Q: Good evening Doctor, I am 30 weeks pregnant and unfortunately my house help left for school about 3 week ago. Now all the house chores such as sweeping, washing, mopping etc. are on me now. Please, will this have any negative effect on the baby? I am very worried.
A: Hi dear. Thanks for writing in and congratulations on your pregnancy. I assume that it’s your first from your question 😀
So, pregnancy is not a death sentence or an illness, really. It is a natural condition and so, potentially, you can do a lot of things without any problem. Now there are caveats…if you have threatened abortion (miscarriage), your doctor will advise you to be on strict bed rest and not to lift a finger, literally 😀 There are a few other conditions that may limit what you can do, but your doctor will definitely be the one to issue those orders. In any case, whenever in doubt, please consult your doctor.
Having said that, bending to sweep or mop is okay in pregnancy but it has to be done the proper way…bending at the knees and not twisting your body while at it 😀 I suggest that you use the long-handled brushes/mops for sweeping/mopping as opposed to the local/native brooms/scrubbing brushes that require bending…in probably uncomfortable ways.

Pregnant women get lots of advice: from friends, mothers, mothers-in-law, colleagues, husbands etc. Sometimes it’s confusing to know what’s true and what’s not.
As a follow-on of my post a few days ago, I give you some more pregnancy myths and my take on them:

Advice
The first breast milk, colostrum, should be discarded as it is dirty and causes rashes in children

Fiction (False)
Colostrum is the first milk produced by the mother and is loaded with antibodies and nutrients needed by the baby. Babies should not be deprived of this milk.

Advice
Women should not take the prenatal vitamins (antenatal drugs) given at the hospitals because it makes babies grow unnecessarily big.

Fiction:
The iron tablets are important to prevent anaemia (blood shortage) in pregnant women and the folic acid ensures that baby’s spine develops well with no defects. In fact, it is advised that women who wish to get pregnant should start taking folic acid about 3 months before they conceive.
Any other ones you know?
Have a great evening 😀