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A Pain in the Calf

6 Tips to Ease Leg Cramps During Pregnancy

By Melinda Copp

Pregnancy is rife with aches and pains, and leg cramps are definitely one of the most annoying. Almost every pregnant woman experiences leg cramps at least once. They usually start becoming a problem during the second trimester and seem to strike at the most inopportune times – like in the middle of the night. And aside from waking you up, they can be very painful.

"I am in my 33rd week of pregnancy and have been experiencing leg cramps for about two months now," says Jamie Werner, an expectant mom from Carlsbad, Calif., who exercises regularly and is in otherwise good health. "It is so awful, because I mostly get them while I am sleeping or waking up in the morning. Many times they wake me up from sleeping and there is nothing I can do for about two minutes but suffer through the pain."

Leg cramps are painful knots in your muscle tissue, like "charley horses." However, even though leg cramps seem to be a regular, albeit frustrating, part of pregnancy, the root cause remains a mystery.

"No one knows for sure what causes leg cramps in pregnancy, only that they are very common," says Dr. Randy Fink, an obstetrician and gynecologist in private practice in Miami, Fla. "It probably has some relationship to fluid and electrolytes – the body's water and blood chemistry – which undergoes profound changes in pregnancy."

Because of this likely relationship to body fluids, some women find that they get cramps when they aren't properly hydrated. Another probable culprit is your growing and expanding uterus affecting blood flow to your legs. So not stretching enough before exercise and staying in the same position for a long time may also increase cramping.

"It is important to know that leg cramps arise from the normal physiological changes of pregnancy, and usually do not represent any type of nutritional deficiency," Dr. Fink says. But even though the cause may be unclear, you can take steps to prevent and manage the pain leg cramps cause. Consider the following suggestions.

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