Posture and Pregnancy?

[deductivemom]

I am counting down to TTC (about 10 months still to go) and coming up with weekly challenges to get ready. I recently added improving my posture to my to do list since (1) I am a terrible sloucher and (2) I've heard that having bad posture during pregnancy is a recipe for back pain and might even reduce the room that baby has to grow in your belly. I bought an inexpensive posture corrector and am planning to start working on building strength in my upper body and core since that's probably the real source of the problem.

Anyone have tips or tricks to suggest? Any other motivating reasons I should keep at this effort? Maybe you know of some great exercises that will make this much easier? Or just want to commiserate about how hard it is to have good posture when you have had bad posture as long as you can remember or you work at a computer all day like me and no one seems to want to provide you with a fancy ergonomic chair?

 

[Tigerlily01]

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[MrsMandy]

Hey, i get awful back ache - mainly due to it running in the family i think, but i doubt my large bust helps either! (i slouch alot too which prob doesnt help!)
Last year before our wedding i did alot of sit ups and lower stomach muscle exercises (dont know what they're called, but essentially lay on the floor on your back, legs straight up in the air with your arms stretching up towards your feet, and gently tense your lower stomach muscles to move your legs) and i did notice a big reduction in my back aching - it hardly happened at all! (really must get back to that!)
I also have a friend who swears by pilates - she suffers badly with siatica (sp?) and said that really helped, she also did pregnancy pilates and said it really really helped with carrying and delivering baby! Xx

 

[MrsMandy]

Ooo deductivemom, just noticed our countdowns are the same!

 

[LoolaBear]

my posture has improved massively since taking up simple yoga moves, still haven't got my standing posture up to scratch though, but sitting has improved majorly, only time i slouch is when relaxing on the sofa to watch TV hehe

 

[itsnowmyturn]

One thing I remember from my physio is shoulder positioning. If ur shoulders are forward u tend to slouch more, every hour or so make a conscious decision to check ur shoulder positioning, if they are forward and down just bring them up and roll them back so that ur shoulders are inline with ur back. It's amazing how much difference it makes. Core muscles are important

 

[LaylitaGypsie]

I get lower back pain ofter. I fix this with a steel boned corset -this obviously isn't suitable for ttc or while pg-. It also prevents me from slouching. If worn enough, correct posture would become second nature, but, it's not for everyone

 

[deductivemom]

Ooo deductivemom, just noticed our countdowns are the same!

Awesome! Glad to see someone else in my same TTC cohort. We should keep in touch as we count down Only 10 months to go!

 

[deductivemom]

I have lower back problems and am a terrible sloucher. A physical therapist once told me to put a small rolled towel behind my back when I sat at my computer desk to force me to sit up straight and not use the seat back. She said to start with only 10 minutes a day, because it is tiring. Gives your back muscles a good workout!

I also told all my office mates to yell at me when they saw me slouching. Worked like a charm! They loved yelling "SIT UP STRAIGHT!" at me at random intervals, LOL.

Haha, I would be so self-conscious doing that I'm sure it would improve my posture! But I might revert to secret slouching when I thought no one was looking The towel sounds like a great idea--that I could actually do at work unlike the posture corrector straps I got which I have deemed home use only. Thanks for the suggestion, Tigerlily!

 

[itsnowmyturn]

U can get a purpose built chair thing that is just like a towel but u clip it around ur chair and it stays there so ur guaranteed to have it in the same place each time xx

 

[loeylo]

I have got terrible posture too. My back arches in the middle, so I end up looking like I have a big belly (I am a UK size 10, so I really don't have a massive belly!) plus my shoulders are hunched, I carry a really heavy bag to work (im talking about 10 textbooks plus ring binders and various other paperwork, plus sometimes several class sets of jotters!) which I am convinced cause my problems!
My core muscles are really weak, they are so bad that my gym instructor thought I had a c-section as I am so bad at ab exercises, lol. I really wanna work on my core before becoming pregnant! My gym instructor said I would need to build more muscle as I would find childbirth really difficult otherwise, and he doesn't even know that I am super broody. So yes, abs are a must!