Praying Comfortably During Pregnancy

Praying during pregnancy usually feels much the same in the early months and changes most in the last three. Sujood and the sitting position are where most women notice it first. A softer surface under the knees, something solid to push up from, and more room between the knees make a real difference.

Please read this first

Everything below is general comfort advice from a prayer mat shop. It is not medical advice and it is not religious guidance. Your midwife or GP knows your pregnancy, so check with them before changing how you move, and straight away if anything hurts. For questions about how your Salah should look if standing or bowing becomes difficult, ask your local imam or a scholar you trust.

Quick answer

  • Surface: pray on a padded mat, on carpet if you can. A thin mat on laminate is the hardest combination for knees.
  • Sujood: many women find it easier with the knees wider apart, so the bump has room.
  • Sitting and getting up: a firm cushion under you, and a stool or bed edge beside the mat to push up from.
  • If the floor becomes too hard: praying seated is something to ask your imam about. Check with your midwife or GP about any movement that hurts.

In this post

Praying during pregnancy: what changes as the months go on

In the first trimester, sickness and tiredness tend to affect prayer more than the bump does. Many women find that praying in a cool, quiet room with a window open helps more than anything to do with the mat.

From around the second trimester, your balance starts to shift. Standing for long rakahs is more tiring. Getting down and back up starts to need a hand on the floor.

In the last months, three things come up again and again:

  • Sujood needs more space between the knees, and the bump needs somewhere to go.
  • Getting up from sitting is the hardest single movement.
  • Sitting on a cold, hard floor for long can leave the back or hips sore for the rest of the day.

Pelvic girdle pain is common in pregnancy, and it can make spreading the knees uncomfortable in exactly the way that helps with the bump. If you have it, tell your midwife. They can tell you what support is available.

Comfort in Sujood and sitting

Small changes that many women find help, roughly in order of how much difference they make. Check with your midwife or GP if any of them do not feel right for you.

  1. Pray on a padded surface. Most of our adult mats have 1.7 cm of foam in a three-layer build: a soft velvet-feel top, the foam, and a backing.
  2. Widen your knees in Sujood so the bump sits between your thighs rather than pressing against them.
  3. Put a firm cushion under you in the sitting position, so your hips sit a little higher than your knees. A folded towel works as well as anything sold for the purpose.
  4. Have something solid to push up from. A low stool, a sturdy chair or the edge of a bed beside the mat. For many women this is the single most useful change.
  5. Move onto carpet if you have a choice of rooms.
  6. Give yourself longer. Rushing the movements between positions is where strain happens.

If your knees are the main problem, the ideas in our guide to the best prayer mat for knee pain apply here too. For the sitting after Salah, which gets harder late in pregnancy, see prayer mats for long sitting and Dua.

At this stage a wider mat often helps more than a thicker one, because you need room to spread the knees. Most of our adult mats are 120 x 64 cm. Our luxury arch mats, such as the Luxury Sand Arch, are 130 x 73 cm, the longest and widest we make, with the same 1.7 cm of foam and a white cotton back layer.

Sand-coloured padded prayer mat with a plain arched design

Padded Prayer Mat with Luxury Sand Arched Design

130 x 73 cm with 1.7 cm of foam. Extra width for spreading the knees, in a calm neutral for a bedroom prayer corner.

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If you prefer a traditional look, a classic arched design with the same padding works just as well on a smooth floor.

Olive padded prayer mat with a classic arch and floral motifs, Madinah Arch design

Adult Padded Prayer Mat with Madinah Arch Design

1.7 cm of foam and a white cotton back layer that helps stop it slipping on smooth floors when you push up.

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Praying seated when you need to

Most women manage to pray on the floor until quite late in pregnancy. For some, there comes a point when standing, bowing and Sujood are not possible without real difficulty. Salah is not meant to put you at risk.

Islam makes room for this. A well-known narration in Sahih al-Bukhari (1117) records the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ telling a companion who was unwell to pray standing, and if he could not, then sitting, and if he could not, then lying on his side.

Scholars apply that allowance to illness, injury and genuine difficulty. When it applies to you, and how to pray seated, are questions for your local imam or a scholar you trust rather than for us. What we can share is the practical side:

  • A firm dining chair is usually better than a soft armchair. Feet flat, hips a little above the knees.
  • Keep the mat down in front of the chair. It marks the space, and it is there for the days you can pray on the floor.
  • If you pray seated often, or like to stay sitting for Dua afterwards, a mat with a built-in backrest can help.
  • Do not treat the chair as permanent. Many women are back on the floor not long after the birth, when their midwife or GP is happy.
Siraj backrest prayer mat in deep blue with a geometric border and the backrest raised

Siraj Design Adult Backrest Prayer Mat

A full prayer mat of about 107 x 58 cm laid flat. Raise the backrest to sit and lean back for Qur'an or Dua.

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After the birth

Many scholars teach that a woman does not pray during postnatal bleeding and does not make up those prayers afterwards. How long that time lasts, and what to do if bleeding stops and starts, is something scholars have discussed in detail, and views differ. Ask your local imam or a knowledgeable teacher rather than following a general rule from the internet.

On the physical side, be patient with yourself. Pregnancy is tiring, and the first weeks afterwards are often more so. After a caesarean, kneeling and pushing up can put strain on the healing area, so ask your GP or midwife when it is sensible to go back to praying on the floor. Praying seated for a while is not a failure.

Two things help in those weeks: keep the mat where you can reach it easily, and choose a shorter, calmer prayer over a rushed one between feeds.

If a position hurts in a sharp or new way, stop and ask your midwife or GP. Some discomfort is normal. Pain is worth a conversation.

Questions people ask

Is it safe to do Sujood while pregnant?

That is a question for your midwife or GP, who know your pregnancy. Many women with a straightforward pregnancy carry on with Sujood, with the knees wider apart to give the bump room. If you have pelvic girdle pain, a higher-risk pregnancy, or have been told to avoid certain movements, ask them first.

What kind of prayer mat works best in pregnancy?

A wide, padded one on carpet. Width matters as much as thickness, because you need space between the knees.

Can I pray sitting on a chair while pregnant?

Many women do in the later months, when standing or Sujood becomes difficult. Whether it applies to you is a question for your local imam or a scholar you trust.

Do I make up prayers missed after giving birth?

Many scholars say prayers missed during postnatal bleeding are not made up. Confirm what applies to you with a knowledgeable teacher rather than a shop.

When can I go back to praying normally after a caesarean?

Ask your GP or midwife. It depends on your recovery, not on a fixed number of weeks.

You can compare the wider luxury arch mats in our luxury padded prayer mats collection.

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