Is weightlifting safe during pregnancy?
Resistance training during pregnancy is recommended. WHEN supports at least two sessions of resistance training per week during pregnancy. This article is not about whether to lift. It is about what the research actually tells us, where the gaps are, and where the 15kg guide comes from and who it applies to.
What the research shows
Resistance training during pregnancy has real, well documented benefits. It supports your strength, reduces the risk of gestational diabetes, helps manage weight gain, and is good for your mental health. There are also many ways to do it, bodyweight work, bands, cables, free weights, machines, and the right approach will vary from woman to woman depending on her starting point and how her pregnancy is progressing.
There is a growing body of research on weightlifting during pregnancy. Studies looking at miscarriage risk, fetal responses, and birth outcomes are reassuring. When someone tells you weightlifting during pregnancy is safe, they are drawing on this research, and it is worth knowing that is what the research covers.
What those same studies do not look at is the long term effect on your body. Your pelvic floor, your joints, your connective tissue, and your musculoskeletal health in the years after pregnancy. That research simply does not exist yet, and WHEN believes you deserve to know that before you decide.
Where the 15kg guide comes from
Research on women and weightlifting found that lifting over 15kg is associated with a higher rate of pelvic organ prolapse symptoms in women compared to men doing the same work. That is a finding specifically about women’s bodies, not about pregnancy, and it is the evidence behind WHEN’s 15kg guide.
This study was not conducted in pregnant women specifically. It looked at female weightlifters generally. It is the closest evidence available on women and heavy lifting, and it is why WHEN uses it to anchor the 15kg guide. There is currently no research that looks specifically at what heavy lifting does to a pregnant woman’s pelvic floor over the long term. That gap is precisely why a precautionary approach makes sense.
If you were lifting well above 15kg before you got pregnant, the 15kg guide was not written for you. It is a starting point for women new to resistance training during pregnancy. Your history, your pregnancy, and how your body is responding all factor into what is right for you.
Your body is already lifting more as pregnancy progresses
Something that rarely gets mentioned is that pregnancy itself adds load to your body throughout. The weight of your baby, your placenta, increased fluid, and the changes in your body composition all add up. What felt manageable at 12 weeks is a genuinely different proposition at 32 weeks, even if the weight on the bar has not changed.
This is worth factoring into how you think about your training as your pregnancy progresses, not as a reason to stop, but as useful information for adjusting along the way.
What to pay attention to when you are lifting
The same signals that apply to other exercise during pregnancy apply here. If you notice leaking, heaviness or pressure in your vagina during or after lifting, stop and check in with your maternity care provider before continuing.
Breath holding and bracing hard during heavy lifts drives significant pressure through your pelvic floor and your abdominal wall. Learning to breathe through your lifts rather than holding your breath makes a real difference during pregnancy.
Technique matters more during pregnancy than at any other time. Looser ligaments and a shifting centre of gravity mean that a lift that felt stable before pregnancy may feel different now. If something does not feel right, ease back.
References
Dalhaug, E.M., Sanda, B., Bø, K., Brown, W., & Haakstad, L.A.H. (2025). Pushing limits: the acute effects of a heavy-load resistance protocol and supine exercise on fetal well-being. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 11, e002639.
Forner, L.B., Beckman, E.M., & Smith, M.D. (2020). Symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse in women who lift heavy weights for exercise: a cross-sectional survey. International Urogynecology Journal, 31, 1551-1558.
Friedman, M., Lampel, E., Danfi Marom, A., Zohar, N., Kliener, I., Gonen, N., Weiner, E., & Rottenstreich, A. (2026). Safety of high-intensity functional training (CrossFit) during pregnancy: a retrospective cohort study. European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, 316, 114840.
Prevett, C., Gingerich, J., Sivak, A., & Davenport, M.H. (2025). Resistance training in pregnancy: systematic review and meta-analysis of pregnancy, delivery, fetal and pelvic floor outcomes and call to action. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 59, 1173-1182.
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
