Flat back --general q. & LBP q.

[gina]

It is my understanding that pregnant women shouldn't lie on their back after the first trimester--something to do with the pressure of the enlarged uterus and the pressure on the back cutting off ciculation to some large vein (veina cava or something). The result being that the mother may get short of breath and dizzy. Maybe it isn't good for the baby either. Good of me to the get scientific details, huh?

So my general questions go like this- I've found myself on my back from time to time, like when I had my sonogram--at the hospital!. I felt fine. Is this more of an issue in later pregnancy? How can being on an incline not cause the same problem?

My specific question is about the stability ball exercises at the end of Lower Body Pyramid. I do not have a stability ball, so for the hamstring exercises, I follow Brenda. Are they safe to do since the lower back is off the floor? And can I do the innner thigh, froggy-like exercise on an incline? Abs are ok to do on an incline right? (not super effective mind you, but better than nothing!)

Thanks, Gina

 

[LHK]

Instead of an answer, I have the same question! I am nearly 14 weeks now, and am still doing abs about once a week the old fashioned way, and even though I try to sleep on my left side, I wake up and find that I am comfortably on my back, so I (gulp) stay that way!

Is this okay? I thought I read once that if the on-your-back thing is "hurting" you or the baby, you will know it. You'll feel numbness or tingling. So if I feel nothing, is it okay to do abs and sleep on my back? For now?

Oh and while I'm asking questions, I find myself at nearly 14 weeks, and 10 pounds gained so far! How does this compare to most other people?
Lisa

 

[gina]

It is hard for me to distinguish the 10 tiny lines on my cheapo scale, but by 14 weeks or so I had also gained about 8-10 pounds. But then I only 3 in the next month. It just got easier to eat better, more meat, vegetables, etc., less carobhydrates. Gina

 

[Beets]

The laying on the back thing can get confusing. Basically, they say that you should not spend an extended period of time on your back after the first trimester due to compression of the vena cava by your enlarged uterus and the baby itself. The key word here is EXTENDED period of time. When you go to the doctor for your check ups you will be lying on your back while they measure you and stuff. You will know when something is being compressed--you will feel faint or nauseous and may feel some numbness and tingling. It really depends on how "big" you are and how far along you are. Believe me, the farther along you get, you will not want to be lying flat on your back. I am on my back at an incline when I watch TV in bed and that does not bother me at all. I think it really depends on the person.

 

[Erin-F]

I can only speak for myself

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jan-13-03 AT 10:03PM (Est)[/font][p]
At 32+ weeks I'm still doing abs flat on my back. I know it goes against the conventional wisdom, but I've never had any of the symptoms that it's a problem: no numbness or tingling, nausea, faintness, or shortness of breathe. Now, I can't do any reverse crunches in ANY position due to crowding , but I can sub slow bicycles and "dead bug" exercises to hit the lower abs. Oh, and I don't know if my experience is typical, but my ab stamina has really decreased over the last few weeks. If I go beyond 5 or 6 minutes with the traditional ab work, I start to feel it in my low back. I assume this means I'm losing proper form, so I stop. I'm not including in that 5 or 6 minutes the pelvic tilts or some of the more traditional "pregnancy ab work" that I occasionally throw in as well. I usually do that at the end when my abs are pre-fatigued.

I agree that every pregnancy is so individual that you just have to take it one workout at a time. It sounds like you're doing great and going strong! Keep it up!!

Erin and Rebecca ( due 3/8/03 )

 

[Stebby]

RE: I can only speak for myself

I did abs flat on my back right through my pregnancy. I am a great believer in listening to your body, and my body never told me to stop (by getting dizzy, nauseated, etc.). I talked to my mom and several other women about this, and apparently, prior to 10 years ago, the advice to stay off your back didn't exist. My mom had 4 kids and slept on her back throughout her pregnancies, without a pillow under her right hip. Other women I've talked to who had babies more recently (but more than 10 years ago) lay on their backs and some exercised on their backs as well.

I don't know if this is true, but my pre-natal yoga teacher told me that this advice originated with the book "What to Expect When You're Expecting". Anyway, she felt that this book is a bit alarmist in many ways.

P.S. I was really glad, in the days and weeks following my C-section, that I had kept my abs strong. I didn't lose that much strength, and was back to all my original ab routines by 6 weeks afterwards.

 

[LHK]

laying on back?

Hi all- just reporting back to you because I went to the OB yesterday and asked her about this back issue. (I'm 16 weeks) I told her that I've heard it's bad to lay on your back, but I wake up on my back, and feel guilty...and she said she wished that advice had never been published in books, because (in her opinion) if laying on your back is causing problems, like blocking the vena cava, you will KNOW it. She said if you get numb or tingly or uncomfortable, then flip to your side. But if you are comfortable, you and the baby are truly fine! So she gave me the green light to lay on my back as long as I want to! (for now, I still want to!)

Hope this helps, and I do realize this is just the opinion of one person.

Lisa

 

[LHK]

RE: laying on back?

Here is an article that attempts to dispel the myth that sleeping on your back can hurt the baby- I found it on parentsplace.com.

7 pregnancy myths exposed

2. Sleeping on your back can hurt the baby.

Myth. Imagine awakening to find yourself on your back and believing that you have caused some harm to your unborn baby.

Many women believe that blood flow will be reduced through the placenta if they lie on their backs. The origin of this myth can be found in some valid research originally performed in the 1960s and 1970s, which demonstrated that blood flow can be compromised when a mother is forced to labor lying flat on her back. Compression of the vena cava, a major vessel underlying the uterus, may occur in this position when the mother is in labor. This is why women are encouraged to be on their sides, sitting up or walking when they are in labor. Contractions themselves reduce blood flow to the baby for a certain portion of the peak of the contraction. A healthy term baby can tolerate this stress without difficulty. Laboring on one's back may cause fetal compromise when the baby is already stressed, overdue or preterm, or exposed to infection or a very long labor.

As far as the possibility of compromising blood flow by sleeping on one's back, the mother-to-be in this situation would generally be experiencing inadequate oxygen tensions, and this would be considered a high-risk pregnancy. And, if blood flow was indeed compromised, the mother would feel dizzy and very uncomfortable and she would shift to her side naturally. This again would be highly unusual.

If the pregnancy is high risk and hypertension, maternal kidney malfunction, severe water retention or fetal compromise is suspected, resting on the left side is often recommended, but, during a normal pregnancy, a woman may assume any position which she finds comfortable.