QUESTIONS FROM PREGNANT WOMEN: WHAT HOUSEHOLD CHORES ARE PROHIBITED FOR EXPECTANT MOTHERS?

What housework should a pregnant woman not do?

The answer to this question seems simple, but it is not easy to interpret. That is why we invite you to discover in this article which household chores are not recommended for pregnant women and why.

If you consider yourself a person who valued cleanliness and order in the house, well, all this will be superlative when you are pregnant, because especially during this period it will seem to you that any dirt could be harmful to you and your child, where you put the nervousness, irritability, maybe even the lack of patience that comes with pregnancy, for hormonal reasons.

What household chores should a pregnant woman not do?

It's hard enough to keep calm, especially when the house never seems clean enough to welcome a newborn. However, if the doctor doesn't prohibit you, you can do some light chores around the house and they actually do you good, because light movement is beneficial for the pregnant woman.

As we said above, three types of household activities are not recommended for pregnant women: those that involve great physical effort, those that are particularly stressful, and those that involve the handling of chemicals that could be harmful.

Pregnant women should not do strenuous exercise or climb

Cleaning can equal a good time at the gym. The effort made is diverse, the movements are varied, of different intensities and we have to admit that they are quite tiring.

However, from the point of view of effort, the pregnant woman can perform a range of household activities: she can put laundry in the washing machine, wash the dishes, vacuum, dust, etc.

What household chores do we NOT recommend for pregnant women:

• Any activity that involves climbing or sliding. It is easy to understand why because in a moment of inattention the mother-to-be could fall and this fall could cause problems for the pregnancy;

 

• Any activity that involves the effort of lifting some good kilos. Maybe a light shopping net say would be the maximum limit allowed. But it is not recommended to lift a child, assemble or move cabinets or who knows what other types of lifting effort.

 

It remains easy to understand that neither washing the windows will be an activity for pregnant women, nor wiping the dust on the furniture if it is necessary to climb on a chair.

Since we are still talking about getting on the chair, even arranging dishes in the upper bodies of the cabinets should be avoided.

As for exercise, it is not recommended for pregnant women to run or practice endurance sports or sports that involve impact. There are exercise programs specifically designed for pregnant women, which, in addition to the benefits of optimal movement, help pregnant women reduce some physical back symptoms (leg swelling, back pain, etc.).

What household chores should pregnant women avoid? Those household activities that involve contamination or working with harmful chemicals

Of course, during cleaning, we recommend some mandatory protective measures to the pregnant woman: housekeeper gloves, a mask (to avoid inhaling irritating or toxic particles), long-sleeved clothes and long pants, socks, or slippers with anti-slip properties. They are simple measures, but very important for the protection of the expectant mother.

Even so, some substances, especially those that are inhaled, must be avoided, as well as contamination with some particles, for example from animals.

So what other activities should a pregnant woman avoid? We would make the following enumeration:

• Do NOT wash dishes EXCEPT with organic, non-toxic dish detergent. Practically everything that comes into contact with the skin should be natural, organic, and non-toxic, whether we are talking about dish detergent, laundry detergent, body cream, shower gel, and so on. However, studies have not proven that common hygiene products on the market harm pregnant women or the pregnancy. But we know that some products could contain silicones (in cosmetics), and aluminum (for example some antiperspirants), which could dry the skin, and in such situations, we could consider gentler products for our long-term health.

• Do not use disinfectants, anti-limescale products, which unclog pipes, and so on with toxic potential (for example, products containing chlorine, are very volatile, and can be easily inhaled). There are many toxic products that can be inhaled. Even mosquito or bug spray should not be inhaled by pregnant women. Watch out for candle smoke and room deodorants!

• Do not clean up after pets: in their fur, but especially in the litter box, they can become contaminated, especially since the animal not only lives in the house but also goes outside!

What household activities should a pregnant woman not do? Those activities that can produce a major stress

In general, we would say that household activities could not generate that much stress. And yet...

Let's think about phobias. If the expectant mother is afraid of closed spaces, maybe she should avoid cleaning the basement of the house.

She should also avoid sorting through memories (pictures, albums, clothes, any object that arouses intense emotions ), if these memories can deeply sadden her. Indeed, those sad memories should somehow be removed from around the pregnant woman, so that she does not have accidental access to them.