Last updated: August 23, 2026
Most of the pregnancy pillow market is enormous. The U shaped pillows are five feet long, the C shaped ones wrap from your head to your knees, and both of them turn a queen bed into a single. The hiccapop wedge is the opposite idea: a triangle of foam about the size of a folded sweater that you slide under one part of you and forget about.
That makes it the cheapest way to find out whether a support pillow does anything for you at all, and it makes it the pillow that keeps working when the big one has been retired to the closet. It also means it does not do everything, and the reviews are honest about where it stops. This is what the hiccapop wedge is, who it fits, and when you should be buying something bigger instead.
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Quick Answer
Is the hiccapop pregnancy wedge worth buying?
- Buy it if you want bump support without giving up half the bed, or if your partner has already objected to a full body pillow.
- Buy it if you travel, since it fits in a carry bag and a suitcase in a way that a 57 inch pillow never will.
- Buy it as a second pillow if you already own a U shape and want something under your back when you sit up.
- Skip it if what you want is head to knee support in one piece, because a wedge supports one spot at a time.
Bottom line: the wedge is the small, portable half of the pregnancy pillow question, and for a lot of people it is the half they keep using.
What the Hiccapop Wedge Actually Is
It is a triangular memory foam cushion with a zip off cover, sold as a maternity wedge and used under the belly, behind the back, or between the knees. hiccapop describes it as a dual sided pillow with a softer layer on one face and a firmer layer on the other, and lists CertiPUR-US certified foam for the core.
The compact size is the whole point. A wedge takes up roughly the footprint of a standard pillow folded in half, so it can live on your side of the bed without pushing anyone out. It is also the format that shows up in the Amazon wedge category more than any other, which is why so many people meet the wedge idea through this particular product.
Two Sides, Two Firmness Levels
The dual layer construction means one face gives more than the other. The firmer side is what most people want under the bump, where the job is to stop the belly from pulling down toward the mattress in side lying. The softer side is the one that gets used behind the back and under the knees, where a hard edge is noticeable.
The cover is a velboa style fabric, soft and slightly plush rather than crisp cotton, and it unzips for washing. Owners who run hot in the third trimester tend to mention that this cover is warmer than a jersey knit, which matters more in July than in January.
Which Side People End Up Using
There is no single right answer, and the useful habit is to flip it in the first week and pay attention to which way you wake up comfortable. Body shape changes over a pregnancy, so the side that felt right at twenty weeks is often not the side you want at thirty five. If you want the full set of positions, our guide to how to use a pregnancy pillow covers wedge placement alongside the bigger shapes.
Where the Wedge Goes
Three placements cover almost every use. Under the belly in side lying, so the bump is carried instead of hanging. Behind the lower back when you are propped up in bed or on the couch. Between or under the knees, where it does the same job as a dedicated knee pillow but with a wider base.
A fourth use turns up constantly in owner reports and is worth planning for: propped under the shoulder and ribs to sleep at a slight incline when heartburn or a stuffy nose makes lying flat unpleasant. That is a comfort position, not a treatment, and anything persistent belongs in a conversation with your midwife or OB-GYN rather than with a pillow.
The Knee Pillow Overlap
If knees are your only issue, a purpose made knee pillow is narrower and stays put better between the legs, and it costs less than a wedge. The wedge wins when you want one object that can move from belly to back to knees over the course of a night.
What Owners Complain About
Two complaints repeat. The first is firmness: a memory foam wedge feels solid compared with a fiberfill pillow, and people who expected something squashy send it back in the first week. The second is that it slides, because a small pillow on a smooth fitted sheet moves when you do.
The third, less common, is heat. Memory foam holds warmth and the plush cover adds to it, so anyone already fighting the temperature at night should look at the cooling pregnancy pillow options before committing. None of these are defects so much as the trade you make for a small, dense pillow.
The Wedge Against the Bigger Shapes
| Option | Bed space | Supports | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memory foam wedge | Almost none | One spot at a time | Small beds, travel, a second pillow |
| Full body pillow | One sleeper’s width | Belly and knees together | People who hug a pillow anyway |
| C shaped pillow | Most of one side | Head, back, belly, knees | Consistent one sided sleepers |
| U shaped pillow | Half the bed | Both sides at once | Turners who do not want to reposition |
The row you pick is mostly decided by your bed and by whether someone else is in it. Our wedge versus full body comparison works through that decision in detail, and the pregnancy pillow buying guide covers the whole field.
If the Wedge Is Not Enough
Plenty of people start with a wedge and discover they want more. The usual next step is a full U shape, which supports the belly and the back at the same time so you are not repositioning a small pillow every time you turn over. It is the opposite trade: more support, much more bed.
Step Up Without Losing the Whole Bed
A C shape gives you head to knee support down one side while leaving the other side of the bed clear, which is the compromise most couples land on. Owners with narrower beds tend to prefer it to a U for exactly that reason.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will it take up the whole bed? No, and that is the reason most people buy it. A wedge occupies roughly the space of one folded pillow, so it sits under you rather than beside you. If bed space is the thing that has stalled your decision, read pregnancy pillows for a small bed.
Can I put it in the washing machine? The cover unzips and goes in the wash; the foam core does not. Memory foam that gets soaked clumps and never fully recovers, which is why our washing guide treats the cover as the washable part and the core as a spot clean item.
Is it too firm? It is firmer than a fiberfill pillow, and that is the most common reason people return it. Try the softer face first before deciding, since the two sides genuinely feel different.
Can I keep using it after birth? Yes. The wedge becomes a back support in a feeding chair, a prop under a nursing pillow that sits too low, and a lap cushion when you are bottle feeding. Our after birth uses article covers the handover.
Does it work for travel? This is where the wedge is unbeatable. It goes in a suitcase, it survives being squashed, and it fits in a hotel bed without negotiation. See pregnancy travel pillows for the folding and inflatable options too.
Which color or version should I get? The versions differ in cover fabric and color rather than in the foam, so pick on how the cover feels to you. A lighter, smoother cover is the better call if you sleep hot.
The Bottom Line
The hiccapop wedge is the low commitment entry to pregnancy pillows: small, firm, portable, and useful in three or four positions rather than one. It will not replace a full body pillow if you want continuous support from your head to your knees, but it is the pillow people keep after the big one gets stored. If a comfort position is not doing anything for a nagging ache, that is a question for your midwife or a pelvic floor physical therapist rather than a shopping problem. Read next: the pregnancy wedge pillow guide, and the full pregnancy pillow buying guide if you are still weighing shapes.