Can I stand on equipment when exercising during pregnancy?
If you have ever hesitated before stepping onto a Pilates reformer, a box, or a balance board during pregnancy, that instinct is worth taking seriously. Here is what the evidence says.
What pregnancy does to your balance
You may have already noticed it. A wobble you did not expect. A moment of uncertainty on the stairs. Your body is not imagining it. Pregnancy progressively changes your balance, and by the third trimester that change is significant. Falls during pregnancy are more common than most women are told, affecting nearly 27% of pregnant women, with the highest risk in the final trimester.
What is actually changing
Your body is already adapting to this without you having to think about it. Pregnant women naturally spend more time with both feet on the ground when walking, reducing the time spent balancing on one leg. Your body knows the ground feels less reliable than it used to be.
What drives that change is a combination of things working together. Your centre of gravity shifts forward as your bump grows. Your joints and ligaments are looser. Your proprioception, the sensory system that tells your brain where your body is in space, is diminished. Your vestibular function, which helps you detect and respond to balance changes, is also slower. When something shifts unexpectedly, your ability to catch yourself is not what it was before pregnancy.
Your cardiovascular system plays a role too
You may have already noticed that standing up too quickly during pregnancy can make you feel momentarily dizzy or lightheaded. That is not in your head. Blood volume increases during pregnancy and your blood vessels relax, which lowers your blood pressure. Sudden position changes can cause a brief drop that catches you off guard.
On stable ground that passes quickly. On a reformer, a box, or a balance board, that same moment becomes something much harder to recover from.
So what does this mean for equipment?
Standing on a Pilates reformer, a box, or a balance board adds an extra layer of demand on top of a system that is already working harder than usual. The surface is elevated, often moving, and unforgiving if your balance shifts unexpectedly. Your reduced proprioception means you are slower to detect that shift. Your looser joints mean you are less able to correct it quickly.
This is not a reflection of your fitness or your experience. Women who have trained on this equipment for years before pregnancy can and do fall. The equipment has not changed. Your body has.
The risk is also higher in group settings. An instructor running a class of ten cannot watch every person closely enough to catch a moment of instability before it becomes a fall. What feels manageable in a one on one session is a different proposition in a busy class.
What to do instead
Most exercises that use unstable equipment or elevated surfaces can be modified to achieve the same training effect from a safer position. Stable ground, a wall for support, or a chair for balance are all effective alternatives that allow you to keep moving without the added fall risk.
If you are working one on one with an instructor who knows you are pregnant, some exercises on equipment may still be appropriate with the right modifications and close supervision. In a large group class, that level of individual attention is not realistic, and it is reasonable to ask for a modification or to step off the equipment entirely.
You do not need to stop exercising. You may just need a different version of what you were already doing.
References
Branco, M., et al. (2022). Biomechanical adaptations of gait in pregnancy: Implications for physical activity and exercise. Springer.
Dunning, K., et al. (2009). A Major Public Health Issue: The High Incidence of Falls During Pregnancy. Springer.
Goossens, N., et al. (2022). Changes in static balance during pregnancy and postpartum: A systematic review. Gait & Posture.
Hrvatin, I., & Rugelj, D. (2022). Risk factors for accidental falls during pregnancy: A systematic literature review. Journal of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine.
Mahendru, A.A., Everett, T.R., Wilkinson, I.B., Lees, C.C. & McEniery, C.M. (2014). A longitudinal study of maternal cardiovascular function from preconception to the postpartum period. Journal of Hypertension, 32(4), 849–856.
Soma-Pillay, P., Nelson-Piercy, C., Tolppanen, H. & Mebazaa, A. (2016). Physiological changes in pregnancy. Cardiovascular Journal of Africa, 27(2), 89–94.
WHEN Exercise and Pregnancy Guidelines, Version 2 (April 2026). Women’s Health Education Network. www.when.org.au
Developed by the WHEN Clinical Team
Clinically reviewed by the WHEN Clinical Governance Committee
Last reviewed: 02/07/2026
