Is It Safe to Ride a Lawn Mower When Pregnant?

Putting your body through strenuous physical activity should be avoided while pregnant and mowing the lawn can require a lot of physical exertion, even while you’re riding one. Riding a lawn mower while pregnant isn’t recommended, but it also won’t harm you too much if you’re careful.

Generally, mowing the lawn while pregnant is safe. Paying attention to your body and taking precautions to prevent heat exhaustion, increased allergen exposure, and dehydration can ensure mowing can be done safely.

Avoid mowing the lawn if your pregnancy is considered high-risk or if you have been advised by a medical physician. If you experience any pain and discomfort do not continue to mow. If possible, hire a lawn care service or have a friend or family member help you mow your lawn.

The following article is a more detailed description of the risks to be aware of when mowing the lawn while pregnant. It also includes a few tips to make mowing the lawn while pregnant safer.

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Is Mowing the Lawn Safe While You’re Pregnant

Generally speaking, mowing the lawn while pregnant is safe to do if it’s done carefully. It can even benefit you and your pregnancy if done safely.

But how safe mowing the lawn is can also depend on specific factors that affect your pregnancy, such as how far along you are or if you have a high-risk medical issue.

Why Mowing the Lawn Can Be Beneficial

For the most part, doing small amounts of physical activity isn’t harmful to women who are experiencing a healthy pregnancy. It can even benefit them in multiple ways, and mowing the lawn is a great way to get that physical activity.

Even though riding a lawn mower requires a minimal amount of effort, such as cleaning it out every so often, it can still be considered a form of exercise.

A little bit of exercise and fresh air each day can even be beneficial to pregnant women, as long as you listen to your body and don’t overdo it. The benefits of getting a small amount of exercise while pregnant include:

Preventing extra weight gain
Releasing endorphins or “feel good” hormones
Making the delivery process easier

As long as you stay hydrated while mowing and take breaks when needed, mowing the lawn is a perfectly safe way to get some exercise and fresh air while pregnant.

Certain Cases Where Mowing The Lawn Can be Unsafe

However, if you have a high-risk pregnancy or your doctor has advised against it, riding a lawn mower should be avoided. A high-risk pregnancy means a pregnancy that can have a severe medical impact on the woman that’s pregnant and is determined as such by a doctor.

If your doctor has concluded that your pregnancy is a high-risk pregnancy, then it’s best to stay away from physical activity as much as possible.

This includes mowing the lawn since constantly getting on and off the mower can put too much exertion on you. The extra physical activity can even make your pregnancy more difficult.

Knowing your physical limits beforehand will help you make the best decisions when it comes to doing physical activity while pregnant. If you have the all-clear from your doctor and feel well enough to do so, then mowing the lawn can be done safely and benefit you in the process.

Mowing The Lawn at Different Pregnancy Stages

The safety of mowing the lawn is also dependent on how far along you are in your pregnancy. It’s generally safe to mow the lawn at any pregnancy stage, but the risk does increase slightly as you go along.

Mowing at 10-20 Weeks Pregnant

Mowing the lawn at ten weeks pregnant is perfectly safe if your pregnancy is proceeding normally. Unless your doctor has given you instructions to not do a lot of physical activity and you feel well enough, mowing the lawn is a great and safe way to get some exercise.

The only things you have to be wary of are making sure you’re listening to your body and taking precautions beforehand.

If you start to feel sick or dizzy in the middle of mowing your lawn, then it’s best to get off the mower and take a break. Pushing yourself too hard in the early weeks can make your last few weeks of pregnancy more difficult.

Twenty weeks is the halfway point of your pregnancy, and where you might start to notice some changes in your energy and immune system responses. For example, you might get tired more quickly, and will have to take more frequent breaks while mowing the lawn.

You might also start developing mild allergies to things you weren’t allergic to before. If you had allergies prior to pregnancy, they might be getting worse.

It’s even more important to listen to your body during this stage. But if you’re careful and don’t overdo it, mowing the lawn is still safe at this stage.

Mowing at 30-40 Weeks Pregnant

The last half of the pregnancy is often the hardest part since your baby is more fully developed and your body will start getting ready for labor. This means you might be extra sore and very easily exhausted.

Mowing the lawn at this stage isn’t recommended since even a little physical exertion can strain your health. If you feel well enough and aren’t due for a few more weeks, then you can still mow the lawn safely.

Using a riding mower is better than using a pushing mower since you can use it without physically exerting yourself too much. It’s also important that you stay hydrated and take frequent breaks, so you don’t harm yourself or your baby.

Once you reach the point where you’re less than two weeks away from your due date, then it’s best to stop mowing the lawn and limit physical activity. Too much physical exertion can cause your body to go into early labor, so avoid the risk altogether.

Risks To Be Aware of While Mowing a Lawn When Pregnant

Even though mowing the lawn while pregnant is safe for the most part, there are some additional risks to be aware of when mowing the lawn.

These risks can apply to you or not depending on your own pregnancy circumstances. But they are worth being aware of so you can make the best and healthiest decision for you.

A few risks to be aware of when it comes to mowing the lawn while pregnant include:

Exposure to allergens and diseases
The size and landscape of your yard
Overheating and dehydration
Being induced into labor

These risks might not affect you if you are a healthy individual and are experiencing a normal pregnancy. But knowing about them can ensure you don’t put yourself and your pregnancy at risk.

Exposure to Allergens and Diseases

Mowing grass can expose you to allergens in the air and bugs that can carry diseases. For example, bees spread pollen and a few particles of it can drop onto your grass. This might cause you to inhale it and have an allergic reaction while mowing the lawn.

Pregnancy can make allergies worse since it severely affects your hormone regulation. This causes the body’s immune system to overreact to things that might not be that dangerous, specifically allergens in the air that you inhale.

Mowing the lawn can increase exposure to these allergens and make your pregnancy more difficult. Furthermore, bugs can easily spread diseases from backyard to backyard.

The most common type is Lyme disease, which gets spread by ticks that like to live in tall grass. When you’re mowing the lawn, you’re more likely to be exposed to these ticks, and they can land on your skin and clothes.

If one of them bites you and gives you Lyme disease, it can severely affect your health and the health of your pregnancy. If you didn’t have any allergies prior to your pregnancy or tall grass in your yard, then you don’t have to worry about this risk much.

The Size of Your Yard

If you have a relatively small yard, then you don’t have much to worry about when mowing the lawn. But if you have a large yard, then there are some risks to be aware of.

A large yard takes a significantly longer amount of time to mow. Using a riding lawn mower can make the process a little easier. But sitting for long periods of time can negatively affect your pregnancy.

Sitting for long periods of time can increase the amount of weight you gain and put you at higher risk for developing gestational diabetes.

Gestational diabetes is a condition where your body’s blood sugar levels increase rapidly. This can affect the health of you and your baby, such as increasing the risk of birth complications.

As long as you take breaks when you need them and stay hydrated, mowing a large lawn should be safe to do while pregnant.

The Landscape of Your Yard

If your yard is mostly even and flat, then it’s safe to mow it without worrying about your health. But if you have a yard that has lots of hills or one large hill, then you should avoid mowing it.

A yard that has lots of small hills can be risky for a pregnant woman to mow. This is because the constant up-and-down movement you experience while riding on the mower can induce nausea and dizziness.

The constant movement can also induce early labor if you’re due soon. If you start feeling dizzy or nauseous while mowing the lawn, it’s best to stop mowing for the day.

If your yard is mostly flat, then riding a lawn mower should be perfectly safe to do. Similarly, it’s safe to use a riding lawn mower if your yard is a little bumpy but there aren’t any large bumps are hills.

Overheating and Dehydration

Overheating occurs when your body gets too hot and can’t cool down in time. This can lead to conditions such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Pregnant women are more susceptible to these conditions, so mowing the lawn on a hot day can be risky.

Pregnant women that are experiencing overheating will often feel faint and dizzy, which can cause them to fall.

If this occurs, then it’s very likely that they could go to the hospital because of early onset labor or placental abruption. Both of these conditions can cause complications with the rest of the pregnancy and the birth.

Dehydration occurs when the body doesn’t have enough water, which can lead to headaches and exhaustion. It’s extremely important that pregnant women stay hydrated for multiple reasons, including:

Building new tissue
Producing extra blood volume
Forming amniotic fluid
Carry nutrients
Flush out waste and toxins
Help indigestion

If you don’t drink enough water or get dehydrated too often while pregnant, it can severely impact your health and the health of your baby. If you frequently drink water and take breaks while mowing, then these risks should be minimized.

Tips to Make Mowing a Lawn While Pregnant Safer

While there isn’t a way to make mowing the lawn while pregnant fully risk-free, there are ways to make it safer. A few ways to make mowing the lawn while pregnant safer include:

Preparing the yard beforehand
Dressing properly
Have someone help out

Taking all of these precautions will ensure that you stay safe while still getting some exercise.

Preparing the Yard Before You Mow It

Preparing the yard before you start mowing can help make mowing the lawn a smoother process, so you don’t have to physically exert yourself more than necessary. A few things that can get caught in lawnmowers include:

Sticks and branches
Backyard toys
Seed pods
Rocks

Sticks and branches can fall from trees and onto your lawn, which will make mowing the lawn a lot bumpier.

Having someone toss them into a compost bin beforehand can lessen the chances of them getting stuck in the mower blades. You should also make sure rocks and seed pods are out of the way since they can get stuck.

Have a friend move any rocks or pebbles you find away from the yard this will solve the problem. Having someone do a quick run-through of the yard with a rake will also help get rid of any seed pods that can get stuck in the mower.

Backyard toys, such as balls and other sports equipment, should also be stored away before mowing the lawn.

They could also get stuck in the mower if you aren’t careful but having someone put them away beforehand will also save you the effort of walking back and forth from the patio to the mower. The less you physically exert yourself, the better.

Dress Properly for Mowing the Lawn

Dressing properly for mowing the lawn means wearing clothes that will protect you from the backyard elements that might deter your health. The first thing you should wear is the proper footwear.

Sneakers or work shoes that have a good amount of support will make it easier to walk around the lawn, and they will also protect your feet from bugs and dirt.

Wearing long pants and a long sleeve shirt is also recommended to keep your skin safe from bugs and the sun.

The less you’re exposed to the sun and disease-carrying bugs, the less likely you’ll contract heat exhaustion or the diseases that bugs carry. You can also wear a hat or sunglasses to help protect you from the sun.

Lastly, it’s recommended that you wear a pair of high-grade headphones while mowing the lawn, especially if you’re sensitive to loud noises.

The loud noises of the lawn mower can cause you or your baby to get stressed, which can negatively affect both your and the baby’s health. Wearing headphones is the best way to decrease this risk.

Have Someone Help You Mow the Lawn

Having someone help you mow the lawn will not only make the process go a lot faster, but it will also greatly decrease the amount of physical activity you have to do.

For example, you can have someone clear the yard of potential hazards while you mow the areas that don’t have any hazards.

Having someone else there to help you can also ensure you get the help you need when you need it. For example, if you start feeling faint or dizzy, the person that’s helping you out can help guide you to somewhere safe and take care of you until you feel better.

An extra pair of hands is a great way to make mowing the lawn while pregnant easier and safer.

Final Thoughts

Even though it’s generally safe to mow the lawn while pregnant, you should still know your limits and pay attention to what your body needs. Taking the time to follow a few safety tips can help ensure you and your baby stay healthy while you mow the lawn.

If these recommendations are followed and you don’t go overboard, then mowing the lawn is a great way to safely exercise while pregnant.

Tags: Lawn Mowers

Is It Safe to Ride a Lawn Mower When Pregnant?