6 Best Pregnancy Pillows So You Can Get Some Rest
Tossing and turning is extra tough when you've got a bump. A maternity pillow offers much-needed support.
Reviewed by Lexie SachsExecutive Director, Strategy & Operations
We've been independently researching and testing products for over 120 years. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more about our review process.
Sleep is tough when you're growing a baby, but a pregnancy pillow genuinely helps. It assists with you settling into the ideal sleep position for pregnancy as described by Mt. Sinai in New York City: Lying on your left side with knees bent, perhaps with a pillow under your belly or between your legs. If you're normally a back sleeper or a stomach sleeper, a pillow prop may be especially necessary to get in — and stay in — that side-lying position.
The Good Housekeeping Institute Nutrition Lab Director, Stefani Sassos, a mom of two little ones, said, "A pregnancy pillow can reduce strain and pain while also keeping the body aligned. It may alleviate other issues like heartburn too — at least it did for me." Some of the pillows we've reviewed are larger than others, and they come in various levels of firmness, but any of them should help you sleep a little easier.
Best Deal
Pros
- Full-body support
- Affordable price
- Comes in a cooling, synthetic fabric or cotton jersey fabric
Cons
- Takes up a lot of space on your bed
Pharmedoc's large U-shaped pregnancy pillow offers full-body coverage and supports all the achey parts including your knees, hips, back, neck, head and, of course, your bump. It comes with a removable, machine-washable cover available in more than 10 colors and styles. The one shown is a new cooling synthetic fabric but there is also a jersey cotton that feels soft, like a T-shirt. It's an affordable, under-$70 price.
The inside is made up of a synthetic poly-fill, which is common for pregnancy pillows. Even though it takes up a lot of space on the bed, this replaces the need for surrounding yourself with multiple pillows. It's also Amazon's Choice for maternity pillows with more than 81,000 five-star reviews.
Dimensions: 53" x 31" | Fill: Polyester
Pros
- Low price
- Compact and lightweight
- Firm, foam-filled wedge
Cons
- Doesn’t offer full body support
This bargain is great when you're traveling, tight on bed space or if you just need some help in one area of your body. It supports the weight of your bump or back (depending on whether you position it in front or behind) without taking up too much room and allows you to use your favorite regular pillow for your head.
If you're normally a side-sleeper, this little wedge might be all you need. The foam-filled wedge is firmer than most full-body pregnancy pillows but still has a removable, machine-washable cotton cover. It's lightweight, weighing less than a pound, so it's easy to take with you from the bed to the couch — or to wherever you need to go, since it can support your back when you're sitting in a chair too.
Dimensions: 14" x 12" | Fill: Polyurethane foam
Pros
- Customize the amount of fill to make it softer or firmer
- Testers say the memory foam is very comfortable
- Can adjust as your needs change during pregnancy
Cons
- Cover needs a little more care when washed
The Coop Home Goods' best-selling Original Pillow is our pick for the best pillow we've ever tried, and the brand's body pillow is one of our 10 best body pillows, so it's no surprise that we also recommend its C-shaped memory foam body pillow for pregnancy. The brand's signature is the adjustable fill, a blend of memory foam pieces and down-alternative fiber clusters that you can pull out or stuff in to customize the feel. Take some out to make this pillow more squishy, or purchase extra fill to make it more firm.
You can keep adjusting the firmness if your needs change as you move from your second trimester to your third. Tuck it between your legs, as pictured, to help relieve hip pain, back pain and sciatica. This is not big enough to be a full-body pillow so you'll want to use your regular pillow for your head. The cover can be washed in cold water on the gentle cycle.
Dimensions: 60" x 9" | Fill: Memory foam and microfiber
Pros
- Zip-off arm lets you change the configuration
- Soft organic cotton cover
- Testers said this is less bulky than other full-support pillows
Cons
- Unzipping a cover off a pillow this size takes some time
There's an arm that zips on and off so you can change the configuration of this pregnancy pillow so that it forms a U, J or C shape as needed to support your hips and back. Testers loved the softness of the organic cotton cover and said this was less bulky than other pregnancy pillows they tried. One did say that unzipping the whole thing in order to wash the cover was a little time-consuming.
"This allowed me to support my stomach, hips and back all at the same time. I was able to sleep with one arm under the side of the pillow I was facing, with one leg over, and have the back of the pillow tucked up to my back so I wouldn’t roll over. I went from waking an average of four times a night to sleeping through," a tester reported. Another said she still wanted to use her regular pillow so she just inverted the U so the opening was at her head.
Dimensions: 55" x 31" | Fill: Memory foam
Pros
- Large, long U-shaped pillow for bump and back support
- Back sleepers like this when they're not pregnant
Cons
- Priciest on our list
Like our best overall pick, the Leachco is a long, U-shaped pregnancy pillow to support you front and back as recommended by the Mayo Clinic to relieve pregnancy back pain. If you're prone to tossing and turning and flip over on this, you won't have to rearrange anything, your support will remain the same. Back sleepers may like this one when they're not pregnant because it can provide an extra cushiony nest. The Supreme has an all-cotton cover that's machine washable and it's the priciest pick on our list.
Leachco, a USA-made brand, also has a popular C-shaped pillow, called the Snoogle, that's been out for years. In some circles, the Snoogle is practically shorthand for "pregnancy pillow." It's a good one if you just need a pillow for front or back, but not both.
Dimensions: 55" x 33" | Fill: Polyester
Pros
- Cooling fabric for hot sleepers
- Foam beads can be molded to your needs
Cons
- Some online complaints about durability and leaked beads
Hot sleeper alert: A tester who passed through pregnancy and has her baby is still using this. "I have a $200 cooling pillow from a mattress brand and found that this pillow is much cooler. That's the main reason my son is 11 weeks old and I'm still sleeping with it," she told us.
It's filled with foam beads which helps you mold the pillow to the shape you want. You can twist it to make it L-shaped, as pictured, or leave it as a long I-shaped roll. Some Amazon reviewers said they don't feel the fabric is durable enough for nightly use over a long period of time, and a few have reported that their pillow leaked beads, which can be dangerous if ingested.
Dimensions: 54" x 9" | Fill: Polystyrene foam beads
How we test pregnancy pillows
The Good Housekeeping Institute evaluates body pillows for pregnancy in two places, the Textiles Lab and the Parenting and Toys Lab. We've tried out more than 20 of them in consumer homes and staff member homes, recruiting expectant moms as part of our annual Parenting Awards.
In the Textiles Lab, fiber scientists evaluate each pillow's care label, appearance after laundering and ability to maintain its shape after weights are applied. For the Parenting Lab, testers fill out a survey to give feedback on a pillow's comfort, support, temperature regulation and more.
We test trusted brands and, before we make our final picks, we check online reviews to be sure we have a broad sense of what thousands of users like and don't like about each pregnancy pillow.
What to look for when buying the best pregnancy pillow
When trying to decide what's the best pregnancy pillow for you, think about:
✔️ Shape: Pregnancy pillows are often described by what shape they make using letters: U-shaped, C-shaped, I-shaped, J-shaped — we've even seen G-shaped. The most popular for full-body support is the U-shape. The best for just resting between your legs for back and hip relief is the C-shape. Then there are also small wedges which just support your belly, your back or which can be tucked between your knees.
✔️ Size: The large pregnancy pillows will take up your half of the bed, no question, and if you sleep with a partner they are sure to, um, notice. But you have to do what you have to do during pregnancy! The C-shaped pillows or wedges are much less intrusive.
✔️ Fill: Polyester is the traditional stuffing for pregnancy pillows and it's what you'll find in longstanding brands like Leachco. Memory foam has grown more popular in recent years and has been popular with many of our testers who said that it doesn't get as mashed down over time and retains its shape. Beads that can be shifted around for comfort are a third kind of fill.
✔️ Outer fabric: All the pillows on our list have covers that can be zipped off for cleaning. Fabrics are synthetics or cottons and they might have organic cotton, jersey or sateen variations.
Do I need a pregnancy pillow?
According to the American Pregnancy Association, the best sleep position during pregnancy is side-lying. Per their site: "It places the least pressure on your veins and internal organs. Sleeping on your left side will increase the amount of blood and nutrients that reach the placenta and your baby. Plus good circulation helps reduce potential swelling, varicose veins in your legs and hemorrhoids."
Some expectant moms normally sleep on their side anyway and can ease right into that position, maybe with a C-shaped pregnancy pillow tucked between their legs to help align their hips and spine. However, if someone is used to sleeping on their back or stomach, a larger U-shaped pregnancy pillow can help hold them in the side-lying position.
The alternative is being surrounded by various smaller pillows, but building a pillow fort each night can get tiresome. While a pregnancy pillow is not a "must," it is a simple one-piece solution for anyone looking to find more comfortable sleep during pregnancy.
These pillows aren't for babies
Obligatory note of caution: Pregnancy pillows are not tested with a baby's safety in mind, and we don't recommend using any of these to prop your baby up or to use as a nursing pillow. For safe bottle feeding and breastfeeding see our list of the best nursing pillows.
Why trust Good Housekeeping?
For more than a century, the experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute have tested products for families to help them make sound choices. For people bringing a new baby home we have recommendations for the best convertible cribs and the best car seat stroller combos. In the adult sleep space, we have lists of the best mattresses as well as our Best Bedding Awards.
This list was written by Contributing Writer Jessica Hartshorn, a mom of two who has covered the baby-gear market for several decades, most recently for Parents magazine. She worked closely with data from the Textiles Lab as well as consumer feedback from the most recent Parenting Awards testing.
Lexie Sachs (she/her) is the executive director of strategy and operations at the Good Housekeeping Institute and a lead reviewer of products in the bedding, travel, lifestyle, home furnishings and apparel spaces. She has over 15 years of experience in the consumer products industry and a degree in fiber science from Cornell University. Lexie serves as an expert source both within Good Housekeeping and other media outlets, regularly appearing on national broadcast TV segments. Prior to joining GH in 2013, Lexie worked in merchandising and product development in the fashion and home industries.
Maternity & Postpartum Gear to Support New Moms
15 Cute Baby Shower Favors
One of Our Top-Tested Pregnancy Pillows Is 30% Off
The Best Wearable Breast Pumps
