When a pregnant woman is trying to hide her baby bump or simply trying to get her pants to zip, the urge to flex the abdominal muscles and try to suck in her stomach muscles can be overpowering.
But those same pregnant women may worry that trying to suck in the tummy can stress their core muscles too much and put too much pressure on the baby.
This article will not only answer the question: Can you suck in your stomach when pregnant? We will also have a crash course in anatomy and how your body changes during pregnancy.
We’ll discuss what happens to your internal organs, core muscles, and pelvic floor muscles when you have that baby bump and how much pressure can your belly handle.
Can you suck in your stomach when pregnant?
The most simple and to-the-point answer to this question is that yes, you can suck in your stomach when pregnant.
However, just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should do it. Sucking in your stomach for long periods or too much can lead to pain, weakened muscles, and other issues that pose no real risk to your baby but will affect pregnant women negatively.
What happens when you suck in your stomach?
When you tighten up those already stretched core muscles, you weaken them and stretch them to the point that they can tear. Your muscles are already stretched to accommodate your baby bump, pushing your internal organs back and upwards.
The baby remains in the uterus, which has grown exponentially and becomes hard.
Diastasis recti
Pregnant mothers who put too much strain on their bodies by sucking in that baby belly risk pelvic floor muscle issues, as well as a condition known as diastasis recti, which is the separation of the abdominal muscles above and below the belly button.
While diastasis recti is a common malady (about 60 percent of women get it), most women don’t even realize they have it until the postpartum period. It is still best to avoid putting stress on the belly by sucking in your stomach after you have reached eight weeks of pregnancy.
This can complicate birth, lead to pelvic floor pain and poor muscle tone, and lead to issues with delivery and future pregnancies.
When your stomach hardens as you suck it in, you can also cause the large muscles in your abdomen called the transversus abdominis to weaken, which can later cause significant back pain and other issues.
The vena cava
The vena cava is a major blood vessel in your body that is responsible for supplying blood to your baby and your brain.
When you lie down, the baby and uterus put pressure on this blood vessel, making you very dizzy, as blood flow isn’t getting to your brain sufficiently.
What is belly pumping?
Belly pumping is part of the Bloom Method, a workout for pregnant women.
If you are concerned with getting back to your normal pre-pregnancy weight after your baby is born and working towards a flat stomach or simply keeping your body toned, there are safer and better ways to do it than doing sit-ups. At the same time, you have a growing baby in your uterus.
This new method called belly pumping looks extreme. Still, most gynecologists and obstetricians have given their approval and confirmed that, when done correctly, it is perfectly safe for both mom and baby.
Unlike sit-ups, which are aimed at toning muscles through constriction, belly pumping uses a combination of flexing the pelvic floor muscles and concentrating on small and focused core muscle movements to pull the diaphragm up during a deep breath.
The strong muscles surrounding your diaphragm contract easily when breathing, and the baby bump seems to constrict.
These safe exercises must be practiced mindfully and carefully so as not to strain your baby or body too much. It’s an excellent exercise for women who want to be in great shape after giving birth. It can also help to strengthen your pelvic floor, which will help to prevent postpartum incontinence.
How much pressure can a pregnant belly take?
Your baby bump is a hardened area full of not just baby but the amniotic fluid that helps cushion your growing baby from pressure, impact, and other forces that we sometimes can’t avoid.
All the uterine fluids in your uterus help keep the baby perfectly safe, so baby bumps are often far more resilient than many people give them credit.
However, even though your stomach feels hard and firm when you apply excess pressure to the body by lifting more than you should, your whole body is impacted.
The short answer is that most women can lift in the first trimester of pregnancy. Still, as the pregnancy progresses, you need to limit any heavy lifting and even erratic movement or lifting in the wrong direction.
Through 20 weeks
Up through your 20th week of gestation, most women are cleared to lift up to 36 pounds.
However, this number is not set in stone. Much depends upon a woman’s lifestyle before she was pregnant.
If you were in good shape and accustomed to lifting a lot before pregnancy, your doctor may clear you to lift more weight.
If you rarely lift anything, have any complications or have a high-risk pregnancy, you may be restricted from lifting even 36 pounds.
At 21 weeks and beyond
At week 21 and beyond, most doctors will tell you to lift no more than 20-26 pounds and to move carefully to avoid hurting yourself as your pregnancy grows.
In the early months of pregnancy, your baby grew quickly but was still considered to be very small. As your pregnancy progresses, you must be sure to have your body aligned before lifting anything. Remember to lift with your knees and not your back.
Your baby will most likely not get hurt if you ignore this rule, but you may find it excruciatingly painful. You’ll do more harm to yourself, ignoring weight limits than you will to your baby.
When to stop bending during pregnancy
Any single position that is held for too long can cause pain. However, if you need to bend for a few seconds at any point in your pregnancy, as long as you have no known complications have a high-risk pregnancy, you should be fine.
The further you are, the more you need as much support on your belly as possible. When you bend over, you allow gravity to take hold and do what gravity does.
That can cause some pain but still should not cause any actual harm.
Better ways to hide a baby bump when pregnant
Your baby bump is part of the beautiful journey that is pregnancy.
However, if you would rather keep the pregnancy to yourself or want to minimize the look of that big belly, there are other, safer ways to do it than by sucking it in.
1. Maternity clothes
Even after giving birth, you may find maternity clothes are your most comfortable wardrobe choices.
Much better than sucking in your stomach when pregnant, wearing flattering clothes that can distract from your not-so-flat tummy can give you the confidence boost you need.
There are more attractive options than walking around in old clothes that don’t fit well and are uncomfortable on your ever-growing stomach.
2. Eat a healthy balanced diet
Pregnancy doesn’t mean that you’re now eating for two.
Maintaining a healthy diet and trying to stay toned by doing light exercises like cardio, yoga, or other low-impact exercises can help you look less prominent and won’t have to suck in your stomach.
You can also look into the Bloom Method or other exercises to help you stay fit during your pregnancy.
3. Wear more layers
Layering your clothing and using cute accessories is not only an exercise of disguise but of fashion.
Wearing a cute tee with one of your husband’s button-downs over it and a big chunky necklace or scarf is a simple way to disguise that bump or at least take some of the focus off of it.
You can also wear maxi dresses in prints that minimize your stomach or bump.
Exercise safety and love the skin you’re in
You can suck your stomach when pregnant and not hurt the baby, but it’s not a good idea.
You can exercise safely to maintain your figure before, during, and after pregnancy. You can eat right and make sure that you get all the right clothes.
What matters is staying safe and learning to love your body for what it can do and the miracle it has made.