Sitting When Pregnant
Always choose a chair whether relaxing, eating or at work which supports your back. Ideally the chair should be firm and upright allowing you to “grow tall” with your neck flattened and tall, your chest lifted and your pelvis is rolled forwards if lumbar extension is your friend or backwards flattening the spine if flexion is preferred. You should tuck your bottom well into the back of your seat, and use a small cushion to support the lumbar arch if extension is comfortable. If flexion is preferred you can tilt the seat backwards and flatten you back thus opening the doorway for the nerves exiting the spine. Your knees should always be lower than your hips and your legs shouldn’t be crossed. We all sag after about 20 minutes so it is a good idea to set your alarm and get up and walk about to restore your posture. Try to avoid soft sofas and when sitting in a car, adjust the seat the posture is corrected and it is at a comfortable distance from the controls.
Standing When Pregnant
When getting out of a chair, “tighten the tum and squeeze the bum” before moving. Use armrests where possible and stand upright. Try not to move off until you have achieved the full upright position. At all times ”steady as she goes”. Please imagine you are in a deportment class even if the bump tells you otherwise. Walk tall, “squeezing the orange, the bum and the bump”. Take time to do your basic postural exercises. Try standing with your back touching a wall and let your knees give a little and roll your pelvis backwards or forwards to suit your postural needs.
Standing still for long periods can fatigue your muscles and lead to back pain, so try standing with one foot in front of the other, rocking your weight gently back and forth. Using high heels tends to move your weight bearing plumb line forwards thus increasing strain on your back and should be avaoided.
Household Activities When Pregnant
When you are doing chores like washing up, try putting one foot up on a footstool and ensure that your work surface is at the correct height for you by using a wooden block to stand on. When cooking take the empty pan to the stove and then the water to the pan.
If standing for long periods, place one foot in front of the other, rocking your weight gently back and forth but don’t stand on one leg and then transfer to the other so your weight swings from side to side as this stresses the spinal joint, ligaments and muscles.
When ironing try to sit to iron and reduce the rotation from side to side. Change to standing every 20 minutes and adjust the ironing board height so that your back is is as tall and flat as possible.
Lifting When Pregnant
We all know that to lift correctly we need to bend our knees and not our backs however by the end of the day we “forget” and that is too late – the damage is done. What we do not hear so often is – prior to lifting “tighten the tum and squeeze the bum”. Always hold the load as close to your body as possible – “hold the load in”. Make the load a part of you. If you feel pain when lifting, stop.
Getting in and out of the car when Pregnant
Getting in to a car, first “tighten the tum and squeeze the bum” then lower your bottom in to the middle of the car seat whilst facing the outside of the car. Try to get your hands on to the seat soonest to ease the load on your back as you bend forwards. Then, with knees together, swing your legs in to the car seat well supporting your body weight on the car seat as you rotate. To get out, again “tighten the tum and squeeze the bum” and then with your knees together, swing both your legs out of the car so you are facing the side and then still maintain the muscle clench around the bump, stand up. Wait until you are upright before moving off. Do not get into the car with legs apart – one leg in the car and one on the pavement – as this will strain the structures in your back.
