Lifting during pregnancy cut gestational hypertension risk by about half

The warning that lifting during pregnancy is dangerous has been around a long time, usually with thin evidence behind it. A recently published systematic review and meta-analysis gathered 50 studies and over 47,000 participants to look at how resistance training affects everything from prenatal health to delivery outcomes and pelvic floor symptoms.

What benefits showed up?

The effect sizes are large. Resistance training, usually performed as part of a broader exercise routine, produced roughly a 50% reduction in gestational hypertension — a condition that can lead to complications if it develops. The likelihood of developing gestational diabetes fell by about 38%.

The psychological outcomes improved alongside them. Resistance training reduced the risk of perinatal mood disturbances by about 50% in both the prenatal and postpartum periods. A 2025 systematic review of randomised controlled trials also reported improvements in overall quality of life, reduced fatigue, better sleep, fewer aches and pains — particularly low back and pelvic discomfort — and better physical functioning.

Did the feared risks actually rise?

Largely not. Rates of preterm birth, Caesarean delivery and perineal injury were similar between those who exercised and those who did not. Some evidence suggested a somewhat longer first stage of labour, but there was no meaningful difference in the second stage.

The same held for the baby. Birthweight, gestational age and the likelihood of delivering a very small or very large baby were all unaffected by resistance training, and macrosomia was less common among those who exercised. Pelvic floor data was limited, but those who maintained or increased their strength during pregnancy reported lower rates of pelvic floor symptoms.

How hard was the training?

This is the important qualifier. The protocols in the meta-analysis consisted mostly of short sessions of light lifting, often combined with other forms of physical activity. Those results do not transfer directly into evidence that high-intensity training is safe.

That said, higher intensities have been looked at. A study published a few years ago followed people who continued weightlifting — snatch and clean and jerk — and CrossFit training through pregnancy, and reported similarly promising results. Both papers were led by Dr Christina Prevett and Dr Margie Davenport.

How this relates to your strength score

Bodyweight changes substantially through pregnancy and the postpartum period. A relative strength score is corrected for bodyweight, so a score from this period mixes strength change and weight change together and becomes hard to read. Comparing it directly against earlier scores is not particularly meaningful. What is useful is logging the lifts themselves — that record is exactly what the meta-analysis is pointing at when it finds lower pelvic floor symptom rates in those who maintained or increased strength. For what it is worth, bodyweight on fairlift is private by default: it feeds the score and is never shown to other users.