What Can You Clean During Pregnancy
Pregnancy is not a state of illness – it is a joy for the whole family, which keeps going for nine whole months! And that is where the problems come from – during this long period of time, the woman has to keep working, cooking, cleaning and making sure the home is not a mess. But which of your household duties can you do freely and which require you do them with caution, in order to protect your health, and the health of your baby?
The everyday cleaning tasks, such as vacuuming, mopping, laundry and ironing should not require any assistance. However, do not dare to take on cleaning the whole house on your own. If you absolutely have to do it, make sure you call someone to help you – mother, sister, mother-in-law, neighbour, or husband. There is always the option to call in a professional cleaning company or a maid.
The main danger during each state of the pregnancy, but especially in the last three months, is the risk of falling. Most household accidents with pregnant women occur during putting on or off curtains, getting on a chair or a ladder to reach higher shelves or cleaning windows.
Change the chemical cleaning products you use with eco-friendly ones. And give up the bleach for a while. Look for gels and powder form cleaners, which do not have a strong, suffocating smell. While you are cleaning with them, open a window, so that fresh air will come in the room or, if it is too cold outside to do so, at least put on a face mask.
If you have cleaned without putting on rubber gloves before you got pregnant, it is high time you learned how to use them, because all the chemicals that you get in touch with get into your body through your skin and can reach the baby.
In the last months of pregnancy it is crucial not to bend to avoid injuring your back and spine. What you have to do instead is slowly duck with your knees bent. Standing up should be also done carefully.
Rotate working with resting. Lay done every half an hour, so your muscles can rest. Learn to listen and respond to your body – if you are tired and you do not feel like doing any cleaning work, just do not do it. Feeling weak is your body’s way to say it is, in fact, too weak to do what you want it to.
Caution when cleaning does not end at child birth. Having an infant baby in your house means you have to be even more careful with the products you use to protect its fragile health.
On the bright side, in a few years you will have a little helper when you have to clean the house!