While you are carrying your baby we at Happy Feet Pedorthics want you to be free of:
- Tiredness, restlessness, heaviness and tension in your legs
- Tingling sensations and cramps in the night
- Visibly swollen feet and varicose veins
Pregnancy is a very unique time for a woman’s body. The change in hormones and the expansion of the uterus can affect the leg veins. 30% of women pregnant for the first time and 55% of women who have had 2 or more full time pregnancies develop varicose veins. (Swiss Medical Weekly 2001: 131:659-662)
Congestion in the legs can be avoided in a harmless way during pregnancy by:
- avoiding standing still frequently as much as possible
- not sitting too low down
- avoiding the hard edges of chairs
- exercising a lot – walking, hiking, swimming and cycling
- actively move your legs as often as possible
- not taking hot baths
- avoiding long periods of sunbathing
- actively cooling the legs down
- lying comfortably with the legs slight raised
- wearing medical compression stockings
Wearing compression stockings during pregnancy:
- prevents blood from pooling in the veins
- reduces the risk of an elevated heart rate in the mother and child
- reduces the risk of varicose veins, inflammation and thrombosis
- alleviates common symptoms of swollen feet and ankles, or tired and achy legs
Clare Nelson C Ped CM AU
