There is no research on the safety of qigong during pregnancy and extremely limited research on practicing qigong while pregnant. Pregnant women should talk with their health care providers before starting qigong. Pregnant women may need to avoid or modify some qigong movements.
A small 2010 study of 70 healthy pregnant women in Korea found that adding a qigong-like practice to routine prenatal care resulted in several benefits: greater maternal/fetal interaction (a mother’s behaviors that set the stage for mother-child bonding before birth, such as gentle exercise, reading books out loud, or talking to the unborn child), fewer maternal depressive symptoms, and reduced maternal physical discomfort. The intervention, called Qi exercise, involved physical postures (various stretching, strengthening, and balancing exercises done while standing, sitting, or lying down), breathing techniques, and meditation. Women in the intervention group attended two 90-minute sessions weekly for 12 weeks. Certain practices that were contraindicated during a given period of pregnancy were avoided. There was no mention of adverse effects among any of the pregnant women during the study.