Heavy Lifting

[MissSlackPants84]

I know us pregnant ladies are advised to avoid heavy lifting but what is considered heavy? I was carrying a kitchenaid from our warehouse to my desk when the question popped in my head. Its a pretty heafty piece of machinery and normally I dont think twice about lugging such equipment around. My job is a desk job but I do have to carry large/heavy items to my office for testing on occasion.

My employer is still in the dark about my pregnancy because im waiting for my probationary period to have finished. Ive hidden it well so far so dont want to suddenly change my behaviour and get sussed out.

Thanks ladies

I was wondering this too. I do a lot of lifting at work, although i've cut down! Not lifting the 15-20kg boxes anymore, but still need to lift somethings.
A full washing basket for example would that be considered heavy? I presume pregnant women with toddlers would sometimes need to carry them, how heavy is a toddler?! Lol

I think it depends what you're used to lifting - I still have to lift my 2.5 stone toddler, but I'm used to doing it It won't hurt the baby even if you so lift things that are too heavy, you will injure yourself (extra relaxin produced means your ligaments are looser) so if it feels fine then you are ok. Bear in mind the weight you can carry will probably decrease as the pregnancy progresses.

Thanks Rockchick1984

The royal college of physicians have produced an interesting document on heavy lifting during pregnancy, I can't share the link on my phone, but if you google it, I'm sure you'll find it.

It's not just that you are more at risk of hurting yourself in pregnancy. There may be a link between heavy lifting and pregnancy.

The RCP recognises anything over 12 KG to be 'heavy'; in reality, it all depends on what you are used to, but my rule is that if I think I'll struggle- i.e., feel like it's going to stretch me, I don't do it. If you don't want to tell yet, you could feign a wrist injury or something...

Sorry I meant to say heavy lifting and miscarriage!

Spaghettinetti - Is that miscarriage as in first trimester, or later on? Reason I ask is that today DC2 (5 years) was poorly and needed carrying from room to room. Pretty horrendous anyway with my SPD and bad back, to put it mildly, but I'd hate to think I was risking my baby too. I'm 29 weeks, so not early!

im 37 weeks and cant really avoid lifting 30 pound toddler (and being jumpef on by him). ideally i try to avoid other "heavy" lifting. one thing to be very careful about is awkward leaning to reach things, with loosened joints its really easy to hurt your neck/shoulder etc.

I think it depends - I'm a librarian and I'm used to lugging around heavy things, shelving a few hundred books a day if it's a bad day and carrying big transport boxes full of books and cardboard boxes full of new stock.

I've been off sick for a while and every time I even handle a few books around the house (we've just moved, think about 3 cardboard boxes full) I've ended up with cramping and bleeding, so for me the answer seems to me 'anything is considered too heavy'.

Crispy- I think it's in early pregnancy, but opinion is divided and the increased risk according to the RCP is minimal. Sometimes we have to do things...if you have to carry your little one, you can't really avoid that...But it might be wise to avoid 'extra' risks. I carried some heavy loads in my first pregnancy which ended in MC, so I've really tried to avoid it this time around. I think that there is also some evidence to suggest that there is a slightly increased risk if premature labour and low birth weights, but once again, the figures are pretty negligible... Seriously, google the RCP document...