Housework could well be bad for your unborn baby.
What more excuse does a woman need to unplug the vacuum cleaner and put away the dusters!? Far better to put your feet up and watch This Morning!
New research has suggested that because household jobs are generally 'boring and repetitive' they can increase the risk of giving birth prematurely. Exercise, on the other hand, is actually good for both the mum and her unborn baby.
Researchers asked almost 12,000 new mothers how much they had exercised during pregnancy - this included housework. The women were also asked about their jobs, their babies' weight and whether they were born on time or early.
The information gathered, revealed that doing jobs around the house all day every day as well as doing other repetitive jobs, increased the chances of giving birth up to three weeks early by almost 25 per cent. Researchers think that boring jobs might increase levels of stress hormones.
The study also revealed some other interesting facts. Women who work night shifts apparently have marginally heavier babies and women who lead more sedentary lifestyles are more likely to have an underweight baby. One of the researchers from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, said: 'Women who are healthy and do not have pregnancy complications should not restrict their activities in order to achieve a better pregnancy outcome.... They may safely continue their normal daily physical activities, including strenuous activities like jogging, squash and weight training even until late in pregnancy.'
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says that in most cases it is safe to exercise in pregnancy but mothers-to-be are advised to avoid contact sports, cycling, ice-skating and horse-riding.
Patrick O'Brien, a consultant obstetrician, said: 'The advice is pretty sensible stuff. Exercise is good in pregnancy, it keeps you aerobically fit, it keeps your weight under control, it probably reduces the chances of difficulties and it makes it easier to deal with the birth and afterwards.'
June 2010 | 
Lily Allen Loses Her Baby At 6 Months
