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I Tried The Best Pregnancy Pillows For 1 Week Each – Here’s What Happened to My Body
I tried the best pregnancy pillows, and here's what I found.
Jenny Brown
05.03.23

I tried sleeping on the Best Pregnancy Pillows for a week each, and was stunned by the results.

Here’s the list of pregnancy pillows I tried (in alphabetical order):

I was excited to try these pillows because you hear and read so much about them online. Here’s a summary of my findings before I dive into the details below:

  • Belly Bandit SOS Side Sleeper Pillow – this pillow did help me stay on my side, but I didn’t love that I couldn’t roll around to my other side. The adjustable feature of the distance of the wedge and the back portion of the pillow was nice as well.
  • BodyNest Cooling Pregnancy Pillow – this was my 2nd favorite option – the pillow provides firm support, temperature control, and a skin soothing cover. It’s a bit on the bulky side, which can make sleeping next to a partner tough and the polyester fill doesn’t provide quite the same support as memory foam. However, it’s a solid option still.
  • Araluna Cloudsoft Adjustable Maternity Pillow (WINNER) – this was hands down, the best maternity pillow that I tested. The memory foam fill was supportive and comfortable, and I especially loved that it was adjustable. The cooling bamboo cover was also super gentle on my skin. This product is a winner!
  • Leacho Snoogle – this pillow overall was solid. It provided support everywhere except my neck. My only other gripe was that is slept pretty hot.
  • PharMeDoc – this is a budget friendly option, but the fill really goes flat quickly and it doesn’t provide much support at all. It also sleeps hot.
  • Yana 360 Body Pillow – Yana is a chic brand and I loved the color of the fabric. It’s on the pricier end of the pillows we tested. It’s supportive, but honestly a bit too steep in price for my liking. Their return policy is not easy and their customer support is lacking, so if you don’t like it, be prepared to keep it.

Araluna CloudSoft Adjustable Maternity Pillow

Have you ever fallen into a deep sleep in the time it took your partner to brush their teeth? The Araluna Adjustable Maternity Pillow (plus pregnancy fatigue) may have you snoring before you can say Goodnight. This is the most supportive pregnancy pillow I’ve tested, and it’s the only brand I haven’t flung off the bed at 2 AM from overheating.

Along with being silky smooth and alluringly antimicrobial, the cooling bamboo cover feels soothing against my dry – and getting dryer – pregnancy skin. It’s an excellent pillow if you enjoy sleeping with minimal clothing.

Araluna’s clean memory foam filling makes it a cloudlike, ergonomic dream for my lower back. But it’s also nice to look at! Crawling out of my first-trimester cave of nausea and fatigue, the fresh lavender color is a sign of hope that pregnancy CAN still be stylish. We millennials like to keep things aesthetic, and Araluna contributes to the vibe.

Weight: 5 pounds
Dimensions: 55 x 27 x 6 inches

Because you control the filling amount, you get to see the cubed CERTI-PUR-certified memory foam in action. Instant points in terms of comfort. Especially compared to the cheap polyfill of other brands. Rather than squishing down into a pancake, Araluna maintains its shape while contouring around your body. I have arrived at the point where my ankles are slightly swollen (yay!), and sinking my feet into this supple support feels heavenly.

With the many bodily changes of pregnancy, I shift around a baffling amount, rotating from side to side like I’m trying to cook evenly. Araluna meets me where I’m at with another smart customization: Removable arms! After a quick unzip, one pillow suddenly becomes TWO, opening up positioning possibilities. Some heavier U-shaped brands felt restrictive after a while, so having the freedom to open things up is refreshing.

Araluna is the household favorite, the pillow my husband stole the most—Sympathy symptoms much? We both love the naturally cooling bamboo cover, which is infused with antimicrobial silver (so it requires less washing!). Araluna receives my highest ranking. It helped me realize that a good pregnancy pillow provides comfort beyond nine months. Rather than being smashed into the closet when the baby arrives, I imagine we’ll all be cuddling with this pillow for years.

BodyNest Cooling Pregnancy Pillow

Big fan of Body Nest over here! This pillow can compete with my other preferred brands due to the firm support, temperature control, and skin-soothing cover. It’s well made, not a cheapo product by any means. While it could be listed at an offensively high price (like some), it’s not. And I like that.

I will say that the straight U-shape hugs your body with quite a bit of bulk. I’ve thrown it off the bed most nights when I feel too restricted. Keep this in mind if you are also a fidgety sleeper.

The reversible cover sports a knitted jersey on side 1 (which feels like your best boyfriend’s softest flannel) and a fuzzy material on side 2. I recommend finding what you like for the season and sticking with that for a while. The wrap-around zipper consistently got stuck, so I was laboring at this task longer than desirable. No big deal? Tell that to the hormones!

This review process had me nerding out over quality stitching because it really makes a sizable difference. The Body Nest stitching is top-notch, and the chevron quilting method somehow helps with heat distribution. I was skeptical of this claim, but Body Nest did NOT turn my bed into an oven like some of the others (despite being filled with the same heat-retaining polyester).

Body Nest is a quality pregnancy pillow and nearly my favorite, aside from a few limitations. Like several other brands, the polyfill quickly goes flat. But the bulkiness was my main issue. As the heaviest pillow of the bunch, Body Nest became a haul when carrying it upstairs from couch to bed (my two preferred places these days). I missed the body-hugging contours of Araluna, and you’re limited in color choice. Hopefully light gray and dark gray work well with your sheets because this is the only option.

Leacho Snoogle

We call the Leacho’s Snoogle the seahorse pillow around here, as it looks like you’re riding the gentle seas into a deep slumber. While it appears to be the most (endearingly) awkward of the pillows, I was pleasantly surprised by the provided support. That is…everywhere except my lanky neck, which proved to be quite an obstacle when reviewing these pillows! With Snoogle, I slid a pillow under my neck for a comfortable rest.

I like how many positions you can manage with Snoogle! Because it’s a C-Shaped pillow, you can slip into it a bit easier than the more enveloping U-shaped pregnancy pillows. If you’re hanging out in bed a lot, like me, this pillow can help you sit up to read a few pages of a book, browse your phone, or momentarily feel like an engaged member of society before falling into another cozy nap.

Until you get too hot, that is. Snoogle is another pillow that runs hot and steamy. This oven effect is likely related to the heat-retaining polyester filling, which could be an advantage in the winter. But for now, as spring turns to summer, it feels stuffy and claustrophobic after a few hours of use. So while it can help you fall asleep, forewarning that you may wake up in a few hours EXTREMELY cranky (a personal antidote).

I’m spoiled by the cool, silky cover of Araluna and the soft quilting of Body Nest, so the plain cotton on Snoogle felt coarse against my cheek. The material is also quite the lint magnet, especially in jersey brown. I would explore different color options. The cover is removable and washable, so that helps! Ultimately I found Snoogle to be a practical pregnancy pillow at a fair price point. It does its job well enough with some adaptations.

Belly Bandit SOS Side Sleeper Pillow

Belly Bandit’s S.O.S side sleeper is an intriguing experiment in staying still! The 3-piece set includes one wedge pillow, one belly pillow, and a velcro strip. The system holds you in place, sturdy on your side, helping you avoid potentially dangerous “back” sleeping during pregnancy. It is best for women looking for this particular support (who also don’t mind sleeping in the same position most of the night).

Belly Bandit’s cool contraption hinders my instinct to sprawl. And this is appreciated by my bedfellow. However, I’m a side-to-side sleeper. I like to roll around. I will begrudgingly surrender to stillness at some point in my pregnancy. But not yet! The belly bandit got in the way of my usual flip routine. And I found that maddening. So while I tested this pillow enough to provide a thorough review, please be aware of my natural bias!

Babymoon anyone? The S.O.S Side Sleeper is compact, not a full Cadillac like the others. And it’s the only one I can imagine bringing on a plane. It even comes in a travel case! The pillow and wedge are also adjustable. So as your belly grows, the Belly Bandit grows with you—Which is making me oddly emotional? Keep in mind that sleeping on your back becomes unproblematic after giving birth, so this isn’t a pregnancy pillow that will transition into an everyday thing (unless you like this type of restraint).

The cover material is a polyester blend, soft enough but nothing extraordinary. And while the S.O.S Side Sleeper is plenty supportive for my belly and back, my arms and legs are left reaching for something to cuddle (not my husband, thanks). Combining this pillow with my U-shaped Araluna pillow works out nicely! But with my sleep preferences, I can confirm the Belly Bandit is not the best fit for me. However, it could be just what you need right now.

Yana 360 Body Pillow

I was excited to try Yana! It features fabulously chic branding that had me dreaming up all the cute Instagram pics we could take together. So I was slightly disappointed by the potent off-gassing smell upon opening the (super cute) packaging. One week later and the chemical scent is slightly fading. But if you have a bionic pregnancy nose like me, it’s still too smelly to snuggle with for long. Not to worry, Yana. My husband commiserates.

But it still looks dang good with the velvet cream color! The appearance communicates luxury. As the most expensive pillow in my reviews, this is a look you will pay for. Nothing wrong with mindful indulgence during nine months of baby growing, right? But keep reading to ensure this is the pillow you want (I am unconvinced that the quality is as high as the price). There were several reports of broken zippers while perusing the reviews, so I’m treating mine very gently.

Happy to confirm that Yana is firm enough to support the pain points of pregnancy, especially my lower back and hips. It’s a good pillow for forcing yourself to sleep on your side instead of your back. Yana is hefty, not feeble, and can help hold you in place. While impressively firm, the internal seam was so taut that it dug into the back of my neck. I did get a second opinion. My husband said essentially the same thing but with more flair (that it felt like a chicken bone digging into his trapezius). Unfortunately, there is no option to adjust the filling amount. So you get what you get.

You do, however, have two fillers to choose from. You can go with a cooling gel (which sounds great) or natural latex (which I got and explains the smell). Eucalyptus pillow covers are also available to purchase separately at $89 for additional temperature regulation.

So this is where things get dicey. Customer support at Yana appears to be severely lacking. Don’t expect an easy return policy. I suggest browsing the competing reviews in this article first. And then be VERY sure about your decision before shelling out for this pricey pillow.

PharMeDoc

Pharmedoc is a budget-friendly pregnancy pillow that comes in several colors. Between a whole new wardrobe, baby supplies, and a thousand household upgrades, pregnancy is not cheap! So I appreciate the accessible price tag and easy online ordering experience.

While gentle on your bank account, please do not forget about your back! I’ve found that budget pregnancy pillows typically skimp on filling quality. Pharmedoc uses a Microfiber fill (and not much of it), so it goes flat. We’re talking one step above a rolled-up blanket. As my pregnancy progresses and my belly grows a complete human, a flimsy pillow is feeling increasingly irrelevant.

But if you are OK with sacrificing some support, Pharmedoc can add extra cushion to your limbs and provide some relief on the major pressure points. Better than nothing? Fair warning: I was sporting a double chin far more often than I would like in my Pharmedoc photos! To put the beauty back in beauty rest, I need more cushion on the neck.

Interestingly, Pharmedoc includes some of the same features I love with Araluna’s pillow, like the detachable extension for extra support and body contouring curves. But the differences in quality are obvious when compared side-by-side. If Araluna is like a big hug, Pharmedoc is a polite pat on the back. Aside from this lackluster comfort, the zippers are rickety, and the seam stitching unravels after minor use.

This pillow was also HOT. The cover is cotton and should be breathable, so I attribute my midnight sweats to the polyester filling (which retains heat). Maybe this fill would be more manageable in a mattress or a throw pillow, but a full wrap-around? During pregnancy? In the summer?! It was too much! Due to its lightweight, I give Pharmedoc a 10/10 on being launchable off the bed.

NOTE: Parenting Isn’t Easy has relationships with some of the brands listed in this article and may receive a varying commission if you purchase any of the products.

By Jenny Brown
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Jenny Brown is a senior writer at Shareably. She is based in San Francisco and can be reached at [email protected].
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