
2. Put the big piece behind you, where your back leans into it. A pillow behind you never blocks the way out.
3. Keep the bump support small, so it sits under you rather than out toward the edge.
4. Give the knee pillow a home: a set spot near your pillow where you can grab it by feel when you get back in.
5. Clear the floor on your exit side: no shoes, no bags, a night light if you need one.

If getting up is painful, or you feel dizzy or unsteady, mention it to your midwife or OB-GYN. A pelvic health physical therapist can show you a way of getting up that suits your body. This guide only covers where the pillows go.

When is it time to change the pillow, not just the layout?

When every layout you try still puts pillow on your exit edge, the pillow itself is the problem. Tick the ones that sound like your nights:

• I climb over part of the pillow to get out.
• I take the pillow off the bed before I can get up.
• Getting back in means rebuilding everything by feel.
• My partner or the wall is on my only way out.
• I get up three or more times a night.
• I have started holding off on getting up to pee because it is such a hassle.

Two or more? Your layout has done what it can. A smaller pillow that stays behind and under you, not around you, is likely worth looking at.

Which type of pregnancy pillow leaves the way out open?

Pillows that support you from behind and underneath leave your exit edge open. Pillows that wrap around you close it. Here is how the main types compare at 3 a.m.

	U pillow	C pillow	Long straight pillow	Single wedge	Two wedges strapped together
Exit edge	Closed	Open if it faces away	Often across your knees	Open	Open
To get out	Climb over an arm	Roll out the open side	Lift it off your legs	Roll out	Roll out
Back into bed	Climb back inside	Settle into the curve	Find and reposition it	Find and reposition it	Nothing was moved to get out
Bump and back support	Yes	One or the other	Front only	One or the other	Both

“how easy it is to get out of bed. Since it’s one sided I can easy roll out of bed.”Amazon review of a pregnancy pillow

What changed when the exit stayed open?

With the support behind and under her, Bianca could roll toward the edge and stand up without moving anything.

She swapped the U for two small wedges joined by a strap: one under her bump, one behind her lower back, a regular pillow between her knees. She still slept on the wall side, but now she faced Luis, and the wall held the back wedge.

The first night she got up three times. Each time she slid out by the foot of the bed, and each time she came back to a bed that was still set up. On Saturday Luis said he had not woken up once that week. She laughed and told him she had not climbed over him once either.

Frequently asked questions

How do you get out of bed with a pregnancy pillow?

Set the bed up so the edge you leave from is free of pillow. Keep the big support behind you, face your exit edge when you settle in, and give your knee pillow a set spot so you can find it when you get back in.

Which side of the bed should I sleep on when pregnant?

The side that gives you a clear way out. If your bed is against a wall, the outer side is usually easier, unless your partner gets up much earlier than you. The NHS says either side is fine to sleep on.

Is a U-shaped pillow hard to get out of?

It can be, because it closes both edges of your half of the bed. You sit up inside it and climb over one arm. Some people slide it down or move it off the bed each time.

What if my bed is against the wall?

Put the bulky support on the wall side behind you, face the room, and keep anything that crosses the edge off the bed. If you are on the wall side, getting out by the foot of the bed may be easier than climbing over your partner.

Where should I put the pillow when I get up at night?

Ideally nowhere, because a good layout lets you get up without moving it. If you must move something, keep it to the small knee pillow and give it one set spot by your head pillow.

Where the Relvay 3-Piece pillow fits in

The Relvay 3-Piece is the two-wedge set Bianca switched to. It sits behind and under you rather than around you, so the edge you get out from stays open.

1. The bump wedgeA crescent-shaped wedge that tucks under your bump, thin edge toward your belly button, so the weight is not pulling on your back.

2. The back wedgeThe same shape, snug against your lower back so it has something to rest against.

3. The strap and small cushionA flat strap runs under you and joins the two wedges, so they stay together instead of drifting apart. A small oval cushion sits on the strap between them. You can set the distance as the bump grows.

Each wedge is about 17 by 13 inches and about 4 inches thick at its outer edge, tapering thinner toward your body (supplier measurement). Opened out, the set is roughly as wide as your torso, so it stays on your half of the bed and you keep your normal head pillow. Soft ribbed pink fabric on top, white sides. It is small enough to pack for a trip.

What it does not do: it does not go between your knees. Keep a regular pillow there, the way the NHS suggests. That combination covers all three points without a giant pillow.

See the 3-Piece set

Probably not for you if

• Your current pillow already leaves your way out clear.
• You want one pillow that also holds your head and knees.
• Getting up hurts, and you have not asked your midwife or doctor about it yet.

Made for you if

• You ticked two or more boxes above.
• Your bed is against a wall, or you get up several times a night.
• You want bump and back support that does not cross your exit edge.

Try it for 90 nights

Sleep on it through the weeks that matter. If it is not right for you, email us within 90 days of delivery and send it back for a refund. Return shipping is on you unless it arrived faulty.

$79.99

90-day money-back guarantee · Free US shipping over $70 · 3 pieces, one set

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Bianca's story is a composite based on real reviews and public posts from pregnant side sleepers. Names and details are changed.