Can I Use Office Chair While Pregnant?

The Importance of Using an Office Chair While Pregnant

If you must sit at a desk while pregnant, an office chair is best suited to protect your health and comfort.

Not only can you use the office chair while pregnant, but it is recommended. This is the easiest way to maintain proper posture while your body is going through endless stress and changes.

You may also need to upgrade your office chair if you find that your current seat doesn’t provide enough protection.

Understanding the importance of using an office chair while pregnant helps you evaluate your current setup and may prompt your past resistance.

Medical:

Your body deals with a lot of stress and change while undergoing pregnancy, and finding ways to deal with these rapid changes can protect you from:

• Chronic back pain
• Indigestion
• Issues breathing

While posture is always important, the proper alignment of your body is at higher risk while pregnant.

The growing baby in your stomach not only throws everything off balance, but they bring about hormones in later months that weaken your tendons and ligament.s

You are more likely to slouch, and the additional weight puts more pressure on muscles and connective tissues, leading to pain that may last beyond delivery.

Proper posture also protects autonomic functions such as:

• Breathing
• Heart rate
• Digestion

Without an office chair, you are more likely to slouch, compressing organ groups essential to these processes.

Comfort:

The immediate implications of improper posture during pregnancy relate to comfort.

You already deal with discomfort as your body stretches and strains to accommodate new life. This worsens when dealing with pain from sitting in a chair that insufficiently supports your body.

Using an office chair eases the tension on your neck, shoulders, and back, and it encourages you to sit straight and allow the baby plenty of room to roll around.

This won’t prevent the occurrence of getting kicked in the ribs or the bladder, but it should lessen the shock.

It won’t solve all of your comfort problems, and you’ll still want to spend more time lying down, but an office chair provides a comfortable way to sit while tackling tasks.

Read More >> How to Ask Your Employer for a New Office Chair?

How to Sit in an Office Chair While Pregnant

Using the office chair is only half the battle. You need to make sure you use it properly.

Keep in mind that your body has different needs while pregnant, and you cannot just move forward without making changes.

The general rules and lines of posture remain the same, but there are special details to consider. Taking a break is also much more important while pregnant, and you need to learn to listen to your body.

Posture:

Minding your posture takes even more effort while pregnant. Even someone who holds perfect posture all the time will be inclined to slouch to accommodate their growing stomach, and the feel of proper alignment changes as the baby grows.

Finding the right position to limit strain is essential to relieving strain.

Make sure you keep your shoulders pulled back and neutral. If you’re thinking about it too much try rolling your shoulders to help them relax at your side.

Sit with your butt and back contacting the backrest of the chair. If you are shorter, then you should purchase an additional cushion to provide adequate lumbar support‌. This prevents slouching forward.

Sit with your feet flat on the floor, forming a 90-degree angle with your hips and knees. Keep your pelvis leaning forward slightly to prevent pressure on the organs in this area.

Form a straight line with your ears, shoulders, elbows, and hips without locking any part of your body into place.

Read More >> Top 5 Best Office Chairs for Wide Hips? (2022 Review)

Taking a Break:

Pregnancy often prompts more trips to the bathroom, but it’s also possible to lose yourself while focusing on your work.

Standing up and stretching about every 30 minutes prevents your muscles from getting too stiff or limiting blood flow to your lower body.

Take this time to get fresh water, go to the bathroom, or grab a snack. If you don’t need to do any of these things, even stretching in your office area benefits your comfort and prevents issues from settling in.

Office Chair Posture to Avoid While Pregnant

Even the best of us have bad habits when sitting in an office chair, and these can cause greater issues while pregnant. A common example of poor posture include:

• Crossing your legs - hindering circulation, swelling ankles, and disrupting the balance
• Twisting your waist - furthering stress on your changing abdominal area
• Bending or leaning forward - increasing pressure on your abdomen and subsequent organs

If you notice you are doing any of these things, adjust your workplace to limit the need.

Using any of the items listed below can help, as well as rearranging the items at your desk so they are more accessible.

Tips for Using Office Chairs While Pregnant

An office chair is not the only thing to use while pregnant to enhance your posture. Other tools that provide more comfort and accommodate your growing body include:

• Balance balls
• Footrests
• Lumbar support cushions

While these aren’t limited to use during pregnancy, ‌expect a greater need for accommodations at this time.

Balance Balls:

You probably will not need a balance ball in your first two trimesters, but swapping your office chair for a balance ball at the end can help you properly position the baby and accommodate your weakening tendons and ligaments.

Sitting on something as rigid as an office chair will become increasingly uncomfortable, and using a balance ball of suitable height should increase your level of comfort.

Footrests:

If your feet dangle from your office chair, even at the lowest setting, using a footrest will reduce the staring on your legs.

When you are pregnant, a footrest further eases the strain on your lower body.

Many ergonomic models double as a rocker, providing the opportunity to move your lower legs constantly to enhance circulation and minimize fatigue common with pregnancy.

Read More >> Should Your Feet Touch the Ground When Sitting in a Chair?

Lumbar Support Cushions:

Your lower back deals with most of the stress from pregnancy as you counter the additional weight in the front of your body.

A lumbar support cushion makes it easier to sit properly in your office chair, and it may be your only solution if your workplace cannot offer you a more suitable office chair.

Lumbar support cushions realign your back, hips, and spine to make using an office chair while pregnant much more comfortable.