ABSTRACT
Posture modification was confirmed by Lee et al. (1999) in a study comparing posture of five pregnant women and five non-pregnant controls. They analysed the initial sitting and last 10 min of a 50 min sitting session, and found postural differences between pregnant and non-pregnant women. The pregnant participants tended to hold the upper arm further away from the body, to lean more forward and to have more hip extension than the non-pregnant women. In a qualitative video study, Hirao and Kajiyama (1994) also mentioned that it might be difficult for a pregnant woman to maintain an appropriate visual distance from the screen without leaning forward, a posture that should be avoided because it compresses the abdomen. According to Morrissey (1998), this posture may cause pressure on the abdomen, and higher activity in the back extensor muscles and in the shoulder and arm muscles, which could lead to musculo-skeletal problems.
