Activities of Daily Living to Practice Throughout Pregnancy
There are so many tasks that we do every single day that will only getting harder throughout pregnancy and even postpartum. But they don’t have to be impossible nor do should they cause any injury/pain. Today I am going to address some of the most common ADLs (activities of daily living) that you can start practicing now to prepare for later stages of pregnancy and when baby arrives!
1. Ground Pickup – This is a move that we do so many times throughout the day often without realizing it until we have an extra 20-30 lbs strapped to our bellies! So, throughout pregnancy it is super important to use good form to help prevent injury. When performing this move make sure your knees are softly bent and keep a neutral spine when bending over.
2. Ground Get Down – This move is something that will only get more difficult as your belly grows and even with your newborn so it’s very important to get the form down before they arrive! When getting down to the floor make sure to keep your spine neutral. Slowly lower into a half kneel stance then to tall kneel. Reverse the order to return to stand!
3. Bathtub Pickup – Getting your newborn out of the bathtub without adding a lot of extra intra-abdominal pressure can be tricky so why not practice before they arrive! Starting with your ground get down ADL move get into tall kneel. Hinge back keeping a flat, neutral spine as you reach down for your baby and use your glutes and hips to bring you both back to tall kneel. Use the pickup and stand-up move to safely return to standing with your newborn.
4. Pickup and Stand-Up – How many times a day do you think you’ll be picking up your little one from the floor, a bouncer, or their crib?! SO MANY! Therefore, it’s super important to use proper form and technique when doing this to prevent injury or pain. When performing this move use your bathtub pickup hinge to get your baby then use the ground get up (reverse of the get down) to go from a tall kneel to a half kneel and then to standing. Be sure to keep a neutral spine throughout this move and use your core for extra stability.
5. One Sided Carry and Lift – We will forever be holding our baby on one side of our body while putting things away with the other side. To master this move practice a lunge to pick the object up and lift overhead. Start without weights then once you’ve got the move mastered add a 5-10 lb weight in each hand to replicate your baby weight on your hip and the object weight on the other side.
These are not anywhere near all of the ADLs that we do on a daily basis that will only get harder throughout pregnancy and even when that sweet babe arrives, but it’s a good start! As always, don’t do anything that causes pain or discomfort and check your core for coning/doming which indicates poor abdominal pressure regulation. If you’re needing more guidance on these moves, please reach out to me and let’s talk it through! I want you to have a safe and pain free pregnancy and postpartum!
