Good Posture in Pregnancy – How to Stand and Sit
Expecting mothers often search and practice a lot about good posture during pregnancy or how to get up from bed during pregnancy.
They may realize that the neck, back, and waist pain they experience is due to bad sitting, lying or standing position.
Good posture is important in pregnant women. Tired of having to hold your stomach? Getting backaches and neck aches? It may be because you aren’t maintaining good posture. You might probably have issues with how to sit when pregnant or how to get up from bed during pregnancy.
If you have conceived or planning on getting pregnant, it’s best to start working on good posture today, like learning how to sit when pregnant or how to get up from bed during pregnancy, so that you will feel comfortable, look great, and make good use of the 9 months ahead. If you already have a child and would like your next pregnancy to go as smoothly as possible, start practicing right away!
What Is A Good Posture?
Posture refers to how to position your body while sitting, lying down or standing.
A good posture involves training your body to maintain a proper alignment while standing, walking, sitting, and lying, thereby placing minimal strain on muscles and ligaments while performing weight-bearing activities.
Simply put, a good posture is the habit of sitting and standing up straight.
How Pregnancy Can Affect Your Body Alignment
While pregnant, several things hinder a woman’s ability to maintain correct alignment. For example, as your center of gravity moves forward due to the weight of the baby, your lower back sways.
Poor Posture
In pregnancy, it is natural or normal for you to have a poor posture.
As the baby grows in your womb, your abdominal muscles become stretched. These muscles can’t contract enough to keep your lower back aligned properly. Hormonal levels rise during pregnancy causing ligaments and joints to loosen or stretch.
Corrected Posture
Learning how to get up from bed during pregnancy, how to sit when pregnant, and maintaining a correct posture during pregnancy requires practice.
In order to counteract the increased curve of your lower back, straighten your upper back so that your hip, ear, and shoulder are aligned. Use the pelvic tilt to tuck your pelvis under.
Benefits of Practicing a Good Posture in Pregnancy
A good posture is vital for maintaining good health. However, it becomes increasingly important when you are pregnant. In addition to aches and discomfort, a wrong posture can also cause harm to the baby or result in injuries.
As hormones start softening the ligaments and tendons in the joints in the final stages of pregnancy, the pain can get worse as well. At this time, pregnant women are more prone to straining or overstretching themselves while doing their normal day-to-day jobs.
When a poor posture is maintained during pregnancy, complications and irritated joints can occur even after the delivery. It is likely to adversely affect the body functions such as breathing and digestion as well.
To relieve the tension in your back, shoulders, neck, and hips, it is important to maintain a good posture throughout your pregnancy. However, if you maintain a good posture, you can help the newborn to reach the proper birthing position.
Other importance or benefits of practicing good postures like how to sit when pregnant, lie, or how to get up from bed during pregnancy include:
- It provides more room for your baby to grow and move.
- When you practice a good posture while pregnant, it will help to suppress the pains in the neck, shoulder, lower back, and pelvis regions.
- It increases recovery time after childbirth.
- A good posture practice lowers diastasis recti-abdominal separation.
How to Sit When Pregnant?
Our posture is something we often don’t realize is affecting our everyday life until it’s too late.
One of the common causes of bad posture is sitting at a desk for long periods and straining your muscles. In pregnancy, muscle strain from poor posture can slow your body down and potentially cause pain around the hips.
Also, if you don’t have good posture now, it could cause back pain as your pregnancy progresses. Thankfully, there are some good posture techniques to help improve your mobility and make sure your body feels great during pregnancy!
Follow Below Are Some Guides on How to Sit When Pregnant With Back Support.
- While sitting, your back should be straight, and your shoulders back. You should sit with your buttocks touching the back of your chair.
- Sit with back support (like a lumbar roll or a small, rolled-up towel) at the curve of your back. You can get pregnancy pillows at many online and offline retail stores.
How to sit when pregnant without using a lumbar roll or back support? Here’s what to do.
- Sit at the end of a seat and slouch completely. Make sure you emphasize the curve of your back as far as possible and draw yourself up. Hold for several seconds. Then slightly release the position to about 10 degrees. This is a correct sitting posture.
- Your bodyweight should distribute evenly on both hips.
- Position your knees and hips at a right angle (you can use a stool or footrest if necessary). Position your feet flat on a stool or the ground, and your legs should not be crossed.
- Do not sit in one position for over 30 minutes.
- At work, adjust your chair and your workstation so you can sit in close proximity to your desk. Keep your shoulders relaxed by resting your elbows and arms on your chair or desk.
- If your seat pivots and rolls, don’t twist your waist while sitting. Instead, turn your entire body.
- Occasionally, you may sit in a different position for short periods of time, but for the most part, it is advisable to sit in the position described above to reduce the strain on your back. Should your back hurt, be as active as possible and sit for shorter periods of time (about 10 to 15 minutes).
How to Sit on the Floor When Pregnant?
Your doctor may not talk to you about how to sit during pregnancy on the floor, but we will.
To prevent unnecessary back pain and sciatica during pregnancy, all which is necessary is to strengthen your core muscles and take simple steps to protect your baby and yourself.
Doing the Cobbler’s pose while sitting on the floor is a great pose during pregnancy. Also known as the tailor sitting or tailor pose, Cobbler’s pose help open your pelvis and loosen your hip joints for labour.
Like Yogasana position, it is often practiced in yoga (especially antenatal yoga) class.
This sitting position requires you to sit with a straight back, bend your knees, and join the soles of your feet together. A blanket or mat should be placed underneath the hip bones.
Practicing this position every day in the second and third trimesters of your pregnancy can really ease down the delivery process. Increased strength and flexibility from this pose may also reduce the likelihood of post-labour problems as well.
Toilet Sitting Position During Pregnancy
Image source: Our Health Service
Consider having a good toilet sitting position during pregnancy. During pregnancy, constipation is very common, and a more comfortable posture can help ease the process.
Follow these steps to enjoy a good toilet sitting position during pregnancy.
- Use a footstool or small step under your feet for support as it enables you to place yourself in the best position.
- Let your elbows rest on your knees as you lean forward as much as your bump can allow. Ensure your back is straight and free of any arches.
- Do not strain and hold your breath, but instead take long, slow, deep breaths through your mouth. This helps your tummy muscles relax.
- Having a good toilet sitting position during pregnancy can make it easier to empty your bowels.
Sitting Positions to Avoid During Pregnancy
Paying close attention to your postures during pregnancy is important.
Find out some of the sitting positions to avoid during pregnancy below:
- While sitting, don’t cross your legs as this may result in bad circulation, varicose veins or swelling of the ankles.
- If you have to turn, turn your entire body in place instead of twisting at the waist. Also, avoid bending forward while sitting, as this can place abnormal pressure on your abdomen.
- Refrain from sitting for a long time or in the same position. Sit for only a short time, around 10 to 15 minutes and remember to change positions and adjust your posture regularly.
- Try not to slouch even though it might feel comfortable.
- Do not sit with your legs hanging. This can result in increased blood flow to the legs, causing swelling.
- Don’t sit on a stool or a chair that doesn’t have a backrest during pregnancy, as this can cause back pain.
How to Get Up From Bed during Pregnancy
How to get up from bed during pregnancy can sometimes feel like trying to solve a mystery—experiencing pain getting out of bed while pregnant is a common phenomenon for expecting mothers.
As your bump grows, getting out of bed may prove challenging, especially in the third trimester. There are times in pregnancy when you may feel a little ache in your lower back, or even worse, pain in your abdomen.
Nothing like being pregnant and not having an easier time getting out of bed! Women feel a different level of pain getting out of bed while pregnant, but there are a few commonalities.
Here’s how to get up from bed during pregnancy, especially when you are heavily pregnant.
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Roll your body onto your side
Roll your body to your side with your knees tightly clasped and slightly bent. When changing position during sleep in pregnancy, if turning becomes a challenge, use your arms and legs to support you, or lay with a pillow behind your back, so you stay on your side throughout the night.
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Push yourself up with your hands
Use your arms to make yourself stand up, and slowly swing your legs off the side of the bed while keeping your legs together.
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Sit up straight
Continue pushing your feet toward the floor until you get in a sitting position on the side of the bed.
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Stand up
Once you’re comfortably sitting, simply push against the bed to get up and begin the day.
Changing Position during Sleep in Pregnancy
A woman may wonder how best to sleep when pregnant. She may find herself changing position during sleep until they get comfortable.
Sleep problems are common during pregnancy, especially in the third trimester, when finding a comfortable sleeping position can be challenging. Some pregnant women may also worry that certain body positions might affect their health or that of the fetus.
For women who are in their first trimester, it is safe for them to sleep in whatever position they feel comfortable in, whether this is lying on their back, side, or stomach.
When combining any of the above positions, many women may not experience pain when rolling over in bed while pregnant, especially at the early stage. This is because the uterus has not grown big enough to interfere with their sleep.
However, the second and third trimesters of a woman’s pregnancy are the times when sleeping on the left side are ideal. The uterus receives maximum blood flow if the patient is in this position without putting pressure on the liver.
Lying On the Back during Sleep in Pregnancy
Many medical experts advise pregnant women in their second and third trimesters to avoid lying flat on their backs all night long.
During your third trimester (between 28 weeks of pregnancy and delivery), sleeping on your back places a certain amount of pressure on the main vessels that deliver blood to your uterus.
Oxygen delivery to the fetus may reduce as a result of this pressure. Also, it may increase the severity of unpleasant symptoms like heartburn and dizziness in a woman.
According to a study published in 2019, prolonged back sleeping during pregnancy increases the risk of stillbirth. Other studies have reached similar conclusions.
Note that this study focused, however, on the position in which women fall asleep rather than the position into which they change while sleeping.
There is little evidence that a woman may suffer permanent harm after accidentally rolling onto her back during pregnancy. Therefore, not all experts support the advice not to sleep on your back.
Lying On the Stomach during Sleep in Pregnancy
Image source: Today.com
During pregnancy, many women fear that sleeping on their stomachs will harm their developing fetus.
Despite this, the uterine lining is excellent for protecting the fetus, and there isn’t any need to avoid sleeping on the stomach during the first trimester. As a woman’s pregnancy progresses, sleeping on her stomach becomes increasingly difficult or impossible.
Women who still prefer to sleep on their stomachs, or who sometimes wake on their front, do not have to worry as sleeping on your stomach will not affect your baby.
Lying On Your Left or Right Side during Sleep in Pregnancy
Some experts say that during your second and third trimesters, sleeping on either side (preferably the left, if possible) may be healthy for you and your unborn baby.
By this position, blood flow and nutrients pass into the placenta more freely (which will relieve the pressure on the vena cava) and improves kidney function means better removal of waste products and less swelling in the hands, ankles, and feet.
Also, research has not shown that sleeping on the right side is dangerous for pregnant women who prefer sleeping that way. Despite this, some experts now think pregnant women can sleep any way they feel comfortable rather than fussing over it in one direction or another.
In A Nutshell
It is vital to discover, practice and maintain how to sit when pregnant or how to get up from bed during pregnancy to reduce discomfort and pain. Adapting to good body postures while sitting, lying or standing will make your 9-month journey easier and more comfortable.
