Pushups are generally safe during pregnancy for people with uncomplicated pregnancies. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists encourages strength-conditioning exercises before, during, and after pregnancy. That said, how you do pushups matters more as your body changes, and most people will need to modify the movement as their pregnancy progresses.
Why Pushups Are Worth Keeping
Pushups build strength in your chest, the backs of your upper arms, and your shoulders. These are the same muscles you’ll rely on heavily after delivery, when you’re lifting, holding, and feeding your baby for hours each day. Wall pushups specifically target the pectoral and triceps muscles, and the Mayo Clinic includes them as a recommended pregnancy exercise.
Maintaining upper body strength during pregnancy also supports better posture, which becomes harder to sustain as your center of gravity shifts forward. Starting slow and gradually building up to about 15 repetitions per session is a practical approach for most people.
First Trimester: Business as Usual
If you were doing standard floor pushups before pregnancy, the first trimester is typically fine to continue. Your belly isn’t large enough to interfere with the movement, and there’s no significant compression risk at this stage. The main thing to watch for is fatigue and nausea, which may affect your energy and balance on some days more than others.
Second and Third Trimesters: Time to Modify
As your belly grows, standard floor pushups become impractical and potentially risky. The two main concerns are pressure on your abdomen and compression of a major blood vessel called the inferior vena cava, which runs along your spine and returns blood from your lower body to your heart.
Research published in PLOS One found that prone (face-down) positioning in the third trimester was associated with a reduction in cardiac output, likely due to compression of the inferior vena cava. This is the same mechanism behind the well-known advice to avoid sleeping flat on your back late in pregnancy. While a pushup is brief compared to lying face-down for 30 minutes, the growing uterus makes any sustained prone position less comfortable and potentially less safe as pregnancy advances.
The solution is simple: raise the surface your hands are on. Incline pushups let you get the same upper body workout without putting your belly in a compressed position. Here’s how they progress:
- Mid-pregnancy: Use a sturdy bench, countertop, or railing. Place your hands shoulder-width apart, step back into a standing plank, then bend your arms to lower your chest toward the surface. Aim for 2 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions.
- Late pregnancy: Move to a wall. Wall pushups are the most upright variation, keeping pressure off your abdomen entirely while still working your chest and arms effectively.
The steeper the incline, the less body weight you’re pressing and the less strain on your core. Let your comfort and belly size guide when to switch to a higher surface.
Watch for Abdominal Coning
One of the most important things to look for during pushups (or any plank-like exercise) is a ridge or dome shape that appears along the center of your belly when you engage your abs. This is called coning, and it’s a visible sign that the two sides of your abdominal muscles are separating, a condition known as diastasis recti.
Diastasis recti is common during and after pregnancy. According to the Cleveland Clinic, people with this condition should avoid planks and standard pushups unless they’re using modifications. Other signs include a soft or jelly-like feeling around your belly button, low back pain, and difficulty with everyday tasks like lifting objects. If you notice coning during a pushup, stop that variation and switch to a more inclined version, or skip pushups temporarily until you can do them without the bulging effect.
Joint Looseness: Less of a Concern Than You’d Think
A common worry is that the hormone relaxin, which your body produces more of during pregnancy, will make your wrists and shoulders too loose and unstable for weight-bearing exercises. The research on this is actually reassuring. A review in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports found that relaxin’s joint-loosening effects during pregnancy are concentrated in the pelvis. Studies specifically looking at wrist joint laxity found no correlation with relaxin levels. So your wrists aren’t significantly more vulnerable during pregnancy than they normally are, though if you experience wrist discomfort, doing pushups on your fists or using pushup handles can reduce the angle of wrist extension.
When to Skip Pushups Entirely
Pushups are not appropriate for every pregnancy. If you have a high-risk pregnancy or pregnancy complications, these exercises may not be suitable. You should stop any exercise session if you experience vaginal bleeding, regular or painful contractions, leaking fluid, dizziness, chest pain, or shortness of breath before you even start moving. Headache, calf pain or swelling, and muscle weakness that affects your balance are also reasons to stop and get checked out.
If you feel unstable during any variation, slow down or stop. Losing your balance during a pushup, even from a wall, carries a fall risk that isn’t worth it. Move slowly, skip any variation that feels shaky, and remember that the goal is maintaining functional strength, not setting personal records.