Heidi Sletmoe of Grant's Pass, Ore., used to wear contacts regularly before becoming pregnant with her oldest child. Then, first when she was pregnant and later when she was nursing, she found they were so uncomfortable she had to switch to her old glasses.

"My eye doctor said that it had something to do with all the liquids in my body going to the baby and that a lot of women have a hard time with this," says Sletmoe. "I have tried to wear contacts during each pregnancy but usually stop within a few days, as my eyes will be so dry that I am putting drops in them every five minutes. Now I'm expecting my fourth child and am wearing the same ugly glasses that I have been wearing for the past three years."

Eyesight changes during pregnancy aren't uncommon, says Dr. George T. Banyas, an optometrist from Gibsonia, Pa., but he also notes that the majority of women won't experience any changes. "Changes to eyesight are the exception to the rule and won't happen to most women," says Dr. Banyas. "We aren't certain why some women do have changes in vision but believe it has to do with the amount of water weight gain that causes the cornea to thicken and become more curvy, which causes changes in focus. This isn't really surprising when you consider that the amount of water retained during pregnancy would be pathologic under any other conditions. To adjust to the increased load, blood vessels have to dilate, and this can affect the eyes."

Not only can these changes make contact lenses uncomfortable, but they can change the way glasses work. If a woman is already far-sighted, she usually becomes less far-sighted while pregnant. If she has normal vision or is near-sighted, she usually would become near-sighted or more near-sighted. But this doesn't mean you should rush right out and have your prescription changed unless you're very uncomfortable or it becomes a safety issue.

"If a woman is in her first or second trimester, we suggest she may not want to change her prescription because her eyesight may go back to normal after she recovers completely from the birth and is done breastfeeding," says Dr. Banyas. "However, we also warn women that the refractive changes may continue."

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