Pregnancy Leg Cramps

When the same thing happened to me my doctor told me to eat at least 1 or 2 bananas a day. Cramps are often due to low potassium levels. If you don't like bananas, try potassium suplements.

I see you've already gotten a lot of responses, but I just wanted to add a couple other suggestions my ob gave me. He also said it's from a lack of magnesium and potassium, so he recommended bananas, orange juice and even sunflower seeds. The cramping didn't go away completely, but just eating the sunflower seeds seemed to help. Good luck :)

I had this too, tried yoga (was great, didn't help leg cramps) but teacher said take calcium WITH magnesium (you can get them combined anywhere that sells vitamins) - this made them go away within a few days. good luck!

Happen to me too! AWFUL!!! I had to pace up and down the halls at night. This worked pretty good. Right before bed I drank this organic mommy sleep time tea. I am not a tea fan...but it wasn't bad and really helped me relax at night and sleep better!! good luck!

Hi D.,
I had leg cramps when I was pregnant at night when sleeping.
They were very uncomfortable. AND they would go from one leg to the other leg. My dr told me to drink more water, eat banana's, and drink tonic soda. I used to add juice to the tonic soda. Yoga is great and you can start that while you're pregnant. The stretching is good. Just double check with your Dr before doing any of the above because every pregnancy and person is different. I didn't do the Yoga while pregnant but I wish I had. Yoga is wonderful. Good luck with your pregnancy. xoxo D.

I am 21 weeks along with number 2. I got leg cramps when I was pregnant with my son, and my doctor told me it was due to low electrolytes. So i drank alot of gatorade and that definitely helped. However there was so much sugar in the gatorade (and I discovered that I really really liked it) that I probably gained 5 pounds from that alone, because I drank it all the way through until labor.
This time when I started to get the cramps, i smartly googled 'electorlytes in food' and discovered that spinach and dark beans and whole grains (like oats and groats and bulgar and whole wheat) all contain lots of electrolytes. And i like that approach better, because it is all the stuff I should be eating anyway. Bananas also work because of all the potassium (but I detest bananas, so I am looking elsehwere). So far I am managing it pretty well.
Good luck!

i had the same problem. really common. first, cramps tend to be a lack of potassium, so add banana to your diet. but - you're gonna love me for this one. i learned what to do when you have the cramp. i used to wake up in pain and stretch my legs and it would get worse, oddly. i stretched with my toe pointed. i ended up finding the answer somewhere on the internet. when you stretch with toe pointed it cramps up more; but if you flex your foot it relieves the cramp. i swear this was a miracle to me in my first pregnancy. give a good strong flexed stretch and it should go right away. good luck!

Usually leg cramping is caused by low levels of potassium. Try eating a banana before bed. There is a leg cramp pill out there, but I don't know if you can take it while pregnant as it has quinine in it. Talk to your doctor.

I had the same thing when I was pregnant, both times. I had never done yoga before either, but started with a pregnancy routine. I loved it. It helped with so many other ailments too (heartburn, back pain, etc.). It was very easy, I had no issues at all. If you have concerns about starting a program, talk to your OB, he/she should be able to tell you what is safe for you.

I have had them with each pregnancy myself but my third was the worst so far. I had it so bad one night that I pulled a muscle or something because a week later I was still in pain so they sent me for a DVT sonogram to make sure it wasn't actually a blood clot.

In addition to drinking milk my doctor also told me to get calcium tablets. I highly suggest you get a specific brand and dose from your doctor. It should NOT be oyster shell based and there is one other one that is also a "from the sea" type of thing if I remember correctly. We had a substitute pharmacist that day and I had asked him for advice and he told me it didn't matter. My doctor did not agree because of the mercury so I was glad I double checked with him.

Hope you feel better!

congratulations on the new baby! as for the night leg cramps, i too had them with my pregnancy, the dr. said it was due to dehydration and to drink a huge glass of water before bed and keep one alongside while sleeping(as if you didn't have to run the the bathroom enough! lol) but it usually helped, i know it's so painful!!! ... also yoga is super beneficial to your body, pregnant or not, i did yoga until the day i was in labor, and actually during too.. probably the only girl to bring a yoga mat to the hospital, ahha but it helps!!!! anyway good luck, hope this helps

Hi D.,

My name is S. and I am a pediatric nurse. Maybe I can help you alittle bit with your fustrations on cramps. One of the most reasons for cramps are that you don't have enough "electrolytes" in your system. Your muscles in your body run off of salt, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. If you are lacking in any of these, you therefore get "cramps". It is not anything to become alarmed about, Just very annoying. There are so many changes going on in your body that is why these things happen. So, eat a banana, or yogurt, drink plenty of water...the good stuff and you will be fine. Make sure you drink...alot...good luck to you.

~S. from Holbrook

ahhhhhh yes, I remember this!!! The only thing that helped me was at least 3x's a day I would stretch my calves. Stretch your calf and hold the stretch for 30 sec. repeat on other side and do this for approx 5 repetitions. So that's 5 x's on each calf. again, do 3x's a day. It really helped me.

Good luck and hang in there!!!

Hi D., Congrats on your new pregnancy and best wishes. Sorry you have leg cramps and as a hairdresser you must be on your feet all day. I believe leg cramps can be due to a calcium deficiency. Check with your doctor and he/she can tell you what to do or take. Enjoy your children, they do grow too fast. Grandma Mary

D.,

I had the same problem when I was pregnant with my third child. This is actually common in pregnancy. I asked my ob and she recommended reducing my salt intake and watching how much potassium I ate (bananas and such foods). She also recommended sleeping with my legs raised to help the blood flow at night. I did those things and it helped alot. You should call your ob though because I can't remember if I was raising or loweing my potassium. They will be able to give you any number of things to try that will help.

HTH and congratulations, J.

I ate one bannana per day and it really did help.

My friend had that and her doctor said to eat a banana and drink a glass of skim milk before bed. I believe the potassium helps the leg cramps. She said that is worked very well and that she would never skip her before bed snack. Good luck and feel better!

Congratulations! As you can see from all the responses this is pretty common. I am a prenatal yoga teacher and yoga does help with the many aches and ailments that come with pregnancy. Also, potassium could help. Eating bananas before bed can help the nighttime aches and having orange juice during the day. That worked for me.

And if you happen to be in Brooklyn and are looking for a prenatal yoga class, check out shantibaby.com.

Make sure you are not using aspartame, it could also be a side affect from aspartame.

I am pregnant with #2, and have not experienced the leg cramps this time around--they were pretty bad with my first. I am taking, in addition to my prenatal vitamins, calcium supplements and omega3 oil supplements. Don't know if that is why, but I did read recently that leg cramps in pregnancy can be helped with calcium supplements. So you might want to try those? Good luck and congrats.

I am sure you have heard it before but you need to stretch every night before bed and then again in the morning. I stretched for 5-10 minutes every night and it really helped my my leg cramps. There was a point when I could not sleep at all until I starting stretching. I am sure that yoga would be really helpful also.

I was told by my dr that you can eat TUMS everyday. It has magnesium and calcium. It didn't work completely for me. But it did lessen the intesity. Feel good!

Hi D.,
Increase your potassium intake. Found in bananas or even gatorade. I had bad leg cramps with my first pregnancy. I remember that more than the labor from almost 14 yrs. ago. My second pregnancy, I read on a site once, don't remember which, but suggested that I increased my potassium intake to avoid the leg cramps. The site provided a list of different food sources high in potassium. I ate a banana(I know bad for constipation) everyday and never was bothered by them. I am now, 24 wks. pregnant with my third and continue to eat bananas and have no leg cramps(knock on wood). Hope this helps and God bless you and your third pregnancy.

Hi,
Lots of water because you are dehydrated even though you may not feel thirsty and lots of bananas because you need potassium. GL!

D.,
Congratulations on your pregnancy. I know this might sound a bit wacky but when I was pregnant and had those severe leg cramps I had my son "massage" my legs and I wore snug fitting socks to bed every night. I went out and bought a couple of pairs of those old style knee socks, that coupled with the fact that we had a waterbed seemed to help immensely. I still get leg cramps periodically so I just recently bought myself a pair of sneakers from Curves for Women and love them and trust me they make my legs feel absolutely wonderful; you might want to try them as well. I got mine from Avon, but my daughter said you can get them elsewhere too and she is getting herself a pair. Let me know how you make out.
Hugs,
T.

I had the same thing with my first pregnancy. When I was pregnant for the second time, I had read that you can take vitamin B6 for leg cramps. I checked with my dr (as you should) and started taking a little extra B6 (above what is in prenatal). I had maybe 2 leg cramps with my second pregnancy as compared with almost every night with my first. It was a miracle supplement! Good luck.

I feel your pain, I wake up with horrible leg cramps as well. My doctor says it is a lack of magnesium. You can take a calcium supplement that has magnesium in it. Just clear it all with your doc before taking it, but it will make a huge difference.

Good luck!

I had terrible night leg cramps through all 3 of my pregnancies. My doctors told me to make sure I was getting enough calcium, which I thought I was. What really worked wonders for me was getting up in the night (while I was experiencing the leg cramps) and stretching out my calves. I'd lean against a dresser and stretch one leg out behind me, really focusing on stretching the calf muscle good for a minute or two. Then I'd repeat with the other leg. That's the only thing that helped me. Good luck and congratulations on baby #3!

eat bananas! Leg cramps generally indicate that you are low in potassium.

Do leg stretches, especially beofre bed. It helped me alot.