Feet during pregnancy

My feet are sore all the time and my shoes are tight, even though I haven’t put on much weight. It was the one area of my body that I didn’t expect to have problems with. Is this normal?

There are a couple of reasons that your feet feel the strain during pregnancy. The increased volume of fluid that your body is carrying means that some swelling is not unexpected. If you had gained a lot of weight, this can show up on your feet.

An interesting thing is that your body is producing hormones which loosen your joints. While this is intended to help your pelvis open for the delivery, in fact your other joints can also loosen. So the added weight of your pregnancy bearing down on your softened foot bones can lead the bones to spread apart. This effect can be permanent, and your feet could be up to a full size larger after the pregnancy.

Try elevating your feet for a short time every day. Try not to spend long periods of time standing. Get some comfortable shoes that fit your larger feet – having sore feet is such a miserable experience that it is worth investing in shoes that will help you cope with these months of pregnancy. The possibility exists that you feet return to their original size, but the purchase of these new shoes will still be money well spent! Investigate shoe inserts that help you to be balanced and reduce leg strain. Elasticised stockings are not glamorous, but it is worth trying a pair to see if they reduce the swelling and discomfort. They are helpful for some people.