Yana 360° Body Pillow

When I got pregnant for the first time, I discovered that my body does not actually like being pregnant. For the next nine months, I experienced ailments I never had before: migraines, nausea, heartburn, calf swelling, shortness of breath, frequent urination, and TMJ (temporomandibular) problems—just to name a few. Since I had begun to write about pregnancy and parenting topics as a journalist, a PR friend reached out and suggested I try their ‘game-changing’ Yana 360° Body Pillow: an ergonomically designed pillow that supports your head and body. With nothing to lose, I decided to give it a try.

What is the Yana 360° Body Pillow?

The Yana Body Pillow is a u-shaped pillow that wraps around your body and contours to your curves, essentially enabling one to fall asleep feeling held in all the right places. While not technically a maternity pillow, the Yana is intended to provide a more holistic approach to sleep. Designed to help users achieve a deep, restful slumber, the Yana claims to alleviate tension and soreness in the knees and joints, thereby enabling one to wake up feeling transformed.

The Yana pillow is available filled with either its original natural shredded latex filling or a latex-free cooling gel. Additionally, you can specify the level of fill you would like, from soft to firm. Weighing in at 14 pounds with the natural latex fill and 10 pounds with the cooling gel, the heft is reminiscent of the benefits found in a weighted blanket. The exterior cotton cover is made of a combination of organic cotton and bamboo velour, and it’s machine washable.

How much does the Yana Body Pillow cost?

Both the original shredded latex-filled version and the cooling gel version of the Yana Body Pillow cost $199. Shipping is not included.

What I liked about the Yana Pillow

It alleviated some of my pregnancy discomfort

I wasn’t expecting a cure-all solution but at least some relief, which is what the Yana pillow did offer. For the first few nights, it took a bit of getting used to sleeping without my trusty ergonomic head pillow. Eventually, I was able to ease my body and head into a position where I felt embraced, supported, and comforted. With my growing belly, I was able to sandwich my legs between the pillow’s two long pieces and this made it easier for me to sleep on my side. It was also a relief to know I could allow myself to ease into a decent slumber without being concerned about rolling too far onto my tummy.

The Yana pillow also made it easier to switch from the left side to the right side during the night without having to toss and turn. Before I had the Yana, my makeshift solution was that I’d pull out the extra pillow I had squished between my legs, rotate, then place it back between my legs again. Not easy to do once my belly was in full bloom and a hassle when I had to go for numerous toilet runs in the middle of the night.

It’s fluffy but durable

With day-to-day use of traditional pillows, I always feel that they inevitably turn into flattened pancakes because the fill becomes thin and unsupportive. Conversely, the Yana Pillow has lasted me since fall 2020 and I haven’t needed to fluff-it-up once. While I cannot speak for the gel fill, the natural latex retains its shape while conforming to your body’s needs. I also like that the pillow feels luxurious but doesn’t get stained easily, and if you do spill something on it the stains come out easily in the laundry.

It helped regulate my body temperature

With a surge of pregnancy hormones raging through my body, sleep became a challenge because I would go from freezing cold to swelteringly hot in a matter of moments. This meant that I’d wake up in my own sweat and would need a mountain of towels on standby to blot it all up. Thankfully, the Yana pillow was able to mitigate some of the effects of this. Firstly, its cushioning made it puffier and as a result, I was slightly elevated from my mattress and this allowed for more air circulation to flow through. Secondly, the latex fill is naturally cooling and although it didn’t prevent my night-sweats, the drench wasn’t as brutal and I didn't have to change my pajamas as many times a night.

It’s attractive

The other pregnancy and sleep aid pillows I’ve seen on the market thus far are not attractive in design and if I owned any of them, I’d be inclined to hide them before company arrives. However, while the Yana Sleep Pillow is the size of a large child (55” inches) and takes up quite a bit of space, it actually looks aesthetically pleasing when knotted up. Thanks to the handy tips and visuals I found on the company website, the pillow can look like a contemporary home accent once it is balled up, and for instance, can be placed on your couch. I really appreciated this small but essential design element.

What I didn’t like about the Yana Pillow

I didn't find it that useful

While it’s marketed as more than a pregnancy pillow and can be used by anyone, after I gave birth to my baby, no one in our family has touched it. I appreciate that the Yana Pillow is supposed to be a versatile product that aims to benefit different sleep styles, but in our household, it ended up being a unitasker.

It’s a third body in our bedroom

When I was pregnant and my husband and I wanted to be intimate, it was already a physical challenge to do so. Additionally, when you add a body-sized pillow into the mix, it can kill the mood. When we wanted to be spontaneous, we’d be taken out of our romantic vibe because we’d have to lug the Yana pillow off of our bed as it occupies a lot of space, despite us owning a king sized bed.

It’s not cheap

Compared with other sleep-aid pillows which can run from about $50 to $100, this Yana pillow comes in at a pricey $199. At the time, I justified the cost with “oh, I’ll use it beyond my pregnancy as a nursing pillow” but ultimately did not do this. It’s a quality product but an expensive one, especially when parenting and baby products in and of themselves are more costly than ever.

It has a funny odor

While I rested easy knowing that the product was composed of all-natural ingredients, unfortunately, the natural latex fill had an incredibly off-putting odor that I couldn’t quite shake. The first couple of times it was almost nauseating, so I tried to add some essential oil drops onto the head portion of the pillow. In the end, I had to place a sheet over that area so I could sleep without smelling the fumes. While the Yana team assured me that the latex wasn’t harmful to me or my baby, the funkiness is probably one other reason I don’t use it post-baby.

Should you buy the Yana Pillow?

Maybe. If you’re a side sleeper or stomach sleeper who needs support to sleep even when you’re not pregnant, then the Yana Pillow may be a great choice for you. I really wanted to love this pillow because on paper, it had all of the talking points that would have made it a winner: it was crafted with style and functionality in mind; it was versatile and could be used by pregnant and non-pregnant people alike; and it was environmentally friendly. However, I personally think I could have survived without it. Sure, it made my life slightly easier but not exponentially so, and at $199.99, I cannot justify the cost-per-use.

Get the Yana Sleep Pillow for $199.99