In many ways, the sudden ubiquity of remote work serves pregnant people well. For many expecting families, the ability to stay home while staying productive is an absolute game-changer. Thanks to many companies offering (or requiring) this workstyle during the pandemic, expecting parents can moderate their risk to a level that feels comfortable to them.

However, working from home comes with drawbacks, especially when it comes to spinal health. Pregnancy is already notorious for causing back pain and muscular discomfort. When you work from home, however, you’re far more likely to be less active and less mobile. This, paired with a non-ergonomic home office, can lead to serious back trouble that stays with you throughout — and after — pregnancy.

Vitality Family Chiropractic  helps expectant women take the best possible care of themselves during pregnancy. To that end, we’ve come up with this guide to help you figure out how to protect and strengthen your back while working remotely:

Reduce Stress

Pregnancy is stressful, pandemics are stressful, and suddenly working in a new environment is stressful. Suffice to say, you’re likely getting stress from almost all directions right now, particularly if you’re serving in a leadership role with your job. ZenBusiness points out that the more employees you supervise the higher the stress levels, and maintaining a proper work-life balance is among the biggest stressors of all. Although feeling some anxiety due to all of these is perfectly normal, it can also lead to a snowball effect.

Stress tends to make your muscles tenser, which can lead to worse posture and, as a result, more back pain. Moreover, when you’re stressed, you often wind up fatigued and unmotivated, which makes you less likely to take the steps you must to properly care for yourself. Fortunately, as Healthline notes, stress reduction techniques can go a long way toward reducing pain and empowering you to take preventative measures.

For example, you could start a daily pregnancy yoga practice, or work on developing mindfulness. If you’re finding you have a lot of trouble relaxing, you should consider doing something to reset your home’s energy. Lots of stress in a single area can effectively build an association with anxiety when you’re in that space. Redecorating, reorganizing, or even just letting in some fresh air can help redefine your home’s mood.

Prioritize Posture

Another step you can take to protect your back health while working from home is to prioritize good posture. In an office environment, most people are used to using large, elevated monitors that facilitate a neutral head position. At home, however, many people work off laptops and, as a result, spend more of their time looking down at their screen. This results in the aptly-named “Text neck,” a type of poor posture that puts unnecessary strain on the back. Elevating your screen can go a long way toward reducing this issue — use an external keyboard in order to lift up your laptop and work effectively.

Posture has more of an impact on pregnant people than you might realize. In addition to strengthening the core and reducing back pain, good posture is vital for optimal fetal positioning in the later end of the third trimester. When you sit up straight and avoid crunching down, you open up space in the torso and pelvis, giving the baby room to engage properly. This can make labor safer and easier for everyone.

Walk Daily

Finally, working from home tends to make you more sedentary. When you’re going in and out of an office, there are many moments of incidental walking — to the car, to your desk, to the breakroom — and, although these may feel like small moments, they’re often not replicated in the remote work environment.

As a result, you must intentionally increase your walking in order to make up for this. Daily walks will keep your core strong, help you stay active, and help you build the stamina necessary for childbirth. Remember, you’re preparing for a major physical endeavor — your body needs training in order to cope.

Remote work offers a world of benefits for expecting parents, but it comes with drawbacks, too. Make sure you’re protecting your spine and core and giving yourself plenty of exercise in order to stay healthy while working remotely. Doing so will make pregnancy, birth, and the time that follows substantially easier and more comfortable.

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