Last night my wife woke up in the middle of the night with leg cramps. Both her calves were hurting. Being a great husband, I got up right away and started to rub her legs. Then she got excited and started rubbing my legs.

And then……ok maybe not. It was tough seeing her in pain.

I did a quick search on it and it seems like a common occurrence for pregnant women. The extra weight from the belly area can the leg muscles to fatigue, which can lead to cramps. Another reason for the increase cramps could be the growing baby pressuring the blood vessels going to the legs.

Unfortunately, the cramps increase during the second and third trimesters. Here are some tips to avoid or reduce cramps:

• Stretch your legs before going to bed, especially the calves.
• Avoid sitting or standing with your legs crossed for long periods of time.
• Drink enough water throughout the day, stay hydrated.
• Lie down to your left side to increase blood circulation to your legs.
• Daily walks can help reduce cramps.

When cramping occurs at night, straighten out your legs with the heel in front. This will stretch your calve muscles. Then rock your toes back and forth toward your shins slowly. This will ease the cramp slowly. If you have your husband or boyfriend or girlfriend next to you, have them do a gentle massage on the calve area.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 19th, 2007 at 11:25 pm and is filed under Health, Pregnancy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.