Recently, while reading a MedHelp Forum, I came across a question about pregnancy posture: “Does anyone else feel like their posture has gotten bad now that they’re pregnant?”
I kept my answer pretty basic and this is what I said:
“This is certainly a common finding. During pregnancy the hormone relaxin ‘softens’ and relaxes ligaments and the walls of the uterus (a very good thing). Relaxin causes less ‘holding’ in the pelvic joints and this can result in kind of hyper-mobility in joints around the lower back and pelvis, resulting in an altered pelvic position.
The most common posture type I see during pregnancy is Swayback Posture – when the normal lumbar lordosis (curve) becomes exaggerated and the pelvis tips too far forward. Often, as a result of the posture being tipped forward, our center of gravity travels forward and the head will also begin to move forward (forward head posture).”
Learning how to do a simple rib tuck is helpful. It is of course preferable to work on body posture prior to becoming pregnant, but I realize that in practice this may not always happen.
It’s never too late to improve posture, just a little more challenging when pregnant. What postural changes have you noticed since becoming pregnant?
