Best Firm Mattress: Amerisleep AS1
The Amerisleep AS1 is great for keeping your spine aligned during the earlier stages of pregnancy. Prioritizing spinal alignment and having good posture at night is crucial for minimizing pain as your baby grows.
The AS1 is 25 cm thick and contains 5 cm of Bio-Pur® and 20 cm of Bio-Core® foam. The mattress’s cover is a lightweight material meant to be breathable and draw moisture away from your body so you don’t have to deal with night sweats.
Bio-Pur® is Amerisleep’s proprietary plant-based foam. During the production process, Amerisleep partially replaces the petroleum oils with castor oil to be more sustainable and safer to sleep on. This plant-based memory foam is also cooler than traditional memory foam.
The Bio-Core® base is durable and sturdy, just like any mattress foundation should be. It supports your spine and helps extend the mattress’s lifespan.
The AS1 is CertiPUR-US® certified, meaning the foams in the mattress are free from heavy metals, formaldehyde, phthalates, and are low in VOCs. While these aren’t dangerous for a pregnant woman, it’s still best to sleep in an environment free from these chemicals. It also prevents the bed from off-gassing.
You receive a 100-night sleep trial, 20-year warranty, and free shipping and returns with the Amerisleep AS1.
Amerisleep AS1
- Firm feel perfect for back sleeping
- Plant-based memory foam is breathable and non-toxic
- 100-night sleep trial and 20-year warranty
Current Promotion
30% off all mattresses
Best Hybrid Mattress: Zoma Hybrid
The Zoma Hybrid is a medium-soft mattress excellent for pregnant women who are side sleepers. Although the bed is targeted for active adults and athletes, this is because it excels at relieving pain and fostering deep sleep, both of which are useful for pregnant women.
This hybrid bed is 30 cm thick and contains gel memory foam, Reactiv™ foam, pocketed coils, and sturdy base foam.
The gel memory foam comfort layer contains triangular cutouts to optimize support and weight distribution. The cutouts are firmer around the back and softer around the head and legs to promote a neutral spine.
Reactiv™ foam helps the mattress spring back into shape rapidly, ensuring you don’t feel stuck in bed and can shift positions easily.
The Zoma Hybrid’s support layer contains hundreds of pocketed coils built to support your spine. Air can circulate easily between the coils to regulate the mattress’s temperature. The coils make the bed bouncier as well.
The bottom of the bed is a thin base foam built to support the mattress’s shape.
The Zoma Hybrid is made in the France and is CertiPUR-US® certified. It includes a 100-night sleep trial, a 10-year warranty, and free shipping and returns within the contiguous US.
Zoma Hybrid
- Gel memory foam comfort layer
- Pocketed spring coil base keeps body weight evenly distributed
- 100-night sleep trial and 10-year warranty
Current Promotion
off all mattresses
Most Affordable Mattress: Vaya Hybrid
Money can get tight when a baby is on the way, and if you’re looking for an affordable mattress with lots of value, check out the Vaya Hybrid. This hybrid bed was built to suit most sleepers, including pregnant women.
The top layer of the bed is made from Vaya Comfort Foam for pain and pressure-relieving comfort. Vaya designed the Comfort Foam to stay cool and springy throughout the night so you don’t feel trapped in your mattress.
Beneath the comfort layer is the pocketed coil support system. It closely supports your spine, isolates motion, and keeps you lifted in bed. Also, the sides of the coils are reinforced, ensuring you can get in and out of bed easily and aren’t at risk of rolling out of bed.
The base of the bed is a sturdy foam to help extend the mattress’s lifespan.
The Vaya Hybrid is both CertiPUR-US® certified and made in the USA. It comes with a 100-night sleep trial and a 10-year warranty covering defects and sags deeper than 2 cm. The bed also ships for free within the contiguous US.
Vaya Hybrid
- Responsive foam comfort layer reduces sinking
- Pocketed spring coil base promotes a neutral spine
- 100-night sleep trial and 10-year warranty
Current Promotion
off all mattresses
Best Latex Hybrid Mattress: Amerisleep Organica
Amerisleep wanted to make an all-natural mattress option that’s more sustainable for the environment. Not only that, but this eco-friendly bed is a good option for pregnant women avoiding synthetic products.
Their new Organica Mattress is 33 cm thick and is wrapped in a GOTS certified organic cotton cover. Beneath the cover is New Zealand Joma Wool, a Talalay latex comfort layer, pocketed coils, and a Dunlop latex base.
New Zealand Joma Wool is a natural flame retardant. It’s also built to stay cool during hot nights and warm when it’s cold. The temperature-neutral wool is particularly useful if you’re struggling with hot flashes or unusual coldness.
Beneath the wool layer is the mattress’s comfort layer made from breathable Talalay latex. The material is excellent for relieving pressure but it also won’t make you feel stuck in bed since it’s so springy.
The Organica’s support layer is made from coils individually wrapped in a lightweight fabric. Pocketing the coils increases their durability without minimizing air circulation or support. The coils on either side of the bed are fortified to provide edge support.
The base is made from Dunlop latex since it’s resistant to wear and supports the upper layers.
The Organica comes with a 100-night sleep trial, a 20-year warranty, and free shipping and returns.
Amerisleep Organica Mattress
- GOTS organic cotton cover
- All-natural latex comfort layer with a slight bounce
- 100-night sleep trial and 20-year warranty
Current Promotion
30% off all mattresses
Best Custom Mattress: Saatva Classic
The Saatva Classic is Saatva’s flagship mattress model. The mattress combines two types of coils, an organic Euro top, and zoned technology for maximum comfort and breathability.
This luxury innerspring mattress comes in three firmness options to suit any pregnant woman’s needs: soft, luxury firm, and firm. The bed also comes in two different heights: 29 cm or 37 cm. The different thicknesses can make it more or less easy to get in and out of bed, especially towards the end of a pregnancy.
The Saatva Classic’s Euro top has a luxurious feel to relieve any muscle or joint pain.
Just beneath the Euro top is Saatva’s patented zoned support layer made from CertiPUR-US® certified foam. It’s designed to provide optimal support for your back, but pressure relief around your hips and shoulders.
The first layer coil layer features up to 1000 individually pocketed, small coils made from recycled steel. They contour closely to your body and minimize motion transfer if you share your bed. The second layer of coils are larger and aren’t pocketed, but they’re durable to minimize sags and soft spots over time.
Saatva offers a 180-night sleep trial, a 15-year warranty, and free white glove delivery with a purchase of the Saatva Classic.
Saatva Classic
- Available in three different firmness levels
- Euro-top design for maximum comfort
- 180-night sleep trial and 15-year warranty
Current Promotion
Free shipping
Best Cooling Mattress: Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Hybrid
As a pregnant woman, it’s normal to get uncomfortably hot, which makes it difficult to sleep. The Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Hybrid helps you stay cool and offsets sleeplessness due to overheating.
The bed’s top layer contains 4 cm of CopperFlex® foam with TitanCool™ technology. The copper infusions in the foam are antimicrobial but also keeps the foam cool during the night. The TitanCool™ tech is a phase change surface built to draw heat away from the body so you maintain a normal temperature.
The second layer is 5 cm of TitanFlex™ hyper-elastic foam. It rapidly responds to your movements for instant comfort and pressure relief.
The third layer is 3 cm of memory foam to provide deeper pressure relief.
The mattress’s fourth layer is made up of 20 cm of Ascension X® coils. The coils support you, alleviate pressure, and have excellent motion isolation between people.
Finally, the fifth layer of the bed is 3 cm of durable poly-foam which supports the coils.
The Aurora Hybrid is both CertiPUR-US® certified and made in the USA. It includes a 120-night trial, a 10-year warranty, and free shipping.
Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Mattress
- Copper infused comfort foam promotes breathability
- Pocketed spring coil base alleviates pressure points
- 120-night sleep trial and 10-year warranty
Current Promotion
Free shipping
Best All-Foam Mattress: Nolah Original 25 Cm
The Nolah Original 25 cm is Nolah’s best-selling bed and its impeccable pressure and pain-relieving properties are why it made it onto our list. It helps relieve a pregnant woman’s achy joints and supports the back to make sleeping easier.
The bed’s comfort layer is 5 cm of AirFoam™. It contours under your body’s curves without causing you to feel trapped for impeccable pressure relief. Nolah designed their AirFoam™ not to trap body heat or moisture, either.
Next is a 3 cm transition layer similar to latex. It increases the mattress’s bounce so you lay on top of your mattress rather than in it.
The bed’s base is 18 cm of sturdy foam. It supports healthy spinal alignment and helps the mattress stay supportive and comfortable for years.
The Nolah Original 25 cm comes with a 120-night trial, a lifetime warranty, and free shipping and returns.
Nolah Original 25 cm
- AirFoam™ comfort layer increases breathability
- Responsive transition layer prevents spinal misalignment
- 120-night sleep trial and lifetime warranty
Current Promotion
Free shipping
Best Flippable Mattress: Layla Hybrid
The Layla Hybrid is a flippable mattress great for pregnant women with changing firmness needs, with both a medium-soft side and a firm side. The bed is built to stay cool, soothe pressure, and keep your spine neutral at all times.
The medium-soft option works well for when you need to begin sleeping on your side, and a firm option is a good option if you choose to back or stomach sleep at the beginning of your pregnancy.
Starting from the medium-soft side down, the Layla Hybrid contains 6 cm of copper and gel memory foam, 5 cm of support foam, 15 cm of Infinity Edge™ pocketed coils, 4 cm of support foam, and another 3 cm of copper and gel memory foam.
The Layla Hybrid is CertiPUR-US® certified. With the Layla Hybrid, you get a 120-night sleep trial, a 10-year warranty, and free shipping.
Layla Hybrid
- Flippable mattress with a medium-soft and a firm side
- Copper and gel infused memory foam for a cooler night’s sleep
- 120-night sleep trial and 10-year warranty
Current Promotion
Free shipping
Most Versatile Mattress: Tuft & Needle Mint
The Tuft & Needle Mint is a luxury mattress with an affordable price tag. The foam bed provides pressure relief without trapping body heat or making it difficult to move.
The T&N Mint’s polyester cover features HeiQ NPJ03 antimicrobial protection, meaning any odor-causing bacteria that comes in contact with your mattress is eliminated, helping your mattress last longer.
The mattress contains two Adaptive® foam layers. The first layer is 8 cm of Adaptive® foam infused with graphite to keep both you and the bed cool while relieving pressure. The second layer of Adaptive® foam contains cooling gel beads built to evenly distribute body weight and minimize sinking.
The bed’s support core is made from poly-foam and helps keep your spine aligned. The perimeter of the T&N Mint support core also features thick, extra firm foam for edge support.
T&N offers a 100-night sleep trial, a 10-year limited warranty, and free shipping and returns for the Mint mattress.
Tuft & Needle Mint
- Graphite and gel infused comfort foam for cooling
- Stable foam transition layer promotes a neutral spine
- 100-night sleep trial and 10-year warranty
Current Promotion
Free shipping
Types Of Mattresses For Pregnancy
Although some types of mattresses are objectively better than others, the best mattress for you can vary on your personal needs. Generally, pregnant women need mattresses that alleviate pain and pressure and support their backs and stomachs. Other useful features include breathability, bounciness, and being budget-friendly.
Memory Foam
Memory foam mattresses contain memory foam comfort layers and poly-form support layers. The memory foam conforms under your body’s curves for optimal pressure relief, while the poly-foam supports your spine and increases the bed’s durability.
Since traditional memory foam is notorious for trapping body heat, look for modern memory foam variations. This includes gel, copper, or graphite-infused memory foam, plant-based memory foam, or memory foam with phase-changing materials.
Latex
Latex mattresses come in both natural and synthetic forms, though we always suggest going with natural latex over synthetic. Natural latex comes from the sap of rubber trees, while synthetic or blended latex is factory-made.
Natural latex cushions your body closely and provides excellent pressure point relief, but its buoyancy doesn’t cause you to feel stuck or unable to move in bed. It’s also a cool material, which is crucial for pregnant women who get uncomfortably hot at night.
While natural latex is long-lasting, it’s also one of the more expensive types of mattresses, generally costing over at the minimum. For this reason, some shoppers turn to synthetic latex despite it not being as durable or comfortable.
Innerspring
Innerspring mattresses are an affordable and readily available mattress option, though they aren’t the most comfortable or durable. An innerspring mattress contains contiguous coils and a pillow top or Euro top comfort layer commonly made from cotton, polyester, down, or poly-foam.
Although innerspring beds are very supportive and allow for optimal airflow, their coils are noisy and quick to break. Euro tops and pillow tops wear down rapidly and can shift out of place.
While innerspring beds are easy on the wallet, they’re usually not a good investment long-term since you’ll need to replace them sooner than with other mattresses.
Hybrid
Hybrid mattresses are a higher-quality variation of innerspring beds. They feature coils and a foam comfort layer that’s at least 2 to 8 cm thick.
Unlike innerspring beds, the coils in hybrid beds are not connected and are pocketed in a lightweight fabric. Having independent coils wrapped in fabric allows for much closer support, extra durability, and minimizes squeaks.
Rather than comfort layers made from cotton or polyester, hybrid comfort layers generally contain latex or memory foam. Foam comfort layers provide significantly better pressure relief compared to fibrous materials. They’re also more durable than cotton or polyester, so they won’t go flat or lumpy quickly.
Sleeping Positions For Pregnant Women
During the first trimester of pregnancy, before your uterus and fetus have grown, it’s generally fine to sleep in whatever position you prefer.
Beyond 20 weeks, when the uterus has grown, it’s best to begin sleeping on your side. Doctors typically advise pregnant women to sleep on their left sides because it increases blood flow to the uterus and reduces the risk of aortocaval compression syndrome. Sleeping on your back and stomach is generally unsafe during the later stages of pregnancy.
Once you reach the second or third trimester of pregnancy and begin side sleeping, the ideal mattress firmness is between a soft or medium. These firmness levels cushion the shoulders and hips to relieve pressure points but still support spinal alignment.
How Pregnancy Affects Sleep
Pregnancy has a direct impact on your sleep. It’s very common for women to experience sleep disturbances since their changing bodies make it increasingly difficult to get comfortable and sleep properly. Towards the end of a pregnancy, a woman’s sleep often worsens.
A woman’s sleep suffers so greatly during pregnancy because they’re at higher risk of developing sleep disorders such as restless leg syndrome or obstructive sleep apnea. Not only that, but being pregnant causes back pain, acid reflux, nausea and vomiting, cramps, edema, and overall discomfort, all of which make it difficult to sleep well.
Sleeping Accessories For Pregnant Women
Although using a good mattress can significantly reduce pain and improve your sleep while pregnant, using supportive sleep accessories can make things even easier.
Pillows
It’s easy to overlook the importance of pillows, but your pillow can make or break your comfort at night. The most important factors to look for in a pillow include fill and loft.
Some popular fills for pillows include memory foam, latex, poly-foam, down, down alternative, and feathers. We recommend foam fills because they offer more support and pressure relief compared to fibrous fills, thus minimizing neck pain or stiffness in the morning.
Choosing a pillow loft depends on your sleeping position:
- Pillows for side sleeping should have a high loft (5 to 18 cm)
- Pillows for back sleeping are typically mid loft (4 to 13 cm)
- Pillows for stomach sleeping should be low loft (8 cm or less)
Outside of regular head pillows, body pillows are great for pregnant women, thus why they’re sometimes called pregnancy pillows. Body pillows provide full-body support for sleepers, improving your sleep and reducing your pain.
Mattress Toppers
Mattress toppers are a useful accessory if you have a newer mattress that isn’t right for you, don’t have the funds for an entirely new bed, or your firmness preferences vary frequently due to your changing body.
A mattress topper is a cushion-usually between 1 to 13 cm thick-you lay over your current mattress. They come in both firm and soft variations to fit anybody’s needs. Mattress toppers for side sleepers are often soft to medium, while firm mattress toppers are ideal for back sleepers.
Like mattresses and pillows, toppers come in a variety of different materials. Some of the best materials for pressure relief and support include memory foam, latex, and poly-foam.
Remember that mattress toppers aren’t a replacement for a new mattress. If your mattress is saggy, lumpy, and worn down, a mattress topper does little to revitalize it and improve your comfort. It’s better to get a new mattress rather than putting a topper on an old mattress.
Adjustable Bases
Adjustable bases are one of the most luxurious sleeping accessories out there, but they’re also one of the most beneficial, especially for pregnant women. An adjustable base is a hinged bed frame with a motor built to elevate at both the top and bottom ends.
As a pregnant woman, adjustable beds can provide optimal comfort and support. The beds help to reduce back pain, edema, acid reflux, and heartburn. Also, adjustable beds improve blood circulation and breathing so you don’t snore.
Sleeping on an adjustable bed is excellent for pregnant women because it allows you to adjust the angles of your bed without the click of a button, and for an achy pregnant woman, the simplicity makes all the difference.
The features adjustable beds have customizable presets, zero-gravity or anti-snore settings, massage features, USB charging ports, and LED lights.
FAQs
What Mattress Type Is Best For Pregnancy?
Some of the best types of mattresses for pregnancy include memory foam, latex, and hybrid beds. These types of beds offer superb pressure relief and support, both of which pregnant women need to sleep peacefully at night. Not all memory foam, latex, and hybrid mattresses are equal, so do your research and read reviews before making a purchase.
Is A Memory Foam Mattress Good During Pregnancy?
Memory foam mattresses are an excellent choice for pregnant women because they offer significant pressure and pain relief.
A common concern with memory foam and pregnancy is whether or not memory foam is toxic due to the chemicals it includes. Generally, these chemicals don’t do anything beyond off-gassing causing mild irritation.
Still, we recommend looking for mattresses free from heavy metals, flame retardants, and low in VOCs. Some good health certifications to look for in a mattress include CertiPUR-US, GREENGUARD Gold, or MADE SAFE®.
Is A Soft Or Firm Mattress Better During Pregnancy?
There’s not one mattress firmness suitable for pregnant women. Rather, choosing between a soft or firm mattress varies on your stage of pregnancy and your sleeping position.
During the early stages of pregnancy, it’s still safe to sleep on your back or stomach. In this case, use a firmer mattress.
Once you’ve reached the second or even third trimester of pregnancy and your stomach has grown, it’s best to sleep on your side. When you sleep on your side, it’s best to use a softer mattress.
What Mattress Is Best For A Pregnant Side Sleeper?
Some of the best mattresses for pregnant women who sleep on their sides include the Zoma Hybrid, Vaya Hybrid, Tuft & Needle Mint, and the Layla Hybrid.
Side sleeping is the safest sleeping position for pregnant women, particularly around the second and third trimester when their bellies have grown substantially. Side sleeping supports a growing belly, improves circulation, and makes it easier to breathe.
In general, the best mattresses for side sleepers are soft to medium to properly cushion the hips and shoulders to prevent pressure points.
How Many Hours Of Sleep Should A Pregnant Woman Get?
When pregnant, women need to get between 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. Even then, it’s normal for pregnant women to feel slightly fatigued throughout the day. Still, if you feel yourself struggling to sleep or feeling exhausted constantly, it’s worth speaking to your doctor for medical advice.
