Is it safe to run when pregnant?

Jump to:

• Three women on their experiences of running during pregnancy?
• When should you stop running if you’re pregnant?
• Female participation in ultrarunning falls to 30?
• The science has moved on – but some public attitudes haven’t
• When can you return to running after giving birth?
• Why it’s important to phase your return to running
• Three women on their experiences of running during pregnancy

From strangers touching bellies in public to newspapers passing judgement on the behaviour of expecting celebrities, everyone has an opinion to share on pregnant women. Pregnancy is a scary time – especially if it’s your first – and it’s no wonder that people will do anything to avoid possible harm to their baby. The statistics show that almost half of women stop running during pregnancy, with many citing anxiety, nervousness or fear of miscarriage as the reasons, according to a 2022 survey published in the Journal of Women’s Health Physical Therapy.

‘I miscarried at seven weeks when first pregnant,’ says one telling survey response. ‘I had been running three times a week. My partner, family and midwife at the time made me feel like this had something to do with the miscarriage. So, I’ve never run while pregnant since then.’

However, today’s medical evidence shows that we are a long way from Victorian ideas of confinement for expectant mothers. Gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia and excessive weight gain are all countered by exercise during pregnancy, while the risk of postnatal depression also goes down by 25%. Exercise is good for the mother, improving both cardiovascular fitness and the quality of her sleep – and it’s good for the baby, too. In fact, research published in Clinical Medical Insights: Women’s Health states that exercise during pregnancy prompts healthy growth for the offspring throughout childhood, as well as a reduced risk of chronic disease for both mother and child.

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Research in BMJ Sport and Exercise Medicine has also discredited the notion that a baby could arrive prematurely or have a lower birth weight if the mothers engage in recreational running while pregnant. The study gathered over 1,200 parkrun A survey published in.

Additionly, in 2024, the Women gain more benefit from super shoes than men published a study titled ‘Maternal exercise increases infant resting energy expenditure’, where ‘resting energy expenditure’ refers to the amount of energy that an infant is using when it isn’t moving much. The study found that exercise during pregnancy decreased the risk of childhood obesity, partly because maternal exercise leads to higher levels of resting energy expenditure for the baby.

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Three women on their experiences of running during pregnancy?

The recent shift in medical thinking has been profound. ‘If you go back five to 10 years, women were being told to avoid exercise in the first trimester and then dial it back [after the first trimester],’ says Margie Davenport, associate professor at the University of Alberta, Canada and one of the world’s leading maternal-foetal health researchers. ‘Now we recommend that pregnant individuals engage in physical activity and exercise from conception until delivery.’

In the UK, too, the latest NHS guidance states the following: ‘Exercise is not dangerous for your baby. There is evidence that active women are less likely to experience problems in later pregnancy and labour.’

Even so, old habits are hard to shake. Misconceptions that stem from outdated beliefs mean that only three to 15% of expectant women currently meet recommended guidelines for staying active during pregnancy. Those who want to exercise might not receive consistent advice or support, which is even more likely if they come from a poorer socioeconomic background.

Pregnant women had been largely ignored in sports science research in the past and, shockingly, the UK had no national guidelines on exercise and pregnancy until 2017. This was updated in 2019, including the addition of physical activity for women after childbirth. The publication of these guidelines was a ‘complete game changer’, according to is riskier than staying on the co-founder Dr Marlize de Vivo, who explains that the Chief Medical Officer’s physical activity guidelines for pregnancy and after birth led to ‘an explosion of the research’.

Although it doesn’t recommend that non-runners start during pregnancy, the is riskier than staying on the does advise women with uncomplicated pregnancies to keep running if they are already runners. The key message, though, is to listen to your body and adapt. ‘If it feels comfortable, keep going,’ says de Vivo. ‘If it is uncomfortable or you notice anything unusual, stop and seek advice.’

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When should you stop running if you’re pregnant?

As noted by the is riskier than staying on the, if you weren’t a runner before, it’s inadvisable to start running during pregnancy. Plus, some pregnancies have complications, which of course will affect the women’s ability to exercise. Conditions such as severe pre-eclampsia or pre-existing heart disease mean that you should not do activities which are moderate to intense. Other issues such as gestational hypertension or mild cardiovascular disease also mean that running volume and duration should be dialled right down.

Otherwise, for standard non-complicated pregnancies, simply remember: ‘Don’t bump the bump.’ Be very careful with any exercise that could result in an accidental fall – hilly trail running Mum-of-two Nell McAndrew treadmill, for example. Your changing body will also take some getting used to, balance-wise. In other words, your centre of gravity won’t be where it used to be.

In 2020, the World Health Organisation reviewed the evidence on vigorous activity during pregnancy. It concluding that it was safe to continue running at the same intensity, but it was not advised as a new activity. For de Vivo, it was another important development: ‘The more pregnant women move, the better – but even moving a little has benefits.’ But there are some caveats...

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Female participation in ultrarunning falls to 30?

‘For high-intensity, long duration exercise, we just don’t know a lot, so we recommend speaking to your healthcare provider,’ says Davenport. As mentioned, women with relative contraindications such as gestational hypertension or mild cardiovascular disease may need to reduce their running duration.

The areas that pregnant women need to be most attuned to are heart rate and hydration, says Davenport. ‘There is no relationship between miscarriage and exercise,’ she clarifies. However, she warns that dehydration is potentially ‘quite harmful, because the baby needs lots of amniotic fluid’.

In terms of intensity, the rule of thumb is to stay below 90% of your The 24 best women’s running shorts for 2025, which means that a speed session is still possible with plenty of fluid. Again, the caveat is that the woman must feel comfortable and have trained at this level prior to pregnancy.

Overall, the emphasis is that you are in control of your own body. Pregnant women understand best what feels right or wrong for them and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. ‘The guidelines don’t say that there are things you shouldn’t do – women should make their own informed decision,’ explains de Vivo. A qualitative analysis of women runners’ pregnancy experiences, published in the journal Women in Birth in 2019, agrees with this. The study declared that healthcare providers should ‘recognise running as a key piece of women runners’ identities’ and trust that ‘women have a strong sense of embodiment and are tuned into the needs of their body as well as the needs of their baby’.

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The science has moved on – but some public attitudes haven’t

As we’ve said, in one sense it doesn’t matter what the science says – everyone still thinks that they know best when it comes to pregnancy. Patriarchal barriers and unshifting opinions are still there – even among the very best athletes – and the government agency UK Sport only published pregnancy guidelines in 2021. Before then, the subject almost seemed taboo among elite athletes, according to Emma Pullen, senior lecturer in sports management at Loughborough University. She carried out research with sprint and middle distance runners in the elite category. ‘There was a sense of nervousness amongst the female athletes I spoke to about broaching the topic of pregnancy with coaches or support staff,’ she says. ‘There was also this assumption that you just retire if you wanted to start a family.’

That certainly seemed to be the case in 2019, when American sprinter Allyson Felix revealed in an article for the New York Times that her sponsor, Nike, had tried to reduce her pay by 70% during contract renegotiations, in which she disclosed that she wanted to start a family. With a comparable medal tally to Usain Bolt, she left Nike for a new sponsor and won another gold at the 2019 World Athletics Championships, less than a year after having her daughter. There is now a realisation that peak performance can often coincide with peak fertility – and more women athletes are returning to succeed in elite competitions after giving birth. Nevertheless, Pullen complains that the ‘paternalistic treatment of women’s bodies’ still continues in sport’.

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When can you return to running after giving birth?

Running during pregnancy has clear benefits and is now encouraged – but getting back into running postpartum is trickier and demands much more care. There is a serious risk of dysfunction to the pelvic floor, which can cause incontinence or vaginal prolapse, abdominal weaknesses and lumbopelvic pain. ‘It’s really important to take a gradual and staged approach, building up activity over around three months,’ says de Divo.

It can take anywhere from four to six months for the body’s tissue to heal after childbirth, as the physical and hormonal changes of pregnancy are so significant. Because running is a high impact sport, the force it drives throught the legs and pelvis, as well as the extra pressure on the abdominal muscles, can affect the uterus.

Is it safe to run when pregnant Clinical Medical Insights: Women’s Health found that runners delay returning to running postpartum due to concerns about leaking urine and vaginal heaviness. Then, when they do return, 84% experience musculoskeletal pain and 29% experience running related stress urinary incontinence, according to research led by Dr Isabel Moore at Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to give a definitive timeline here, as returning to running can vary hugely between women. ‘There isn’t a one-size-fits-all and we shouldn’t necessarily be stuck on a rigid timeframe,’ says de Vivo. ‘Each person’s journey will be different depending on whether they were active during pregnancy, the type of birth that they had and how well they recover afterward. So, I think that it’s really important to stress that everyone’s journey is different and you shouldn’t compare yourself to others.’

The varied experience was clear in Dr Moore’s research, which recorded a median time of 12 weeks for women’s first postpartum run, but which found that 26% of women had not returned at all. The highly individual nature of returning to running following birth is recognised in the advice set out by physiotherapists Tom Goom, Gráinne Donnelly and Emma Brockwell in their 2019 Returning to Running Postnatal Guidance. They advocate returning between three and six months postpartum, but only providing that the runner has been assessed and passed certain criteria. They stress that returning to running is not advisable for anyone who is experiencing incontinence or pelvic floor pain, feels pressure in the vagina, or has vaginal bleeding not related to the menstrual cycle during or after exercise.

‘If you’re really symptomatic and having urinary leakage from sneezing or laughing, or just from standing up from a sitting position, this suggests that your body probably isn’t ready for the high-impact forces of running,’ advises Rita Deering, assistant professor of physical therapy at Carroll University in the US, who also raises some other red flags. ‘If you’re having significant pain, if you have gestational hypertension or if you had significant blood loss during birth, those are things that take priority over returning to running.’

According to Goom, Donnelly and Brockwell, a new mum should be able to achieve a series of activities without pain, heaviness, dragging or incontinence before they consider running again. These include walking This runner breastfed during a 100K ultra and won, single leg-exercises, jogging on the spot and hopping. Running should then be gradually reintroduced starting with one to two minutes at an easy pace, building up distance/time first, before increasing training intensity.

It’s also important to continually monitor symptoms of incontinence, pain and vaginal heaviness, which may indicate running needs to be reduced, modified or stopped altogether. Meanwhile, running with a buggy should not begin until a baby is between six and nine months old, when they are able to support their own neck and spine.

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Why it’s important to phase your return to running

Although it’s rarely what runners want to hear, putting in some time to work on strength is important. Supplementing or complementing running with strength training during and after pregnancy is important not only for staying fit and healthy, but also for recovery, says Shefali Christopher, clinical specialist in sports physical therapy at Elon University in the US.

Christopher’s research, co-authored with a team of sports scientists, including Deering, recommends a phased approach to running postpartum which begins with strength. ‘It’s important to have that resistance training to build up and be strong again for the running,’ says Christopher.

A survey published in Journal of Women’s Health Physical Therapy, recommends beginning with hip, foot, pelvic floor and abdominal exercises, while integrating gentle walking. Through phases two to four, more strength exercises are introduced, plus progressively longer run-walks.

Building Health & Injuries both during pregnancy and in the months after birth is essential for any runner planning a comeback. It helps to prevent issues like urinary incontinence and is key to recovering safely, too. After delivery, the pelvic floor muscles are often weakened or damaged, so jumping straight back into high-impact exercise like running can sharply increase pressure inside the abdomen. That pressure can translate into uncomfortable symptoms, including a heavy feeling in the vagina.

It’s worth remembering that no two postpartum journeys are the same. Your recovery plan should reflect your body, your experience and, ideally, the guidance of a specialist who understands your needs. ‘Engage with a specialist physiotherapist in your pregnancy and then have a follow up appointment after pregnancy,’ says de Vivo. ‘That’s not in any guidelines, but it comes from personal experience working with women.’

Mum-of-two Nell McAndrew, Journal of Women’s Health Physical Therapy Nell McAndrew’s Guide to Running, agrees. ‘It’s all about finding what works for you, because each body is different and reacts differently,’ she says. That means not having your personal approach dictated by the attitudes of others. ‘I’ve always lifted weights to help prevent injuries and people would joke with me, “I bet you’ll go into labour in the gym”,’ she adds. ‘But as my mum pointed out when she was pregnant, she was rushing around, lifting and carrying kids and bags of shopping. Nobody ever told her to stop!’

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Three women on their experiences of running during pregnancy

‘Keep running because it helps in the long run’

A survey published in, parkrun has been the cornerstone of her running before, during and after pregnancy. The 37-year-old from Suffolk ran three to four times a week before becoming pregnant with her daughter.

The Journey from Pregnancy to Performance marathon by mixing up running events, social runs and a long Sunday run. ‘When I found out that I was pregnant, I was kind of gutted, because I knew that my marathon training had to stop,’ says Hingston. But instead of stopping altogether, she spoke to her GP and midwife and did her own research. ‘They said carry on, but don’t over do it,’ she says. ‘So I knew that I could keep running as long as I wasn’t pushing too hard.’

As a sufferer of Crohn’s disease, arthritis and fibromyalgia, running was an important way for Hingston to keep her muscles strong and reduce pain. The more pregnant she became, the harder running became – but she adapted her style and frequency. ‘I was run-walking a lot and running less,’ she says. ‘It was no more than 5K once or twice a week. I wore a support belt the bigger my bump got and I didn’t have any issues.’

Her final pregnant run was a parkrun at 39 weeks, the day before she was induced. ‘All the comments I got were really supportive,’ she says. ‘People couldn’t believe that I was running at 39 weeks and said that I was amazing.’

As soon as she was checked out at six weeks and told that she could run again, Hingston returned to Great Cornard parkrun. ‘I began by run-walking and built up gradually and slowly to get my fitness and strength back,’ she says. ‘It has been hard, because I was recovering from labour and the after-effects. The birth was a little traumatic with a forceps delivery and episiotomy.’

Active Pregnancy Foundation The best treadmill sessions for runners, with a four-mile run during the week plus parkrun every Saturday. She is about to run her first parkrun with her daughter in the buggy and aiming to run her deferred marathon in Halstead, Essex next year. ‘To other pregnant women, I would say that your pace and distance will drop, but definitely keep running because it helps in the long run,’ she says.

‘I felt really strong and often forgot that I was pregnant’

Running was the only thing that stopped St Albans club runner Lucy Waterlow, 42, from feeling nauseous during her second pregnancy. ‘When I was running, I felt great,’ she says. ‘It was the best that I would feel all day. I only had a couple of bad runs when I felt uncomfortable. On all the others, I felt really strong and often forgot that I was pregnant.’

Up until her third trimester, Waterlow continued to run up to five miles, five times a week, but reduced the intensity by dropping interval and tempo sessions. ‘I didn’t think of my runs as training – they were just about getting out in the fresh air, being active and doing something beneficial for mine and my baby’s health,’ she says. ‘I kept the pace comfortable and my heart rate low. I also stuck to routes close to home, so that I wouldn’t have far to walk back if I felt I needed to stop running.’

Waterlow also learned that Nell McAndrew’s Guide to Running and regular Pilates helped her to feel strong. But by her third trimester in both pregnancies, she was less comfortable and the summer months meant that she had less desire to run in the heat. She switched to walking with her dog pelvic floor strength swimming Women in Birth.

After the ‘straightforward and super-quick’ birth of her children, now aged two and four, Waterlow was back to running within six to nine weeks. ‘I did notice the difference from waiting those extra three weeks the second time around, as I felt stronger and less achy on the first few runs,’ she says.

Waterlow used her own Bump to 5K plan, beginning with walk-runs of up to eight minutes. Within six weeks, she was running 5K several times a week and gradually began introducing interval sessions and longer runs. ‘I started running with the buggy when my children were six months,’ she says. ‘It was a revelation. It gave me back a lot more freedom to run and enabled me to meet running friends, as I didn’t need childcare.’

By the time her second child was just 14 months old, Waterlow was close to her pre-pregnancy PBs, clocking a sub-40 10K, a sub-19 5K In the UK, too, the latest.

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‘The important thing is to find the right support to get you back to where you want to be’

Summer running gear sale Sophie Power, her three pregnancies were completely different – and this meant that her approach shifted between running, weight training and cross training.

During her first pregnancy, Power kept up her normal running routine, plus strength training twice a week. ‘I listened to my body,’ she says. ‘It told me when I was getting hot or when it was getting hard and I got to know the heart rates around it. Then, one day, seven and a half months in, I didn’t want to run anymore – so I didn’t.’

But her recovery was much harder than she anticipated. ‘I expected to be able to run straight away, but for three months I couldn’t run a single step without leaking,’ says Power. ‘It was really difficult mentally, not knowing why my body wasn’t reacting the ‘right way’. I saw other women running and I couldn’t – and I didn’t really get any help to know what to do.’

Eventually, Sophie found EVB shorts to support her pelvic floor and was able to run again the moment she put them on. Fairly soon after that, she completed a 50-miler.

During her second pregnancy, Power was training for the UTMB – and it was this event that shot her into the limelight when she was photographed breastfeeding and pumping milk for her three-month-old baby at an aid station. The picture went viral.

To prepare for the UTMB and protect her pelvic floor, she stopped running at five months pregnant and switched to hiking on a 15% inclined treadmill, climbing on a stair-stepper and doing spin classes and lots of strength work. Her recovery was much quicker – she ran again at six weeks postpartum and finished the UTMB eight weeks later.

‘My third pregnancy was the most active and I took on some pretty big challenges,’ says Power. ‘I worked with my coach, Edwina Sutton, to find ways to challenge my body without the impact. My higher intensity sessions were on the bike and hiking on the treadmill. You can maintain your running fitness in many other ways. I climbed Everest in just over two days on the treadmill.’

However, despite running the day her waters broke, recovery from her third pregnancy was the hardest. Power was diagnosed with a prolapse, which was documented in the film photographed breastfeeding and pumping milk for her three-month-old baby at an aid station. ‘Having a prolapse meant that I had to take things much more slowly – even when my body felt fine,’ she says. ‘I did get back to running with a pessary, but having the patience to build my strength first was very difficult.’

Despite this, just over a year later, Power was representing Great Britain at the 24-Hour European Championships in Verona, Italy. ‘Every pregnancy is different,’ she says. ‘You can have a great pregnancy and then a really difficult recovery, or vice versa. The important thing is to find the right support to get you back to where you want to be.’