Lift weights during pregnancy for an easier delivery, but avoid common mistakes

Strength training during pregnancy can boost the chances of a smoother birth, but a doctor has warned of “common” exercise mistakes to avoid.

Lifting weights can strengthen muscles throughout your body and can be combined with other types of moderate exercise during pregnancy, such as swimming and walking, Healthline explains. However, one social media star revealed that lifting weights helped her give birth with just one push, which lasted 30 seconds.

Yanyah Milutinović from New York gave birth to her youngest son, Vuk, in 2021 and worked out throughout her pregnancy to stay as fit as possible. In a TikTok post, the fitness star captioned a workout compilation with: “I lifted weights during pregnancy so my birth would look like this.”

The video then cut to the midwife, who said: “That was a push, a really good push.” Responding to the viral post, Dr Karan Raj highlighted the benefits and risks associated with this form of exercise during pregnancy.

The expert, who goes by @dr.karanr online, asked: “If you’re incubating a tiny human, is it safe to ingest iron? Yes, but with some caveats.” He continued: “Exercise during pregnancy not only increases the cardiovascular fitness of the mother, but also helps on the metabolic front.

“It reduces the risk of gestational diabetes and hypertension, which is good news for making childbirth easier and less complicated.” This advice has been backed up by a 2011 study, cited by Healthline, which reports that people who exercise during pregnancy can reduce their chances of developing gestational diabetes by 59 percent and preeclampsia by up to 54 percent.

In addition, the research found that it could help the development of the baby, reduce the likelihood of cesarean delivery and premature birth, and encourage shorter active labours. However, Dr Karan also warned about the dangers of resistance training during pregnancy.

She said: “As the uterus and baby grow in size during pregnancy, there is an increased risk of traumatic injury because there is more surface area. So it is worth being careful about activities that could directly affect the abdomen.”

The doctor also recommends being careful with breathing technique during these exercises, as excessively holding your breath when lifting weights and straining “constitutes a Valsalva maneuver.” He adds: “Doing this repeatedly can reduce blood flow to the fetus and increase intra-abdominal pressure. This increases the risk of pelvic organ prolapse and diastasis recti.”

“At this point, the abdominal muscles, which are already in full action, are stretched more and separated. Ultimately, this all depends on how low-risk your pregnancy is and whether you were used to lifting weights and exercising before pregnancy.”

Healthline echoed this, explaining that it’s best to talk to your doctor if you’re just starting out lifting weights. However, if you were active before pregnancy or during your last pregnancy, there may be certain circumstances in which you should avoid lifting weights.

Tips for exercising during pregnancy

The NHS has listed some exercise tips for pregnant women, including:

• Warm up before exercising and cool down afterwards.

• Stay active daily: Walking 30 minutes a day may be enough, but any amount is better than nothing.

• Avoid strenuous exercise in hot weather.

• Drink plenty of water and other fluids.

• Try swimming because the water will support your increased weight.

• Be careful with exercises that involve a risk of falls, such as horseback riding, downhill skiing, ice hockey, gymnastics, and cycling. Falls pose a risk of harm to the baby.

Exercises to avoid during pregnancy

The NHS has also highlighted exercises to avoid during pregnancy, these include:

• Don’t lie on your back for long periods, especially after 16 weeks, because the weight of your bump presses on the main blood vessel that carries blood back to your heart and this can make you feel weak.

• Do not participate in contact sports where there is a risk of being hit, such as kickboxing, judo or squash.

• Do not go scuba diving, as the baby has no protection against decompression sickness and gas embolism (gas bubbles in the bloodstream).

• Do not exercise at altitudes above 2500 m above sea level as you and your baby are at risk of altitude sickness.