Having a baby is a huge life event and a time of excitement, joy, and overwhelm. And while gardening is a great hobby to keep the stress away, gardening while pregnant can be a little more tricky! So I’ve come up with a list of pregnant gardening tips to keep you safe while gardening this season! (And of course, always consult your doctor!)
Pregnant Gardening Tips
- Stay hydrated at all times
- Avoid carrying heavy bags
- Wash produce thoroughly before eating
- Don’t stay in the sun for long amounts of time
- Avoid using harsh chemicals or fertilizers
- Don’t touch any plants you can’t identify
- Take frequent breaks
- Keep cats away from the garden
- Wash your hands more than normal
- Limit the plants you want to grow
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PREGNANT GARDENING TIPS
Whoever said you can’t enjoy your hobbies while pregnant lied. Gardening is a great way to take your mind off stress and is great exercise!
But as with any hobby, there are additional considerations to keep in mind if you want to keep doing garden chores while waiting for Baby!
Things like staying hydrated and not lifting heavy machinery are usually pretty obvious. But what about keeping cats away? And not using your regular fertilizers?
Keep reading to find out why these pregnant gardening tips are essential!
And for more gardening resources, get access to our free gardening resource library! It will help you fast track your garden and it only takes 5 seconds!
1. STAY HYDRATED AT ALL TIMES
While working in the garden, it’s pretty common to lose water in the body due to sweating.
This happens even if you’re not pregnant. But during pregnancy it’s essential to stay hydrated even more.
This is because dehydration during pregnancy can cause lower levels of amniotic fluid, premature birth, and even birth defects – according to the American Pregnancy Association.
Now, that’s serious.
So here are a few ways to stay hydrated while gardening:
- Keep a bottle of water with you at all times – this is my favorite garden themed water bottle!
- Keep snacks with you such as watermelon, cucumbers, and lettuce which have a high water content
- Make up some fun popsicles to bring with you while gardening – I make my own using these molds!
2. AVOID CARRYING HEAVY BAGS
Sometimes gardening means carrying heavy baskets such as your harvest or gardening tools.
But as you probably already know – if you’re pregnant you should try to avoid lifting heavy objects. Instead, find someone to carry the heavy bags and tools for you.
The perfect time to get the hubby to help you out! 🙂
Because not only is lifting heavy objects dangerous, but the risk of tripping and falling is greater if you’re walking around with tons of extra weight in your arms.
So stick to simple tools like gardening shears, hand trowels, and small pots. And leave the shovels and lawn mowers to someone else!
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3. WASH PRODUCE THOROUGHLY BEFORE EATING
Walking through the garden and picking fresh veggies to snack on is a great way to garden!
But if you’re pregnant you might want to think twice about eating produce straight off the vine – even from your own garden.
This is for many reasons.
One – if you do use any fertilizers or pesticides in your garden you really don’t want to ingest them.
And two – bacteria and other microscopic organisms are all over the fruit or in the soil. These can contain pathogens that can bring about problems for you and your unborn child if ingested.
So just to be safe, err on the side of caution and just wash off your garden goodies before eating them!
It will give you so much more peace of mind!
4. DON’T STAY IN THE SUN FOR LONG AMOUNTS OF TIME
One of the best parts of gardening is getting out into the sun and feeling the warm rays!
And of course, this doesn’t change just because you’re pregnant. But during pregnancy your body is working overtime to grow a new life – and it’s better off not to complicate things even more!
One of the main concerns about sun exposure during pregnancy is the high risk of overheating and dehydration.
And that’s the last thing you want for your body during pregnancy.
So in addition to staying hydrated at all times, staying out of the sun for prolonged periods of time will help keep you and baby safe.
And if prolonged sun exposure can’t be avoided, try wearing a hat to protect your face, taking breaks to sit in a shady spot, and always always use sunscreen!
5. AVOID USING HARSH CHEMICALS OR FERTILIZERS
Keeping your plants growing is hard enough in itself. And keeping the pests away is nothing short of a miracle sometimes!
Which is why lots of gardeners turn to fertilizers, pesticides, and other garden products to help.
Now, I garden organically and could definitely get on my soapbox about why everyone should go organic. But that’s a rant for another day.
During pregnancy the most important thing is keeping your baby safe. And gardening with chemicals isn’t the way to do that!
According to the Center for Disease Control, pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, and herbicides (pretty much all of the non-organic chemicals to kill weeds, pests, and insects) are linked to higher rates of miscarriage and birth defects.
And I don’t know about you, but those are not risks I would be willing to take!
So in order to prevent that, here are a few things to consider:
- Try gardening organically (companion planting, natural fertilizers, beneficial predators)
- Have someone else handle the chemicals if you must use them
- Stay out of the garden until everything has settled
- Wash your hands, clothes, and tools after gardening
6. DON’T TOUCH ANY PLANTS YOU CAN’T IDENTIFY
Every so often I will go out into my garden and find a few plants that I did not plant.
Call them weeds, volunteers, whatever.
Usually you just lean over and rip them out – no harm, no foul.
But in reality, if you can’t identify a plant, you don’t know if it’s harmful or not. And there have been plenty of times that I think a weed doesn’t have thorns only to find out the hard way that it does!
And if you don’t know what it is, you don’t know if it’s poisonous – or if you could be allergic!
So while carrying baby, it’s a good idea to be extra cautious.
If you have to touch an unidentifiable plant, ensure that you have protective clothing like gloves and long sleeves. And be sure to avoid any contact with your face – like trying to smell the plant!
Also, ensure that you don’t touch your face after touching such kinds of plants. Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly as soon as possible to avoid anything transferring to your skin.
Plus, you should remove the clothes you had on while touching the plants and wash them immediately after coming in from the garden.
7. TAKE FREQUENT BREAKS
When you work in the garden, it’s easy to lose yourself in gardening chores and all the plant to-dos.
But rest is paramount so you don’t tire out yourself, which makes it more difficult for your body to do its job. So taking frequent breaks during gardening is important for both you and baby.
Plus, taking breaks allows you to get out of the sun and can prevent dehydration!
Breaks are a good time to refill your water bottle, get some extra snacks, enjoy a leisurely walk around your garden, and sit down for a pause in the shade.
The perfect time to install a little garden bench, if you ask me!
8. KEEP CATS AWAY FROM THE GARDEN
Pregnant women often ask “Is it safe to garden while pregnant?” And the short answer is yes.
But there’s a lot more to consider.
One of the biggest risk factors in gardening for pregnant women is toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that is found in the soil whenever there’s cat feces present.
And even if you don’t own a cat, that doesn’t mean that the neighbors’ cat won’t make an appearance in your garden!
While toxoplasmosis is not usually a concern for healthy adults, it can pose serious problems for people with weaker immune systems and unborn children.
Healthy people might have no symptoms or may have mild flu-like symptoms. But for pregnant women, the danger is more pronounced because the parasite can cause a miscarriage or stillbirth if passed on to the unborn baby.
Some of the tips that you can follow to reduce the risk of toxoplasmosis include:
- Using garden gloves and avoid handling the soil while gardening
- Don’t touch your face with unwashed hands
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water afterward
- Keep cats away from your garden
- Don’t handle any cat litter or feces
These tips will help you steer clear of toxoplasmosis, which keeps you and baby healthy while gardening.
9. WASH YOUR HANDS MORE THAN NORMAL
Gardening is not a clean affair. You know, the whole concept of “getting your hands in the dirt.”
Besides working with dirt, manure, compost, and other garden chemicals, plants and pests carry their own bacteria and germs.
And of course, you should always wash your hands thoroughly after gardening – pregnant or not.
Because, you know, germs – ick!
But during pregnancy your immune system is also lower than usual to prevent your body from rejecting the baby – according to a Stanford University medical study.
Which means you’re more susceptible to germs and toxins than you were before you became pregnant.
And the last thing you want is to put Baby at risk – especially if you can prevent it!
So here are a few ways to keep yourself clean and Baby healthy:
- Wash your hands immediately after gardening
- Avoid trekking dirt and chemicals into the house by taking your shoes off at the door
- Wash your gardening tools after each use – trowels, garden baskets, etc
- Put all gardening clothes into the wash upon coming inside
- Take a shower after you finish gardening
- Make sure all pets are dirt free before entering the house
10. LIMIT THE PLANTS YOU WANT TO GROW
If you’re like me, you want to grow all the things every season.
Which leads to a lot of unused seedlings, and a lot of burn out! And when you’re preggo it’s probably a good idea to take it easy – gardening included.
Now is not the time to start 45678 new types of vegetable seeds, learn to graft, and try your hand at pressure canning 10,000 tomatoes for the first time.
So trust me when I say, limit the number of plants you grow for the next season or two.
Because the last thing you want is an overrun garden crawling with pests and chaos!
So if you’re used to growing 10 different types of broccoli – great, stick to that. Just don’t overwhelm yourself!
Instead, focus your energy on staying stress-free and planning for your future garden!
IS IT SAFE TO GARDEN WHILE PREGNANT?
Short answer, yes. Gardening is a safe hobby while pregnant.
But there’s more to consider – you can read the full article here.
While pregnant women can do most of the work in the garden, the safe bet is to avoid the use of chemicals, stay extra hydrated, and not to take on heavy tasks.
This will keep you much healthier (and baby much safer) in the garden!
CAN GARDENING CAUSE MISCARRIAGE?
Gardening itself won’t cause a miscarriage, but there are some things that can definitely increase the chances of a miscarriage while gardening.
The main one being the use of pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides. According to the Center for Disease Control, exposure to these chemicals during pregnancy can lead to increased risk of miscarriage in pregnant woman.
So it’s definitely better to have someone else apply these – or keep them out of the garden completely!
Another factor to consider that can lead to health issues during pregnancy is dehydration.
That’s why staying hydrated at all times is so important while out in the hot sun!
So while you’re gardening always remember to have a water bottle with you and take lots of breaks in the shade! And of course, follow these pregnant gardening tips to keep you and Baby safe!
I hope this was super helpful! And for more gardening resources, get access to our free gardening resource library! It will help you fast track your garden and it only takes 5 seconds!
Pregnant Gardening Tips
