Pregnancy posture and core

Posture

We have four curves in our spine and they’re important for shock absorption. Abnormalities can occur in pregnancy due to the extra weight causing an excessive forward curve. This is generally down to lack of adequate strength and tone in the abdominal muscles.

• So, when we’re standing, we need to be conscious of our body being nice and upright. Imagine you have a string on your head and someone is pulling you up by it.

• Our pelvis needs to be in neutral alignment, to keep the natural curve of the spine. Do pelvic tilts to give a full range of movement.

• Make sure we’re not compensating by jutting our chin out!

• Don’t stand in the same position for too long as your spine will become weak and your posture control will fail. Keep those feet peddling too

Core

Our core helps control the tilt of your pelvis, stabilise the spine and support the uterus. It consists of multiple muscles - the superficial ones that we try working with our sit-ups etc (rectus abdominus and obliques) but also the deep ones such as the Transverse Abdominus which wraps round our middle and of course our pelvic floor which has the monumental task of supporting our organs and our growing baby!

In pregnancy of course, we shouldn’t be doing crunches and sit ups, but as you can see the core is an essential foundation and shouldn’t be left to weaken. So it’s important to do some modified exercises such as static contractions (sucking our tummy in), side planks, supermans, pelvic tilts etc. Having a strong core will also help prevent back problems, make things easier during labour and recovery time is going to be quicker.