You’re laying in bed, attempting to be as comfortable as possible, you think this is finally the chance to sleep and then it comes: leg cramps. Leg cramps while pregnant are horrible. They can ruin a whole night or leave you unable to get up at all. Here’s the breakdown of why you get them and how to help prevent them and make them go away.
Why The Hell Do I Ow In My Leg?
Well there could be a couple of reasons but ultimately there is no answer, sorry. Your diet, weight, hormones from pregnancy, or because as women we are just meant to suffer for the love of our children. While there may not be an answer as to why my leg can cramp up bad enough that I want it cut off like Hershel from The Walking Dead, I do know there are a few tricks to make it go away.
Leg cramps in pregnancy can come at any time, but usually more towards the second half of pregnancy and especially at night.
So How Can I Make Leg Cramps Go Away?
Here are a few suggestions on how to make them go away.
- Drink plenty of water. You should really be getting your 8 glasses a day, if you can get more in that’s great! When I was pregnant with Korey, my first, I bought a few different reusable water bottles that told me the amount so I could keep track of how much I drank.
- Flexing your foot. Try flexing your foot by moving your ankle towards and away from your shin to get the cramp out, nice slow stretches. This is the method I love using.
- Push your foot against something. Some mom’s swear by pushing their foot off a wall or their partners hand.
- Get enough calcium and magnesium. Not having enough of this in your diet might be a cause for them as well.
- If nothing works make sure to ask your doctor. Not to scare anyone but leg cramps could be signs of blood clots as well. To make sure you are okay it’s always great to ask your doctor about cramps that you cannot shake. Never be afraid to call your doctors office for anything, they should be willing to answer any and all questions that you might consider important or even ones you think are stupid.
What are your tips for getting rid of leg cramps while pregnant?
I remember getting leg cramps when I was pregnant, and I thought it was horrible. I remember massaging my leg and sitting in a warm bath. It seemed to help. I also remember the terrible back aches when I was pregnant. There sure is a lot of suffering when a person is pregnant. I sure am glad it is over! Thanks for the great tips!
These are some great tips! I’ve never heard of flexing your foot before.
Mine is to try and avoid sitting with your legs crossed for long periods of time 🙂
I remember getting the worst leg cramps when I was pregnant. I used to take a couple of damp towels and throw them in the dryer on the highest heat for about 10 minutes. Then I would take them out and wrap them around my legs for a few minutes. It usually helped me to relax my legs and the cramps would stop.
Excellent tip Tammy thanks for sharing!
I have yet to try any technique with heat but I will certainly give it a go if I can’t get them to stop.
Pinch your upper lip and hold it for about thirty seconds.
I don’t know about this helping pregnancy related cramps, but it helps me when I feel one coming on.
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Haha! I will have to try this to let you know, I like crazy tips.
I get awful leg cramps and I am not even preggers! What works best for me is to stand on th stairs with my toes (facing up the stairs) and drop my heels stretching out the back of my legs.
Very informative post. Thank you for this information.
When I was pregnant with my son I got them quite often (they would wake me up at night) flexing my foot & massaging my calf was the only thing that ever helped but I’ve since heard that eating bananas helps avoid them.
i am a nursing student and we are taught to suggest the patient flexes their feet like you said 🙂 I thankfully never had leg cramps during my pregnancy
Bananas have lots of potassium and are easy to eat & digest. But the biggest is DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!!.
I get leg/foot cramps if I haven’t been drinking enough water.
Leg Cramps are not a good feeling. Warm heat on it usually helps.
I am not pregnant but I also suffer from leg cramps. I had heard of pinching your upper lip but to be honest it never worked for me. I am going to try warm heat
I was very lucky and didn’t suffer from leg cramps while I was pregnant. But I used to suffer from them a lot years ago. One of the reasons that I didn’t see listed is low potassium. That can cause major cramps. Nice post.
I get leg cramps while not even being pregnant. I do think drinking a lot of water helps, and I always flex my feet. I think it satisfies the feeling of helping me get rid of the cramps. They really can be miserable!
Oh how I wish I had these tips while I was pregnant. I had terrible leg cramps, almost every night, during the middle and end of my pregnancy. They were terrible – kept me up most nights.
I never had leg cramps when I was pregnant… but if they are anything like a “Charlie Horse” then I am sure they are very uncomfortable! Great that you have a forum in which to share some remedies and interact with others on the topic.
I suffer from leg cramps all the time.
These are awesome tips, thanks so much 🙂
Malvina
http://www.startwithmom.com
I read about having bananas in your diet while pregnant and if people are prone to leg cramps. I find it helps. As soon as im not eating bananas I get leg cramps. (While pregnant for the 3rd time). 🙂
These things might also help my grandmother even though shes not pregnant. She has something called restless leg syndrome and her legs are always bothering her.
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