A maternity pillow and a pregnancy pillow are the same product under two names. What actually differs between them is width, and whether the one you choose leaves room for anyone else in the bed. Every width below is set against a real UK bed size.
A pregnancy pillow is a long support cushion that holds your bump, back and knees while you lie on your side. It matters because the NHS advises settling to sleep on your side from 28 weeks, and side sleeping is hard to hold all night without support. The right shape depends on your bed, your bump and whether you share the mattress. All the shapes below ship free and come with a 90-night trial. You cover return postage.
There are several shapes here and no wrong answer. The question is how much bed you can give up, and how much of your body wants holding. Bigger shapes support more of you at once. Smaller shapes are easier to live with and easier to travel with.
Two long arms and a tail. One arm takes your bump, the other takes your back, and the tail sits between your knees. You turn inside it instead of dragging pillows around. It is the most support you can get from a single pillow, and the one that takes the most bed.
The Full Body U, £23.49A long side down your back, a bend for your head and a shorter leg that comes round in front of you, to hold and to rest your top knee on. It takes the same 70 cm of a double bed as the U, and suits anyone who has always fallen asleep wrapped round something.
The G Cloud, £34.49Two wings joined by a band that sits under the bump. It holds your front and your back and covers only 36 cm of the bed's length, so most of the mattress stays clear. It comes with a free mini support pillow for between the knees.
The Bump Wing, £14.99One long straight pillow. Hug the top half, trap the bottom half between your knees. It is the easiest shape to get right on night one, and a low-cost way to find out whether a pregnancy pillow suits you at all.
The Body Bolster, £12.49An inflatable mat with a hollow cut out for the bump. It is not a night pillow. It is for daytime rest, reading and massage, when lying on your front is the thing you miss most. Deflates flat for holidays.
The Bump Lounger, £54.49If you are still deciding: pick the Bolster if your budget is tight or your bed is small. Pick the Wing if you share a double and your partner is territorial. Pick the U if you have a king size and you want to stop thinking about pillows entirely. Pick the G if you have always fallen asleep hugging something. The Lounger is an extra, not a replacement.
Not pregnant, or buying for someone who simply sleeps on their side? The Bolster and the U are also on our body pillows page.
Buy one when sleep starts going wrong, which is often somewhere in the second trimester. There is no rule that says you have to wait. Here is roughly how the need changes.
Your bump is not the problem yet. Tiredness and sore breasts are. A bolster to hug is often enough, and it gets you used to sleeping on your side before you have to.
This is a good time to start. The bump is getting heavier. A pillow between the knees keeps your hips stacked, and the NHS suggests a pillow between your legs for extra support in bed.
Side sleeping stops being a preference and starts being the advice. This is where a full body shape earns its place: it makes rolling onto your back less likely and supports the bump from underneath. If heartburn wakes you, the NHS says propping your head and shoulders up can stop stomach acid coming up while you sleep.
UK guidance from the NHS and from Tommy's is to settle to sleep on your side from the third trimester, either side. If you wake up on your back, that is not a failure. You turn over and settle on your side again.
A pregnancy pillow does not make that safer by itself. What it does is make the side position the comfortable one, so you stay there without concentrating on it. A wedge of pillow behind your back also makes rolling over less likely. That is the whole job.
We are a shop, not a clinic. Our pillows are comfort and wellbeing products, not medical devices. If you have persistent pain, or anything about your sleep worries you, your midwife or GP should hear about it first.
The U has a fibre filling under a mauve zip-off cover, and the Wing a cotton and polyester cover. The Bolster is filled with virgin hollowfibre inside a microfibre shell, which the manufacturer says to sponge clean.
The Full Body U has a zip-off cover; check its care label before washing, and skip the tumble dryer and fabric softener, which flatten velvet pile. For the Wing and the Bolster the manufacturers do not publish washing instructions, so we do not invent any. Keep every inner pillow out of the machine: spot clean it and air it. The Bump Lounger is inflatable PVC and wipes clean with a damp cloth.
One thing worth knowing: the filled shapes can arrive vacuum packed so they fit through a door. Give them 2 to 3 days to reach full volume, and shake them out a few times. A pillow that looks thin on day one usually is not.
A standard UK double is 135 cm wide. The Full Body U is 130 by 70 cm laid out, so it takes your half plus a little borrowing. Most couples manage once the tail is tucked along your side. On a king size it more or less disappears. If your partner guards their territory, the Wing is the peaceful choice, and the Bolster takes less room again.
Most people do. A U folds into a feeding support that takes the weight off your arms and shoulders, which matters at 3am more than it sounds. A bolster works as a back prop while you sit and feed. None of these are safe sleep surfaces for a baby, so keep them out of the cot.
Firm enough that it does not flatten under the bump, soft enough that your hip does not ache against it. Fibre filled shapes sit in the middle, which is why they suit most people. If you like a very firm feel, the Lounger lets you set it yourself with air.
You can, and plenty do. The catch is that ordinary pillows move. You wake up, they have gone, and you rebuild the stack half asleep. A shaped pillow stays where you put it, which is most of the value.
Delivery takes 2 to 11 working days depending on the pillow, and each product page shows its own estimate. It is tracked, and free anywhere in mainland UK with no minimum spend. Full details are on our delivery page.
Then it goes back. Every pillow comes with a 90-night trial, so you judge it in your own bed over a real stretch of time. Email us and we send simple return instructions. You cover return postage. Everything else is explained on our returns page.
What every order gets. Free tracked delivery anywhere in mainland UK, no minimum spend. Delivery in 2 to 11 working days depending on the pillow. A 90-night trial on every shape, with a full refund if your nights are not better. You cover return postage. And a reply from a real person within one working day if you write to us.
Pregnancy Pillow UK sells comfort and wellbeing products, not medical devices. Nothing here replaces advice from your midwife or GP. Last reviewed 23 September 2026.
