Written by Editorial Team
Are you a health freak? Are worried about piling up kilos now that you are pregnant? Well pregnancy is the most exhilarating experience for any woman. Every woman looks forward to this phase in their life.
But eating healthy and doing regular moderate exercises during pregnancy is essential if you want to have a normal delivery and a healthy baby. Wondering if it is safe to do sit-ups during pregnancy or not? Go ahead and read on to know more on this.
In This Article
It is safe to do sit-ups in the initial three or four months of your pregnancy, or in other words, your first trimester. After this, it is advised not to do sit-ups, that is, you need to avoid doing sit-ups during your second and third trimester. Let us explain.
Sit-ups are essentially abdominal crunches. Follow the below steps to do sit-ups:
Sit-ups help strengthen rectus abdominis muscles. If you are wondering what that is, rectus abdominis muscles are commonly known as six-pack! During pregnancy, your ab muscles get stretched out a lot so having strong and firm abdominal muscles will do you lot of benefits. For example, stronger abs have the following benefits:
So if you have been working out regularly, you can continue to do sit-ups during the first trimester as it has many benefits.
[Read : Exercises During Pregnancy For A Normal And Natural Delivery]
Here are some useful tips you should follow while doing sit-ups during pregnancy:
[Read : Is It Safe To Exercise While Expecting Twins?]
Pregnancy is a delicate phase, so you should take utmost care while performing any kind of exercise during this phase. If you experience any of the following symptoms then you should immediately stop doing sit-ups:
Here are some reason you should not do sit-ups during second and third trimester:
That said, the common belief that doing crunches during pregnancy will “squeeze” the baby inside or give it less room to move about is just a myth!
There are many exercises that you can do to ensure a healthy pregnancy and safe delivery. Of course, as we mentioned before, before starting any of these exercises, please talk to your doctor and make sure it is safe for you to do them.
Have a healthy and safe pregnancy! All the best!
Read Also: Top 5 Exercises During Pregnancy
Planks and other static, endurance-based workouts are great for pregnant women because they help strengthen the core and the spine. Compared to more strenuous exercises like sit-ups, they are less demanding on the back
Sit-ups do not jeopardize the life of your fetus, but they might cause diastasis recti or uterine prolapse. Hence, before beginning any exercise during your pregnancy, consult with your doctor.
There is no evidence that any kind of exercise may induce labor in a woman whose body is not already showing signs of labour. Yet doing sit ups may hasten the natural start of labor.
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