Day to day chores

Exercise before pregnancy ensures that your body is fit to carry a healthy baby to term. When you get pregnant, exercise helps to build strong muscles that protect your joints and spine, which loosen as a natural lead up to labour.

Always remember that exercise in pregnancy should be effective and safe. Consult with your doctor whenever you want to engage in any exercise.

Bending and lifting
Exercise or not. you still have your everyday life. You will bend to pick items, lift others, clean surfaces and other manageable tasks. When you keep your body fit before and during pregnancy and are aware of how to protect it from stresses and strains: the muscles, joints and ligaments will be able to take the strain of pregnancy more easily. You may even avoid minor discomforts altogether.

The hormones of pregnancy soften the ligaments of the lower back and pelvis. Therefore, heavy lifting should be avoided. You must protect your spine at this time and avoid unnecessary strain on your lower back when bending or lifting. As you go about your duties, note the following:

o Make use of your thigh muscles when lifting. Squat down first, keeping your back straight. Prepare your body (keep your feet slightly apart) by tensing the abdominal muscles, pulling up your pelvic floor muscles, taking a deep breath and counting to three before lifting. As you lift, breathe out. Stand close to whatever you are lifting and keep it close to your body as you pick it up.

o When you are carrying anything, avoid swiveling to either side and
try to distribute the weight evenly. For instance, when carrying heavy shopping baskets, make sure the weight is evenly distributed for both arms.

o If you have to do anything that involves being low on the ground, squat or get down on all fours. This is a comfortable position, particularly if you do suffer from backache, as it takes the weight of the uterus off your spine.

o If you have bad posture, or your back is not flexible, practice improving your suppleness by sitting cross-legged against a wall. Lengthen your spine, and do a pelvic tilt, pressing your back into the wall. This should help you know the best way to hold yourself. It will as well strengthen your spine.

o Avoid lifting anything heavy from a height. Your back is likely to arch bring about back discomforts. Worse still, you could lose your balance if the object is heavier than you supposed.

Protecting your spine
In later pregnancy you will need to adapt basic everyday movements like getting up from lying down and getting out of a chair. This is to ensure the least strain possible on your back.

Getting up from a seat
Place one foot in front of the other and push your centre of gravity forward from the hips. Keep your neck and back straight as you push off with your feet.

Sitting up
Roll onto your side and use your arms to push yourself up sideways.

Robert Mwangi is a gym instructor at New Image Fitness Centre. West lands, Nairobi.

END: PG21/47