この記事は次の言語でも読めます：日本語
I posted a blog post last time about my new baby girl, Emma, has arrived.
While my memory is fresh, I would like to share some stories about my maternity life as a wheelchair user.
Every pregnant woman’s body would change and would find new inconveniences in daily life as their babies grow.
In my case, as a manual wheelchair user, I started worrying about using the wheelchair when going up-hills. I wondered if my body position, bending my upper body forward and pushing the wheelchair by arm’s strength and tightening stomach muscles, would affect my baby.
Especially it was my first pregnancy, I was very concerned that it might cause a misbirth by giving pressure to my belly.
There is a long gentle uphill from the ticketing gate to the wheelchair accessible exit at the station near my home. Since I commute from the station every day to go to work, I cannot avoid the route.
“What should I do?” I asked myself worryingly.
After some considerations, I made a decision to “change from a manual wheelchair to a power wheelchair.”
Once I decided, I talked with the wheelchair company that I always consult when I have questions about wheelchairs. There are 3 options to gain a power wheelchair.
- Order a custom-made power wheelchair that fits my body
- Rent a ready-made power wheelchair and pay monthly
- Purchase a second hand ready-made power wheelchair
The first option, a custom-made power wheelchair, didn’t meet my requirement because it takes a long time to custom-make a wheelchair as it starts from the body measurement. It might have arrived after my baby girl was born and would not fit my body at the time.I just need a power chair that I can use before and after my delivery while my body is bigger than that before pregnancy.
Therefore, I considered options of a ready-made power wheelchair.
Renting one and pay monthly, the second option, costs about 50,000 JPY/monthly. At that time I was 5 month pregnancy, so if I rent 5 more months, the total cost would be 250K JPY at least.
Surprisingly, purchasing a second hand one costs about the same, 250K JPY.
After thinking the following points:
- It would be convenient to carry the baby if I can have my own power wheelchair even after the delivery
- I may be pregnant again and have 2nd or more kids in the future
I decided to buy a second hand. Although the wheelchair is used, it looks very clean. Its tires and motor are renewed, and the wheelchair company even gave me a 2-year free maintenance.
So, I ordered a power wheelchair in the end of last year, and the wheelchair company brought it in the beginning of this year.
When I started using it, I didn’t like the slow speed and its wide width which doesn’t allow me to go through a narrower path. After a while, however, I began loving it so much!
Especially, a pregnant body changes drastically during the last 3 months of pregnancy. The belly gets bigger and the pelvis shape also becomes wider to get ready for a baby to come out.
I still used my manual wheelchair sometime until 7 month pregnancy if the destination is a small restaurant or so. It was impossible to do so after 8 month pregnancy. My body didn’t fit in my manual wheelchair anymore. Even if I forced myself to it, I felt hard to breathe and couldn’t run as fast as I could before the pregnancy.
Thanks to the power wheelchair, I could go to work until 9 months pregnancy (before maternity leave) and go shopping by myself until 10 month pregnancy. It was totally a stress-free maternity life.
I had another good point to use a power wheelchair too. I enjoyed wearing a while coat during winter time.
In a manual wheelchair, a white coat easily gets dirty by tires as I need to push the wheelchair by myself. So I usually wear a dark color coat in winter. However, I didn’t need to worry in a power wheelchair at all.
I am wearing a white coat in the picture below. During maternity period, I could have some fun in fashion that I couldn’t before.
After the delivery, my body is changing back to my normal size, and I started using my manual wheelchair outside.
Since I used a power wheelchair for 5 months which I barely moved my body, I now go for a walk in my manual wheelchair everyday to get my muscle strength back.
I would be really happy if this episode could help pregnant Moon Riders or ones who are planning to have a baby soon. I will keep posting episodes that can be helpful!