Thanksgiving is the most traveled day of the year with nearly 47 million Americans predicted to travel more than 50 miles from home this year. Travelling on the busiest travel day alone has it challenges, but doing it while pregnant is even more challenging. If you plan to spend any significant time sitting in a car, train or plane, backaches are a huge concern. Here are some simple tips to help you alleviate those pregnancy backaches while travelling.
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Wear a maternity support belly band – Look for a pregnancy belt that is made of lightweight and breathable materials, yet can still offer enough support. Maternity belly bands help distribute the baby weight and provide immediate relief from their aches and pains. In addition to relieving back aches, a good maternity belly band will alleviate pressure on the abdomen, hips and pelvis, as well as improve circulation and reduce swelling.
- Take short walks – If travelling by air, plane or boat, taking short walks helps keep the blood flowing and prevents muscles from tightening up. If you are hitting the road, stop ever few hours to walk it out. You will likely need to stop to use the bathroom anyway, so you can kill two birds with one stone.
- Stretch – Most travel requires long hours of sitting – one of the worst culprits of backaches. Stretching helps increase blood flow and get oxygen to your back and your baby. Reaching for the sky, doing foot circles, shoulder shrugs, leaning side to side and arching your back can all be done from the comfort of your seat. Check out WebMD for some sample stretches you can do while sitting.
- Pay attention to posture – Slouching is a bad habit that is simple to solve. Sitting-up straight removes unnecessary pressure on the lower back and neck and will do wonders for your backaches.
- Stay hydrated – Keeping hydrated is critical to preventing muscles from cramping up, another leading cause of backaches.