How Much Can You Lift When Pregnant? Staying Safe at Home and Work

When you’re expecting, you need to be careful about how much you lift. That can be tricky if you need to carry heavy groceries, you have a physically demanding job, or you’ve started nesting during pregnancy (frantically cleaning your house in preparation for the new member of the family).

Exactly how much you can safely lift depends on your pre-pregnancy fitness level, how far along you are, and how you lift objects (i.e., your form and technique).

Read on to learn how much you can safely lift when you’re pregnant, with tips for correctly picking up and carrying objects.

As a general rule, most doctors suggest not lifting objects over 20 pounds, particularly as you get further into your pregnancy. 1

For more specific guidance, you can check out the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) guidelines for lifting at work: 2

Maximum Amount of Weight You Can Lift During Pregnancy

Keep in mind that these are rough guidelines that are meant for people who work jobs that include lifting. They aren’t universally applicable. The most important factors determining how much you can safely lift when you’re pregnant are your own body and health history.

Put another way, if you were a competitive weightlifter before getting pregnant, your capacity will be very different from someone who rarely lifted much at all.

Your best bet is to chat with your doctor to get more personalized guidelines, especially if you have to lift as part of your job.

What if your job requires a lot of heavy lifting?

Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, if you can’t perform your usual duties because of your pregnancy, your employer should treat you the same as any other employee with a temporary disability. 3

Talk to your supervisor and HR department (if your job has one) about which accommodations you’ll need to make so you and your baby stay safe.

When you’re pregnant, your body goes through a lot of changes to accommodate your growing baby. These have a direct impact on your ability to safely lift heavy objects.

Two of the biggest changes that affect how much you can lift when you’re pregnant include:

Hormonal shifts and joint stability

Early in pregnancy, your body produces a hormone called relaxin. This loosens the ligaments and joints in your pelvis to prepare for childbirth.

Relaxin affects all of your body’s other joints, too, which makes them less stable and more prone to injury. 4

This means you have a higher risk of pulling a muscle or spraining a joint when lifting something, even if it’s a weight you could have easily handled before you got pregnant.

Your shifting center of gravity

As you get further along in your pregnancy, your center of gravity shifts forward, which can throw off your balance and make you more at risk of falling. 5 A serious fall is not only dangerous for you but also for your growing baby.

Moreover, this forward shift places extra stress on your pelvis and lower back. When you add a heavy object into the mix, the stress on your body magnifies, and you’re far more likely to hurt yourself.

How much you lift isn’t the only thing that matters; you’ll also need to lift objects correctly so as not to injure yourself.

Always prioritize proper lifting form over speed or convenience. Before you lift anything, take a moment to position your body correctly.

You should follow these guidelines for lifting:

• Bend from the knees, not the waist: Get as low as you can by bending your knees and hips while keeping your back straight.
• Use your legs to power the lift: Your leg muscles are the strongest in your body. Engage your glutes and quads to push yourself up to a standing position.
• Keep the object close to your body: Hold the object near your center of gravity to reduce the strain on your back.
• Tighten your core and exhale as you lift: Gently engage your abdominal muscles for support and breathe out as you lift. Never hold your breath, as this can increase the pressure on your abdomen and pelvic floor.
• Avoid twisting motions: If you need to turn, move your feet instead of twisting your spine while holding a heavy object.

It probably goes without saying, but you should keep these guidelines in mind when exercising. You may need to alter your fitness routine to incorporate safer movements. Ask your doctor for recommendations on the best pregnancy workouts to follow during your stage of pregnancy.

How to know when something is too heavy for you to lift

Your body will give you signals when a task is too strenuous. Learning to listen to these cues is one of the most important things you can do to stay safe. Stop lifting immediately if you:

• Feel pain in your back, pelvis, or abdomen during or after lifting
• Have to hold your breath or bear down to lift something
• Can’t maintain a straight back and bend from your knees
• Feel off-balance or dizzy at any point

What to avoid when lifting during pregnancy

You’ll need to avoid certain types of movements and positions that add unnecessary stress to your body, such as:

• Lifting heavy objects from the floor: Whenever possible, try to lift items from a surface that is at least mid-shin height. Bending all the way down to the floor puts maximum strain on your back.
• Lifting things overhead: Reaching up to place or retrieve heavy items can strain your neck and back and put you at risk of losing your balance.
• Standing for long periods: If your work or daily routine involves a lot of standing, especially while holding objects, make sure you take regular breaks to sit down and rest.

Remember, you can always ask your partner, a friend, a family member, or a coworker to help you lift heavy or bulky items. If no one else is around, it’s not a bad idea to put off lifting something until you can get a little help. Your safety (and your baby’s safety) is what matters most when you’re pregnant.

While nobody can deny that you’ve become something of a superhero during pregnancy, now’s not the time to flex your muscles. Heavy lifting can put you and your baby at risk. Whenever possible, try to avoid overexerting yourself.

If you’re unsure about how much is safe for you to lift when you’re pregnant or your job requires a lot of heavy lifting, have a chat with your doctor.