Pregnant women often feel faint. This happens when not enough blood is getting to the brain. If the oxygen level gets too low you may actually faint. It’s more common in pregnancy because of hormonal changes taking place in your body. You’re most likely to feel faint if you stand still for too long or get up too quickly from a chair or hot bath. It often happens when you are lying on your back.
Try to get up slowly after sitting or lying down.
If you feel faint when standing still, find a seat quickly and the faintness will pass. If it doesn’t, lie down on your side. Standing or sitting for a long time or getting up suddenly may cause blood to pool in your legs, particularly if you are unfit, have varicose veins, have consumed alcohol or taken drugs to lower blood pressure or when the temperature is hot.
If you feel faint while lying on your back, turn on to your side. For many women in mid- to late pregnancy, lying flat on the back means the uterus presses on the arteries and veins at the back of the abdominal cavity and reduces the amount of blood flowing to the heart. You may find it more comfortable to lie on your side. It’s better not to lie flat on your back in later pregnancy or during labour.
You can prevent fainting by contracting and releasing the muscles in calves, thighs and buttocks for 2-3 seconds, continuing for 1-2 minutes. This pumps blood back to your heart and restores circulation to your brain. Exercise, yoga and massage help to improve circulation. A low level of sugar in your blood, also called hypoglycaemia, may cause faintness and low blood pressure. This is avoidable with a balanced diet. Eat every 3 hours with a balance of slow-burning carbohydrates with vitamins, minerals, roughage and plenty of fluid. Rarely, loss of blood from bleeding during pregnancy can reduce blood pressure. This is an emergency that requires urgent intravenous fluid replacement and, possibly, a blood transfusion.