Just how bad is it to lift heavy thing in early pregnancy?

[suwoo]

Like tables and heavy chairs etc. Is it a 'bad thing' or not? Also what about carrying boxes? Especially prolonged carrying, like 20 minutes worth of going to and fro carrying boxes?

Thanks.

Well, it's bad if it's your pfb. But if you have a toddler and are pg it is pretty much unavoidable .

Seriously though, I'd avoid it if you can (sounds like a perfect excuse to get somebody else to do it).

Its not my pfb its my third , but I did get a lot of twinges after the 20 minute boxes shenanigans.

dont like it

sorry that should have been on my msn to my sis about beyonce's new song

Fwiw though my sis had a very heavy toddler when pg with my nephew and he was fine.

Are you having to lift the boxes at work??

I carry my toddler around a lot and I suppose its no different really. Yes, I lift the boxes with work, but I'm SE so not able to do much about it.

Yes probably unless you are employed contractually, then your employer needs to do a tasked based risk assessment by law and upon that reduce your tasks accordinly.

According to my pregnancy bible, its fine in the early days as long as you rest often and bend your knees, using your legs to raise youself up, keeping your back straight. It seems to be more of a strain later on and the book advises moving to a less manual job (if you work in receipt and despatch for example).

I think a rule of thumb is if you're straining or it seems pretty bloody heavy, don't move it!!

Don't take my word for it though- ask your GP. My GP said yesterday to avoid heavy lifting. However, unless your chairs are made of lead or massive unwieldy armchairs, there's unlikely to be a problem and you wouldn't manhandle a table on your own would you?!

Yeah, I'm talking about manhandling heavy tables and moving 40 odd chairs alone. Plus 20 minutes of carrying boxes. This i on a SE basis, so onus on me.

Assuming you have proper manual handling training.. you should be fine. Just know your limits and don't push yourslf too hard, and certainly don't lift things that you know gives you cramps/twinges after a while.

I was told by my midwife that there isn't any actual real danger to the baby unless it weighs an ansoloute ton and causes you to strain your groin - it's just more of a risk to you as you're more prone to injury due to softened ligments etc.

absoloute

In my last pregnancy I pulled a ligament in my groin/stomach due to all the lifting. Will be more careful from now on, methinks.