According to HealthDay, women who sleep on their back in later months of pregnancy may have a higher risk of a stillbirth.
It is, however, plausible that back-sleeping could contribute, Saade said. Lying on the back can exacerbate sleep apnea, where breathing repeatedly stops and starts throughout the night, and if a fetus is already vulnerable, that reduced oxygen flow could conceivably boost the odds of stillbirth, he explained.
