During the second and third trimesters, you may have painful leg cramps, particularly at night or while sleeping. You may also have a jumpy feeling in your legs. Leg cramps tend to occur more often during the last months of pregnancy.
Causes of leg cramps during pregnancy
Leg cramps are a sudden tightening of muscles, which can cause intense pain. The muscles may tighten for a variety of reasons, such as:
The reasons for increased leg cramps during pregnancy aren't clear. They may be caused by:
Experts once thought that most leg cramps were caused by not eating enough healthy foods with calcium. They no longer believe that this is true. (But, calcium is important to your baby's development and it helps keep your own bones strong and healthy. Be sure you are eating enough dairy products and other foods that contain calcium during pregnancy.)
What you can do
Here are some tips to prevent or relieve leg cramps:
Don't stay still
Drink plenty of fluids
Massage your legs and apply heat
When to talk to your health care provider
Leg cramps usually go away on their own without medical treatment. But they can be a sign of a more serious problem. Talk to your health care provider right away if:
Knowing the signs of pregnancy can help you tell if you’re pregnant. Here are some signs that you might be pregnant:
If you have any of these pregnancy signs and think you may be pregnant, go to your health care provider. The sooner you know you're pregnant, the sooner you can begin prenatal checkups and start taking good care of yourself and your growing baby.
You'll start feeling your baby's kicks at around the 28th week of pregnancy. By this time, your baby's movements are usually well established and some health care providers recommend keeping track of these movements.
Keep counting until you've felt 10 movements from baby. If baby doesn't move 10 times within 1 hour, try again later that day. Call your health provider if your baby's movement seems unusual or you've tried more than once that day and can't feel baby move 10 times or more during 1 hour.
Popcorn popping. A little fish swimming. Bubbles. Butterflies. Tickles. These are common words used by women to describe their baby's first movements. Also known as "quickening," it's a reassuring sign that your baby is OK and growing. This milestone typically starts sometime between 18 to 25 weeks into pregnancy. For first-time moms, it may occur closer to 25 weeks, and for second- or third-time moms, it may happen much sooner.
At first it may be difficult to tell the difference between gas and your baby moving. You might not feel movement as early as you are expecting to feel it, but you'll notice a pattern soon. You'll start to learn when the baby is most active and what seems to get her moving.