“That’s not even possible,” my husband said. Not something a new father should say to their largely pregnant partner.
We were talking about my feet. I walked into my first pregnancy in size 8 shoes and walked out a size nine. The conversation took place in the ninth month of my second pregnancy, with a son who would weigh over 10 pounds at birth. During those months, my shoe size had gone up another full size.
“It IS absolutely possible,” I growled, I was hungry and cranky as I demonstrated trying to squeeze a 10 into my old size nine running shoes.
“SEE??”
His comeback: a head-scratching “Huh.”
OUCH!
Later, working closely with pregnant, laboring, and postpartum moms, I found a sort of Imelda Marcos joy in sharing one potential bennie of baby-carrying with expectant moms: the need for a new shoe wardrobe. Elongating feet in pregnancy, it turns out, is not an anomaly. It happens to as much as 70 percent of women.
And according to a recent survey of 500 expectant mothers conducted by KURU Footwear, increased foot length and width or other foot structural changes during pregnancy translate to significant discomfort. Among survey participants:
- 74% said they experienced foot pain during pregnancy
- For 64%, foot pain began during the second trimester
- Half described their pain as moderate, while 12% experienced severe or debilitating pain.
- Foot pain showed up in the following ways among participants: Swelling and inflammation (65%), Cramping (58%), throbbing (45%), tenderness (40%), tingling (32%), and heel pain (30%)
- The arch of the foot was the most common pain site (60%).
That reflects my own, decidedly non-scientific, survey of hundreds of pregnant people here in the greater Seattle areas whose feet I met as a childbirth educator and doula. Most, but certainly not all, experienced foot pain during the final months of their long wait — pain that often continued after baby was born.
What helps
I wish I’d known, back when I was trying to convince my husband that my feet were exploding (not only in length but in pain), what I learned over he more than years of practice:: There are ways to mitigate the discomfort.
Your inner Imelda may be glad to learn that the most important thing is getting bigger shoes. But along with a trip to your nearest DSW shoe warehouse, here’s the list of approaches I compiled with “what works” input from my client moms:
Keep shoe heels low, but make they support your arch. The arch tends to fall as feet elongate. If you want to play it safe and mot buy too many new shoes when your feet may still be changing, go for comfortable open-toed sandals with arch support (TEVAs are a good example) to walk you through the last months, with adjustable straps that allow your toes to spread.
Use OTC insoles. Don’t go for custom-made orthotics until a few months after pregnancy, when the swelling has left your body, and you are sure of the new size and shape of your feet.
Keep moving. It may sound counterintuitive if you are feeling foot pain, but you want blood to circulate in your feet, so keep walking. Pooling blood means tingling and ache.
Compression socks aren’t just for old people! They can really help ease the ache of swollen legs and feet that are a result of the additional fluid you have running around your body while pregnant.
Find a wall and stick your feet straight up it. Or, otherwise elevate your feet several times a day.
Gentle foot massage is OK, but avoid certain acupressure points. Check out “Foot Massage During Pregnancy: Safety, Benefits, Risks, and Tips” on Healthline for the dos and don’ts of pregnancy foot massage.
If the pain is persistent or increasing, see a medical provider.
Exercises that may help
The folks at KURU talked to podiatrists and came up with a useful list of exercises that may help alleviate foot pain in pregnancy. They are worth a try:
Plantar fascia stretch. Cross one foot over the opposite leg and gently pull your toes toward your shin. This can help stretch the tissue along the bottom of the foot.
- Standing calf stretch. Step one foot behind you, keep your heel down, and lean forward gently to stretch the calf and Achilles tendon.
- Heel raises. Rise slowly onto the balls of your feet, then lower with control. This helps strengthen the calf and foot.
- Towel curls. Place a towel on the floor and use your toes to scrunch it toward you to work the small muscles that support your arch.
- Short-foot exercise. Keeping your foot flat, gently draw the ball of your big toe toward your heel to lift the arch without curling your toes.
Any excuse …
With my pregnant foot spilling over the back of my suddenly-too-small demonstration sneaker, my husband took an emotional step back from his incredulity about my morphing feet.
“Wow,” he said. “That’s gotta hurt.”
‘So bad,” I said with a little sigh for effect. Money was tight back then; Neither of us made extravagant expenses without consulting the other. And as young parents, we considered new shoes extravagant.
“I’ll just go and get some flip-flops,” I whimpered.
“Oh honey,” he said, patting my belly. “You deserve as many pairs of new shoes as you want.”
I didn’t make eye contact to determine if he was joking. I didn’t stop to negotiate that comment to a reasonable number or price point.
Instead, I made a beeline for the door and, two hours later, returned with eight new pairs of shoes.
