In a Different World?

A BBC article on increased risk of miscarriage under certain conditions brings me up short. One of the things that can increase the risk of miscarriage is lifting 20kg+ in weight "each day". But good news from the appropriate medical body:

 A "spokesperson at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: "This is a very interesting study in terms of the very large population size." She said it confirmed much of the advice currently given out in the UK to promote healthy pregnancy, such as not drinking, but questioned how applicable the study would be to British women.
On the subject of the findings, Ms Overton added: "Twenty kilograms is the size of a large holiday suitcase. Most of us would only lift that very occasionally.""

I suspect that if you work for a medical association you may be right, and only ever carry heavy bags from the car to the airport check-in. But consider. 25kg is the generally accepted heaviest thing to carry single-handed in industry. With the result that the heaviest cases of sugar, tins of stuff, delivered into supermarkets, for example, are 20-25kg. So women working in warehouses, women in shops, could be lifting c 20kg on a regular basis. 20kg is, in my old-fashioned world, about 3 stone 1 pound. Or the weight of a four or five year old child, quite likely. The sort of small person an expectant mother in her mid-thirties could quite likely pick up all the time, dealing with grazed knees, insecurity over the new baby, or just desires for a cuddle.

If this medical advice is properly right, it might be quite important for expectant mums in the retail, catering or distribution industries. Many women will pick that up quite a lot. Shame if the advice were discarded because some people work in offices.