Prenatal yoga participation varies substantially by country, population, definition, and access setting. Available studies range from national and hospital surveys to small feasibility trials, so the percentages below should be compared cautiously rather than treated as one worldwide participation rate.
Contents
- How many pregnant women practice yoga
- Where and how prenatal yoga is practiced
- Who participates and what predicts participation
- Recruitment and enrollment
- Attendance, adherence, and practice dose
- Acceptability and barriers
- Behavior change after prenatal yoga
How many pregnant women practice yoga
The clearest population estimates come from surveys, but they use different questions and denominators. In a nationally representative Australian pregnancy survey conducted in 2010, 172 of 1,420 women, or 12.1%, practiced yoga both at home and in classes. Another 122 of 1,473 women, or 8.3%, practiced at home only, while 45 of 1,505, or 3.0%, attended classes without reporting home practice. These categories describe reported settings and should not be added into a single prevalence estimate because the survey groups and response bases differ. (Characteristics of women who practice yoga in different locations during pregnancy)
Other surveys show how much estimates can vary by geography. A rural Maharashtra antenatal survey, published in 2021 with the survey period not stated, found current-pregnancy yoga practice among 38 of 228 women, or 16.7% (95% CI 12.1–22.1%). (Practice and Acceptability of Yoga Among Pregnant Women in India) At Rapti Provincial Hospital in Nepal, 16.7% of 227 antenatal respondents reported practicing yoga during pregnancy in 2024. (Yoga among Antenatal Women)
The Australian 2021 survey measured yoga as one exercise type, not necessarily participation in a pregnancy-specific class. Yoga was reported by 36% of respondents who exercised during pregnancy. Among exercisers with a mental-illness diagnosis, 43% reported yoga, compared with 31% among those without such a diagnosis. (A cross-sectional survey of Australian women’s perspectives and experiences of exercise during pregnancy)
| Population and measurement | Reported yoga participation |
|---|---|
| Australia, home and class, 2010 survey | 12.1% (172/1,420) |
| Australia, home only, 2010 survey | 8.3% (122/1,473) |
| Australia, class only, 2010 survey | 3.0% (45/1,505) |
| Rural Maharashtra, current pregnancy | 16.7% (38/228) |
| Rapti Hospital, Nepal, 2024 | 16.7% (227 respondents) |
In Nepal, prepregnancy practice was more common than current-pregnancy practice: 49 of 227 women, or 21.7%, reported practicing yoga before pregnancy. That distinction matters when a study asks about starting yoga during pregnancy versus continuing an existing practice. (Yoga among Antenatal Women)
Where and how prenatal yoga is practiced
The 2010 Australian survey found meaningful differences between location patterns. Women who practiced both at home and in classes had 0.53 times the odds of living rurally compared with women using neither setting. The same home-and-class group had 2.31 times the odds of reporting active preparation for labor, 0.38 times the odds of reporting repeated vomiting during pregnancy, and 7.97 times the odds of reporting a birth-center birth. These are associations from one survey, not evidence that yoga caused any of those outcomes. (Characteristics of women who practice yoga in different locations during pregnancy)
Home practice also had a distinct profile. Australian women practicing at home only had 2.27 times the odds of holding an apprenticeship or diploma qualification and 1.76 times the odds of saying complementary medicine gave them more control over their health or body. They also had 3.54 times the odds of reporting a birth-center birth. Class-only users had 1.97 times the odds of reporting pregnancy stress. (Characteristics of women who practice yoga in different locations during pregnancy)
The survey population itself was predominantly urban and relatively highly educated. Among Australian respondents, 62.4% lived in urban areas, 34.6% in rural areas, and 3.0% in remote areas. University qualifications were held by 60.1%, while 23.9% held an apprenticeship or diploma. Private health insurance at the birth of the child was reported by 71.1%. These characteristics help define the population behind the location comparisons. (Characteristics of women who practice yoga in different locations during pregnancy)
Who participates and what predicts participation
Prior experience was a strong statistical marker in the 2024 Nepal hospital study. Prepregnancy yoga practice was associated with current-pregnancy yoga practice at an adjusted odds ratio of 131.824. It was also associated with accepting yoga as part of antenatal care at an adjusted odds ratio of 28.374. Women older than 25 had a crude odds ratio of 2.005 for accepting yoga in antenatal care. The study also reported an adjusted odds ratio of 2.424 involving husband’s employment status and ANC acceptance; the reported association should be interpreted as presented in the source. (Yoga among Antenatal Women)
These figures suggest that prenatal yoga programs may reach two overlapping groups: women who already have a yoga habit and women encountering yoga through antenatal services. They do not show that previous yoga causes later participation. They also cannot be transferred directly to the Australian surveys, the rural Maharashtra sample, or clinical trials because the settings and definitions differ.
Recruitment and enrollment
Trial recruitment often narrows participation well before the first class. In a U.S. prenatal-depression yoga trial recruiting in 2013–2014 and reported in 2015, 95 women initially called and 6 declined after hearing the study description. The trial enrolled 34 participants over 14 months, approximately one-third of the women who called. (Potential for prenatal yoga to serve as an intervention to treat depression during pregnancy)
The U.S. high-risk inpatient feasibility study assessed 64 patients between March 2016 and February 2017; 40, or 63%, consented. Of 39 eligible and consented patients, 15, or 38%, attended at least one session. (Inpatient Prenatal Yoga Sessions for Women with High-Risk Pregnancies)
The Yoga-M2 trial in India contacted 173 pregnant women during its 2020–2021 trial period, reported in 2023. Of these, 104, or 60.12%, expressed interest and entered eligibility assessment. Forty-nine of the 104, or 47.12%, did not meet the inclusion criteria. The trial randomized 51 adult pregnant women: 25 to yoga and 26 to enhanced usual care. (Yoga-M2 trial)
In a U.S. back-pain pilot running from April through December 2015, 168 women were contacted. Of those, 115, or 68%, were eligible and interested, and 20, or 17.3% of that group, enrolled. The randomized sample placed 11 women in yoga and 9 in an education control. (Prenatal Yoga for Back Pain, Balance, and Maternal Wellness)
Attendance, adherence, and practice dose
Attendance varied sharply by program. In the U.S. prenatal-depression trial, 29 of 34 participants attended at least one class and 5 attended none. Among attendees, mean attendance was 5.2 classes over 9 eligible weeks, with a standard deviation of 3.7 and a range of 1–16 classes. Average attendance rose from 3.8 classes among the first 25 enrollees to 6.4 among the final 9. (Potential for prenatal yoga to serve as an intervention to treat depression during pregnancy)
That trial recorded both supervised and home practice. Participants averaged 51.3 minutes per week of in-class yoga, with a standard deviation of 41.6 and a range of 0–182 minutes. Home yoga averaged 32.7 minutes per week, with a standard deviation of 55.2 and a range of 0–260 minutes. Combined home and class yoga averaged 83.9 minutes per week, with a standard deviation of 75.3 and a range of 0–345 minutes. (Potential for prenatal yoga to serve as an intervention to treat depression during pregnancy)
In the high-risk inpatient study, only 3 of 15 yoga participants attended multiple sessions: two attended twice and one attended five classes. In Yoga-M2, 4 of 25 yoga-arm participants, or 16%, attended one supervised session and 1, or 4%, attended two. Eight of 25, or 32%, attended no yoga sessions, while 6 attended at least half of the six possible follow-up sessions. Of 70 Yoga-M2 sessions, 46, or 65.71%, were held from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the most suitable time slot reported. (Inpatient Prenatal Yoga Sessions for Women with High-Risk Pregnancies; Yoga-M2 trial)
The U.S. back-pain pilot reported average class attendance of 74% in the yoga group and 90% in the education control. At 12 weeks, retention was 81% in the yoga group and 77% in the education group. In the U.K. PRENAYOGA feasibility study, reported in 2025 with the study period not stated, mean attendance was 55.4% of twice-weekly sessions, ranging from 12.5% to 100%; 79.8% attended at least once weekly. Classes averaged 10 participants, with sizes from 4 to 12. (Prenatal Yoga for Back Pain, Balance, and Maternal Wellness; PRENAYOGA feasibility study)
Acceptability and barriers
In rural Maharashtra, 53.9% of 228 pregnant women thought yoga should be included in routine antenatal care. At Rapti Hospital, 114 of 227 women, or 50.2%, accepted yoga as part of antenatal care, while 113, or 49.8%, did not. (Practice and Acceptability of Yoga Among Pregnant Women in India; Yoga among Antenatal Women)
The high-risk inpatient study found strong acceptability among respondents. All 15 participants who answered the duration question found the 30-minute class acceptable. All 8 who completed discharge questionnaires said the class was helpful for stress reduction. All 14 antepartum nurses who completed questionnaires rated inpatient yoga helpful for patients and non-disruptive to medical care. (Inpatient Prenatal Yoga Sessions for Women with High-Risk Pregnancies)
Yoga-M2 interviews included 10 of the 12 participants who attended all three initial in-person training sessions. Three of 4 enhanced-usual-care participants said they were dissatisfied with randomization because they wanted yoga. Only 2 yoga-arm participants declined yoga sessions because of health reasons. (Yoga-M2 trial)
The 2021 Australian exercise survey found that 94% believed regular pregnancy exercise was safe and 92% believed it could improve mood. Yet 69% reported receiving no or little healthcare-provider advice about exercise safety and benefits during pregnancy. This gap between positive beliefs and limited advice is relevant to how prenatal movement programs are introduced. (A cross-sectional survey of Australian women’s perspectives and experiences of exercise during pregnancy)
Behavior change after prenatal yoga
One six-month randomized trial, reported in 2017, examined previously inactive women. Among 29 such women, 60% of the yoga group began prenatal exercise after the intervention, compared with 75% of the education group. In both groups, 50% reported continuing to exercise after delivery. These results describe this small trial population and do not establish a general effect of prenatal yoga on exercise behavior. (The Impact of Prenatal Yoga on Exercise Attitudes and Behavior)
Taken together, the participation statistics point to a varied pathway into prenatal yoga: some women continue a prepregnancy practice, some use home or class settings, and others encounter yoga through a clinical or research program. Recruitment, scheduling, health status, prior experience, and provider communication are all represented in the measured differences in enrollment and attendance.