Mom how heavy is your baby car seat?

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How Heavy is your car seat?
Written by Dr. Joelle Johnson B.sc., D.C.

I have a lot of moms complaining about low back pain and neck pain months after birth of the baby. New mothers often complain about low back pain, neck pain, arm pain and elbow pain.

 I ask them how much they think that they are carrying  with the baby, car seat, diaper bag and purse as well. Most know that they are carrying too much and moms are shocked at the amount they are carrying. We did a little experiment in the clinic where we asked all women to weigh the car seat with baby in it and found that they weighed from 23-35 pounds! WOW!The diaper bags weighed 10-15lbs and the purses were 2-5 lbs, that means you could be carrying at one time up to 60 pounds on your back, neck, arms and shoulders, with the majority of the weight out 16 inches from your side.
The combination of carrying a heavy weight away from your body, postpartum spine weakness coupled with rotation is a recipe for a disc injury, low back sprain/strain and vertebral subluxations!

 With children and back packs we recommend not more than 10 to 15 % of the body weight. So why do we carry so much as a new mother? New moms have just carried a baby to full term, often putting on 35-60 lbs during the pregnancy which causes a forward centre of gravity, plus the added baby weight to the spine. This can cause weakness to the spine, pelvis, mid back and neck. After we give birth the perception is that the spine 'springs' back to a normal curve, however this takes time to strengthen the spine and the core muscles.  We all know that we have weak abdominal muscles, all new moms remember the jello jiggle belly right after birth and that it takes time to strengthen them. Over lifting, carrying heavy weights on an all ready weakened spine can cause injury, and added in the lack of rest, sleep and nutrition many women are added factors to this as well.

So how do you prevent injury to your spine postpartum?
1. Lighten the load in your purse and diaper bag. Take into the building a mini version of your diaper bag ( 1 diaper, 4 wipes in a baggy, etc). You can easily find mini baby organiser kits anywhere. Leave the bulky diaper bag in the vehicle just in case, if there is a major diaper emergency it is easy to ask for help!
2. Just carry your wallet in the mini bag, not all your other 'stuff' to lighten the load
3. Baby wear your child, leave the seat in the car. We all know that when lifting something heavy to lift with your legs and keep the heavy load close to you to prevent disc injuries and rotational sprain /strains. Baby wearing keeps the heavy baby load close to your body, helps keep mom and baby close thus helping with cuddling and bonding with your baby- a WIN-WIN. There are many baby wearing 'devices', slings, wraps, carriers, talk to someone who knows all the types and what would work best for you, and your baby and body shape with out causing further injury.
4. Ask for help from loved ones ( Dads, aunties and uncles can help by carrying some heavy items!)
5. Stay home and rest- sometimes we do things as moms that can wait, if you are sore, get adjusted rest and stay home, avoid heavy lifting of those car seats, diaper bags and purses.
6. Use an angel arm strap to carry the car seat as it redistibutes the weight across the shoulders and spine.

If you have any questions please feel free to call us at Family First Chiropractic and Wellness 403-347-3261, we are located at142 Erickson Drive, Red Deer, T4R 2X3
www.family1stchiro.ca