Twisting, bending etc in 2nd and 3rd trimester

[bananapeanutbutter]

Hi everyone, apologies in advance if this is a really dumb question.

I'm in second trimester, getting quite big and continuing to move as always ie I bend at the waist to pick something up, vacuum twisting my body around, do heavy cleaning, some lifting etc. I also tend to twist in my sleep - this morning i woke up with legs bent to the right and upper half of body bent to the left, and have been getting mild stomach pains today.

Am I going to hurt my baby doing this (or just myself) and should I avoid doing certain movements if possible? I can't seem to find any info on this. My pregnancy book says to avoid reaching up high for things but i thought that was a myth? Does anyone know? Thanks.

If you are comfortable then do it. I am 28 weeks pg and can barely walk let alone bend at the waist

Your body will let you know when its time to squat to pick things up etc.

Agree with the above.

Your body will impose natural limitations soon enough. I'm 27 weeks and have noticed in the last week that I can't bend down properly to put shoes on and find myself grunting and puffing a lot with exertion just doing simple things, seems to have happened suddenly from one week to the next.

I've never heard of the don't reach high for things advice, at 5'2" I don't have too much choice so have been doing and will no doubt continue stretching for things just like my last pregnancy...

If you're doing yoga during pregnancy (which I am) you are taught to have your legs roughly hip width apart when bending forward from the waist, widening as needed as your belly grows.

We are not allowed to do twisting poses while pregnant but I suspect if your doing it automatically in your sleep, it won't be a problem!

Most of these guidelines are to help you rather than your baby, although lots of heavy manual labour has been linked to premature birth so do have regular rests!

In India, pregnant women wear glass bangles - this is so they know how much to do - if they do too much a bangle will break. Easy does it is the key I think.

I would agree that if you are able to do it then don't worry.

I stacked our winter log delivery when I was 37 weeks pregnant and it didn't cause me any problems!