Pregnant? Unplug the Vacuum and Put Down That Mop

by Honey Berk (Subscribe to Honey Berk's posts) Jun 1st 2010 6:00PM

Categories: In The News, Pregnancy Health, Expert Advice Pregnancy

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Another excuse to take a load off: Pregnancy is not the time for household chores, according to a new study. Credit: Getty Images

In a scene reminiscent of recent Swiffer commercials, brooms and mops may soon be crooning "Baby Come Back" to pregnant women everywhere.

A study out of the Netherlands suggests the "boring and repetitive" nature of household chores increases the odds of giving birth prematurely, according to London's The Daily Mail.

Published in the journal Pediatric Epidemiology, the study compiled data from questionnaires completed by 11,759 new moms, who reported their daily physical activity during pregnancy -- including housework, paid work and exercise -- as well as their baby's birth weight and how many weeks pregnant they were at delivery.

Birth weight is a major consideration, as it has a great impact on the general health and survival of infants, according to the authors, while the length of pregnancy is one of the factors that governs birth weight.

"Mentally unstimulating" work, including tasks performed around the house day after day, were shown to increase the chances of giving birth at least three weeks early by up to 25 percent. Though the reason is not yet clear, the researchers suggest boring tasks may increase levels of the stress hormones involved in triggering labor.

Exercise during pregnancy, however, was found to be good for both mother and baby, a finding which has been confirmed by other sources. It can improve posture, relieve back pain and other discomforts related to pregnancy, and prepare pregnant women for childbirth, according to AOL Health.

And while even strenuous exercise was found to do no harm to either mother or baby, the research showed that sedentary lifestyles actually increase the odds of having an underweight baby.

One unexpected finding, the authors say, was that working night shifts during pregnancy was associated with a slightly higher birth weight. They suggest this may be because of the "healthy worker effect," where women who are employed generally tend to be in better health than those who are out of work.

"In the absence of either medical or obstetric complications, pregnant women may safely continue their normal daily physical activities should they wish to do so," the authors conclude.

You may want to keep that bit of information to yourself until your nails are dry, and that helpful someone has finished folding the last load of laundry.

Related: Exercise During Pregnancy May Prevent Obesity in Baby

Comments (27)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

barbara 6-02-2010 @ 8:15PM

this is the dumbest thing i have ever heard.
i did all my housework and never played the pregnacy, poor litlle me i'm p. g so i can't do things and all my boys weighed 9lbs or more and my daughter was 7lbs 3 oz and all were full caryy and healthy.
keep busy, stay active that is the best thing besides eating healthy and seeing your doctor every month and you will have a healthy baby,
no smoking no drugs .
we keep giving these young people reasons to be lazy.
can't do wash, can't clean house, can't cook meals because i'm preggars.
GIVE ME A BREAK

denise 6-02-2010 @ 10:11PM

Are these articles true?
Http://www.physicaltherapytipsandsecrets.info

Mr B 6-02-2010 @ 8:14PM

Wow, I guess it's stressful to clean your house, but it's OK to do something as truly mindless and unproductive as spinning. These researchers must of been women. So, I guess that when a woman is pregnant her husband has to not only go to work but clean the house too. What a crock!

Barbara 6-02-2010 @ 8:23PM

Wow, pregnant women today are already big babies and now this? Get this pregnant women, unless you are handicap before being pregnant you are not entitled to act it after, that is unless you are a high risk pregnancy. I played volleyball until two weeks before the birth of my last child and cleaned everyday with a full time job. I cannot stand when a woman thinks she can just sit around simply because she is pregnant.

Kira 6-13-2010 @ 2:19PM

Barbara, women like you are so judgemental it drives me nuts. Although I wasn't a high-risk pregnancy, I definitely wasn't freaking up to playing volleyball while I was pregnant. I eased up on household chores, (note that I 'eased' up, not quit altogether) because i had some terrible pain during my pregnancy. Not to mention i was working too and exhausted. Just because you were effing superwoman doesn't mean all women feel the same while pregnant. I got nausea, some never do, i had pain, others don't and continue to work out etc., i didn't gain a ton of weight, others do. It all varies one woman to the next. Your pregnancy is not the same thing that other women go through. With that said, this particular article is ridiculous.

amlngn 6-02-2010 @ 8:51PM

I cant believe this is in print. So preganant women are suppose to live in dirt and filth because housecleaning will give them a dumb baby. WHatever happened to finding a cure for cancer???

Arque 6-02-2010 @ 8:55PM

OMG and they spent money on this study? I can only imagine if woman belief this garbage and they choose not to clean their homes. Children and familes should hate that study. What happened to excercise with moderation? This is why we are a society of obesity

Carol 6-02-2010 @ 9:13PM

The AOL "title" to this article is "Women Who Should Not
Vacuum"........sooooo.... I figured it was about those of us
with REAL "back problems"......as in....."your lower lumbar
region is GONE.....you are not a candidate for back surgery....
go find a pain management clinic"....... Clicked on it .....Only to find that it is titled .... "Pregnant ? Unplug That Vacuum and Put Down That Mop"....... That's a great "tag line".....

HOWEVER.....NOWHERE in this article NOR in any of the
"research" they allude to.....does it ACTUALLY SAY.....that
"vacuuming and mopping" in and of themselves.......create
the early delivery / low birthweight problems......

The "research" alludes to "boring and repetitive household tasks"....
"mentally unstimulating work"......"boring daily tasks"......

SOOOO........for the AUTHOR of this ARTICLE.........INSTEAD
of "putting words in the 'researchers' mouths and picking and
choosing what YOU might WANT... to be the "culprit".......please
just stick to the FACTUAL information given.......that way your
journalistic credibility won't go into the TOILET.....cause then
God forbid.....you might have to CLEAN IT.......

And wouldn't that be "boring".......and possibly "hazardous" to
one's health...........

LOL !!!!!

P.S. I gotta go find my "back brace"......cause that 's the ONLY
damn way.....I can actually vacuum this house.....but it's NEVER
boring.....cause I have the radio......cranked WIDE OPEN to the
"oldie goldies" station..........and vacuuming ain't boring....when
you're "jammin' "..........

Ellen 6-02-2010 @ 9:32PM

I don't like to vacuum either, but I don't have the excuse of
pregnancy...When I was pregnant 30 to 40 years ago, I kept a clean house and had healthy babies who grew to be smart people.

.

peppie 6-02-2010 @ 9:48PM

This is the dumbest article I have ever read. Todays society is getting so lazy. A healthy pregnant women should be able to any thing she did before she was pregnant. As a matter of fact, she needs to remain active for both hers and the baby's health. When I was pregnant, I kept a house, children, cooked, cleaned, did laundry, canned food, gardened, swam and did whatever I wanted to. Pregnant women, be your self, stay active and keep a clean house.

Dean 6-02-2010 @ 9:59PM

Just another stupid study that doesn`t mean a dam thing.

Jo Jo 6-02-2010 @ 10:01PM

What a crock of shit.

Judith 6-02-2010 @ 10:10PM

What a joke. Women (and their kids) today are total losers. We are raising a nation of imbeciles. It's the children this, the children that. Everything for the children. Things were much better when my kids were growing up (the 70s and 80s). My god, my mother worked, cleaned, cooked and all that when she was pregnant. I did the same. My kids were not born premature or retarded. I hope women today who are this dopey just stop having kids. It would be a much better world.

Karen 6-02-2010 @ 11:00PM

Wow, I really don't believe a word of this. Just today I vacuumed, mopped the kitchen and scrubbed my bathroom and I'm 8 months pregnant. There is no way I'm going to stop cleaning because I can't stand a dirty house. If my baby comes early, at least he'll be coming home to a clean house!

LESLI 6-02-2010 @ 10:56PM

Well when I was pregnant for the first time back in 1995, my grandmother told me almost the same thing. I wasn't to lift my arms above my head or vaccum. (I rolled my eyes behind her back, said sure Gram and did it anyway.) Though her reasoning was the old wives tale that it would "tangle the umbilical cord around the baby's neck."

But I did both during both pregnancies and both of them were a week late and very healthy. Although, my firstborn did get stuck and need a lot of help to get delivered and the cord was partially around his neck, but I am sure that was a coincidence.

Brenda 6-02-2010 @ 11:30PM

i can't believe that study i am 52 years old had 14 children and i never stopped cleaning anything yes i was careful the end of my pregnancy to not lift heavy objects over my head old wives tales cord around the neck thing but i did stairs wash everything. and walked alot my opinion is if you dont do anything your labor will be very hard and hurt more cause you had 9-10 months of doing nothing and that in my opinion would make for a weak baby {make sense don't it

Bill 6-03-2010 @ 12:04AM

Amen, well said. And just to think, they pay people do these nonsense studies.

Rick 6-03-2010 @ 12:07AM

Nympomaniacs should also stay away from vacuum cleaners.

JustJulia 6-03-2010 @ 12:31AM

I worked full time, I did all the housework, took care of a husband who was recovering from back injuries and had to clean around the hospital bed in the middle of my living room, and actually went into labor while vacuuming... gotta love that nesting instinct..and my daughter was a happy and healthy 8 pounds..

Mike Sanders 6-03-2010 @ 1:04AM

Also, when you are working in space, there is no air. Since, you are already in a vacuum, the device is useless. And yes, it can get pretty messy in a small space vehicle. We've had cases of people vomiting and other things and they had to live with that stuff floating around them, in zero gravity. Very gross! Ask an astronaut.

As far as pregnant women go, they shouldn't be taking a space voyage, in the first place. Wait until the kid is born and then, consider going into orbit.

Doesn't anyone here, listen to NASA?