Squat During Pregnancy Benefits & Precautions

Squats during pregnancy are a popular (though challenging) exercise that helps increase lower body strength. It's a workout with many variations done with or without equipment and targets different body areas. Pregnant women can add this excellent workout into their daily or weekly fitness program with safety precautions, doctor consultation, and a trainer before beginning and performing under supervision.

The following looks at the benefits and precautions of squatting during pregnancy in more detail.

Can You Perform Squats During Pregnancy

Squatting during pregnancy is a great resistance workout for expecting mothers because it helps keep their hips, core, glutes, and pelvic floor muscles strong and mobile. When done correctly, squats strengthen muscles for labor and delivery and help improve one's posture. Women don't need to use weights when reaping the benefits of pregnancy squats.

Before beginning any new workout while pregnant, it is crucial to have the doctor's approval.

Benefits Of Squat During Pregnancy

Working out while pregnant is good for both the mother and the baby. It's also important to point out that for many pregnant women, staying active makes them happier, less anxious, and more in tune with their growing bodies.

Here are five reasons why pregnant women should do squats:

• Squat during pregnancy helps a pregnant woman keep a healthy weight since too much weight gain can be harmful if it exceeds a particular threshold.

• Pregnancy squats build muscular strength and help keep the correct posture. It also prevents putting too much stress on the knee ligaments without hurting the pregnant woman or her baby.

• Squat in pregnancy is a great way to relieve pregnancy-related lower back pain. It's great for a pregnant woman's legs and back since it works on the hamstring and quad muscles.

• Squatting can help relieve aches and pains common during pregnancy, such as insomnia, constipation, leg cramps, heartburn, incontinence, and varicose veins.

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• Women who stay active during their pregnancy and do squats in their ninth month go into labor earlier and have fewer problems during delivery.

You may also like: 10 Effective Exercises to Induce Labor Fast & Have a Safe Delivery

Safe Squat Workouts During Pregnancy

Here are some safe squat workouts you can practice during pregnancy:

1. Bodyweight squats

The bodyweight squat is an excellent lower-body strengthening exercise that requires neither special equipment nor much room. It is an efficient pregnancy squat exercise that uses almost all the muscles in one's legs.

2. Sumo squats

The inner thigh and glute muscles are the focus of this particular squat variation. Moreover, it's a great hip-opener stretch. An expecting mother's joints are more pliable during pregnancy. It is easier to injure by stretching too much. In other words, a pregnant woman should not stretch further than she needs to.

3. Ball Wall Squats

Using a ball to perform ball wall squats is a fantastic way to build strength in the expecting mother's legs and glutes. It's great for a pregnant woman's legs and back since she works on the hamstring and quad muscles.

4. Deep squats hold with pelvic floor contraction

A set of muscles known as the pelvic floor serve as a sling for the bladder, uterus, and other reproductive organs. These muscles might weaken during pregnancy, resulting in urinary incontinence and other problems after delivery. Keeping the pelvic floor muscles strong during pregnancy is vital since they come in handy during birth. Deep squats held with pelvic floor contraction are shallower and narrower and are better for strengthening the pelvic floor during pregnancy.

5. Chair squats

This is a fantastic alternative to traditional squats for pregnant women or anyone else who may have trouble maintaining their balance. The glutes, hip flexors, abs, quadriceps, calves, and hamstrings are all engaged in a chair squat.

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Precautions

Squat exercise in pregnancy poses no risk to the pregnant woman's ability. However, there are always some precautions a pregnant woman should take while performing squats.

Following are basic safety measures to keep in mind while performing pregnancy squat exercises:

• Pregnant women should slowly and carefully work out each squat movement. This is because, during a woman's pregnancy, the protein hormone relaxin causes her ligaments and joints to loosen up.

• It's essential for a pregnant woman not to get too hot or thirsty. So, she should make sure to drink water while doing squat during pregnancy.

• A pregnant woman should ensure she is comfortable with the depth of her squat, so she does not lose her balance, especially in the latter stages of her pregnancy.

Pregnant women should remember that they are the best judge of their bodies, so if something doesn't seem right, they should take a break.

Conclusion

Squats are an excellent workout for pregnant women because they maintain lean muscle mass and strengthen the core, increasing a pregnant woman's ability to carry a child, labor, and deliver naturally. They also help improve posture, making them a great overall workout.

Remember that a pregnant woman must always get her doctor's approval before doing squat during pregnancy or any new exercise program.

References

1. Hemmerich A, Bandrowska T, Dumas GA. (2019). The effects of squatting while pregnant on pelvic dimensions: A computational simulation to understand childbirth. J Biomech.

2. Gorman J, Roberts CA, Newsham S, Bentley GR. (2022). Squatting, pelvic morphology and a reconsideration of childbirth difficulties. Evol Med Public Health.

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