The thing I like best about this one is that everyone rushes to help you pick up a cotton ball when you're pregnant but if you need to haul your 25lb screaming toddler out of the room, does anybody step in then? Noooo.
Not unlike exercise, skiing and falling, the primary risk of heavy lifting in pregnancy is injury to you, not your baby. Pregnancy hormones cause your ligaments to soften, which helps your pelvis widen to make room for childbirth (if you listen closely, I'm sure it makes the same sound as a cavernous steel door opening). As a result, your joints may be less stable than usual and you're more likely to hurt yourself.
A comprehensive study adapting workplace safety guidelines for pregnant workers found that the 1984 recommendations many doctors still reference are dangerously outdated.
The new evidence-based guidelines are much more protective, suggesting limits as low as 9-36 pounds depending on how often you're lifting, how far you're reaching, and what height you're lifting from.
More importantly, the study identified specific scenarios that should be avoided entirely: lifting from the floor (below mid-shin) and overhead lifting. These aren't just about preventing back injury - they're linked to increased risks of preterm labor and other pregnancy complications. The researchers found that bending at the waist for more than an hour per day nearly triples the risk of preterm labor.
So, this pretty much boils down to carrying a side table you found at the thrift store is fine, but your boss telling you to unload radiators to the top shelf in the warehouse is not cool.
Regardless, be sure to lift with your legs when picking up that double banquet burger, though - and maybe ask someone else to grab that 25lb screaming toddler.
Also check out: Will Stretching or Reaching During Pregnancy Harm My Baby?
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