Is it normal to get calf cramps during pregnancy?

Try a glass of milk and a banana...both calcium and potasium help with those leg cramps. I had them worse and worse with each pregnangy....11 pregnancies, 7 full term. Good luck!

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It may be an old wives tale, but I ate tons of bananas. I think the extra potassium is supposed to help with that. It seemed to work for me.

A.

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Hi A.,

I would say that you have potassium and calcium definiency.

When I do my exercise, especially perspiring a lot and don't take enough of my electrolites9which contains potassium) right afterwards I get leg cramps as well. Potassium is so important. Check into it.

C.
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I had this problem as well...you must stretch the calf when you are awake. Doing in bed will just increase the pain. I have heard you many be low on potassium and calicum. I cant remember if proping your legs when sleeping helped... but I guess you can give it a try! Good Luck!!

So totally normal! I had calf and evil toe cramps every night and my legs jumped in my sleep.

The good news is that it stops after you deliver the baby!

Google leg cramps and pregnancy - you will find a ton of material on this.

you should go to the doctor. I had a friend that was having severe calf muscle pain and it turned out to be a clot. I would go ASAP especially if it's been going on for awhile. Good luck.

The leg cramps can mean that you are low on potassium. Try eating a banana every day- that should help.

hello A... i had awful leg cramps (charlie horse) throughout both of my pregnancies! i felt the pain in my leg long after the initial pain came...all the way into the next day, my muscle would be tight & sore. try not to stretch your leg & point your toes too much! thats what started my leg pain! and i also has horrible toe cramps...they would go in all sorts of directions ( i know, it's sort of weird, huh?) it's defintely not uncommon, but of course, let your midwife know!!!! hope your feeling better!

not a leg pain but a BUT cramp

all 3 of my pregnancies

Oh my god, I used to get those frequently when I was pregnant. Try eating bananas, they have lots of potassium which is good. Drink lots of water and make sure to stretch your legs a little everyday. Even walking helps to circulate the blood. Good luck!!

OH yeah, I've had charlie horses in my calves. Asleep, I'd try to stretch in the middle of the night and point my toes and the next thing I knew I was writhing in pain. I'd be yowling so much that I'd wake my husband up. At first he thought I was in labor, but by the 3 or 4th charlie horse, he'd just grab and massage my leg while he was still asleep.

Here's what you can do:

A. Drink LOTS of fluids-- yeah, I know its hard to do when your bladder is squashed and feels like its the size of a pea (pun intended). :-)

B. Don't point your toes when your leg is cramping. You want to flex your foot the other way. Massage the calf until the cramp subsides.

C. Walk during the day and stretch your legs as much as possible. Try this stretch:

CALF STRETCH
1) Face a wall and stand 12 inches away from it.
2) Extend one leg behind you, keeping both feet flat on the floor and your rear knee straight.
3) Lean toward the wall until you feel tension in the calf muscle of the extended leg. (You can put your arms on the wall for support.)
4) Hold for 10 seconds.
5) Repeat with the other leg.

Good luck! Once your little bugger is out of the belly, you won't have anymore leg cramps. Gotta love pregnancy! :-)

I get the worst charley horse cramps in a calves when pregnant. Very painful and my husband would have to massage them away. They ended each time after I gave birth.

This is normal. I got them a few times in the middle of the night and they would wake me out of a dead sleep. My calf muscle would ball up tightly and cause a lot of pain. It can be a sign that you are not drinking enough water and as someone else said you can also try eating more foods with potassium.
http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,4407,00.html

Hi ! I had them my entire pregnancy - usually in the middle of the night as well! when you get them, point your toes in the leg that you are getting it in, it will ease up a bit quicker that way. my legs(calfs)were sore after i'd get them, massaging them may ease the soreness.

Hi A.,
yes, leg cramps are common. One time I had one so bag my leg ached for a couple days. I called my OB and she just wanted to have it checked out to make sure there wasn't a clot. Since you're more prone when pregnant. I didn't. Up your water, up your potassium, and for some women calcium and magnesium helps as well. Ask your doc what a safe amount to supplement is. Or, you can just plan on eating foods rich in all those things. Good luck!

Leg cramps can sometimes be cause by a lack of potassium in the diet. I had the same problem when I was pregnant. Try drinking Gatorade (or another brand sports drink), eating bananas, oranges, or, if they are really bad, ask your ob if it is safe to take a supplement. I did ok with a lot of oj in the morning and a banana or two throughout the day.

OH yeah! Drink more milk and talk to your OB about Calcium tablets. You MUST be careful where the source is from though. No oyster shell and stuff because of the mercury. I had it so bad once the pain lasted for a week after. :(

Hugs,
L.

Hi,
Make sure you eat at least one banana each day. The potassium will help with the charlie horses and drink plenty of water. I drank a glass an hour when I was pregnant, which helped with the morning sickness too, especially in the hot summer months. GL!

Flex your foot. I drank milk like it was going out of style and had peanut butter and banana shakes all of the time - and I still got the cramps in my calfs. It's yuck and painful. But flexing your feet helps them to go away relatively quickly.

make sure you are drinking as much water as possible!!! no sugar drinks... just water. the cramps are common and may mean that you are slightly dehydrated. even have a glass or 2 of water by the bed at night.

-L.

eat a banana before bed. That's what I did and it totally helped!

I get severe leg cramps when I am low in potassium. Try eating Bananas, Avacado, Cantalope and Sweet Potato and see if that helps.

i had this during my pregnancy and i had a healthy 10lb boy so don't worry. it seems like you need some potassium / eat bananas and also drink more water and when you feel a cramp coming in try to stay as relax as possible (which i know is extremely hard) and flex your foot to prevent a severe knot from coming on . .

good luck and dont worry i had this the whole time i was pregnant and now i'm expecting my second and just had this again last night

i do have to drink more water

I also had severe calf cramps while pregnant ,so bad that I would have trouble walking the next day. My doctor at the time said I needed Calcium suppliments. I dont remember what kind I took. Maybe your doctor could suggest a form of Calcium that is easily absorbed. I t did stop the cramps.

I had these with all three of my pregnancies, and I feel for you- they hurt! I used to get them when I was just starting to wake up, sometimes when I was fast asleep, but ALWAYS, what triggered them was stretching and pointing my toes.Try to be aware not to flex your toes, and if you feel a cramp coming on, do lots of calm, deep breathing. And try not to worry, leg cramps are perfectly normal, and for me, only happened when I was pregnant.Remember, this to shall pass!
wishing you a happy, healthy pregnancy,
S.

I had severe leg cramps all throughout my pregnancy. It was awful! They woke me up all the time. I had to get up and walk around..it was the only way to get them to go away. I did find that increasing my calcium and using a heating pad just under my legs- not near the belly...helped alot. I found that keeping my legs warm- wearing pants also helped. (hard in the summer..but maybe leg warmers or something?) I know..that sounds like it's from the 80's! :)
Good luck.

Hi A. - I had lots of calf cramps during all four pregnancies - If you eat at least one banana every day it should help. If you're having them very frequently, I might do two a day. I believe it's the potassium that helps. Also, try to flex your foot as you feel the cramp coming on to prevent a full-blown knot.
Take care,
R.

Increasing potassium may help, try eating more green leafy veggies and bananas during the day.

I had them with my first pregnancy three times (very severe) around 3 am each time...waking me up in unbelievable pain.
My boyfriend knew it would happen (he has a ten yeatr old daughter) he warned me in advance and each time woke up and rubbed them until they went away.
only one occurance in my 2nd pregnancy

During my 2nd trimester of my first pregnancy I had this problem, and my OB told me to take calcium AND magnesium. Your body can't absorb all the calcium without the magnesium, so if you only take calcium, you're basically peeing a bunch of it out with no benefit to your body. I took calcium in the morning and magnesium in the evening, and it did the trick. Ask your OB or midwife what dose to take. Don't take calcium tablets that have magnesium already in them...they have to be taken separately at different times of the day in order to absorb and work properly.

My hubby was great about massaging my calves when I got bad cramps, which also helped. :0)

By the way, I thought bananas would help too, but my doc said you can't eat enough bananas to be truly useful. He claimed that's an old wives tale. I don't know if that's true, but that's what he told me.

Good luck!

Looks like you've gotten lots of good advice.... I also had severe cramps with 1st pregnancy. I started getting them with 2nd pregnancy but then made a point of stretching calves right before bed for about 10 mins. and that made a huge difference. Hope you have pain free nights!

By all means, check with doctor, but when I had the same problem all I needed was potassium. Eat a banana or two a day and you should be fine.

I had that too - there was one night the cramp lasted so long and hurt so badly I got tears in my eyes - and my calf muscle was sore for days afterwards! You may want to try eating more potassium (bananas are a great way to get more) to help prevent them!

Good luck!

Eat more bananas or other foods rich in potassium. Make sure you are getting plenty of water, even if it means you are up half a dozen times to pee during the night. And when you get a cramp stand up immediately. Streching out that muscle will pull out the cramp and lessen the pain so it won't last for days on end. Try to keep your calf muscles flexed as much as possible to lessen the chances of having a cramp. Like don't stand on your tiptoes to reach something in a cabinet. And just so your doctor is aware of everything you should at least mention it at your next appt.

Sounds like you are low on potassium. Drink plenty of water and eat some bananas. They are very good for building up potassium. I know how you feel and they really hurt. Hope this helps. Good Luck!

Hi A.,

I had them to. I never got any sleep, they say drink lots of water and try and put your feet up. And eat lots of bananas, they work. (Calcium)

Hope it gets better. :)

I had horrible leg cramps when I was pregnant with my twins, starting just a few months after I found out I was pregnant. The best thing I found was to relax as much as possible while it is spasing, otherwise it might hurt into the next day. One thing I definitely don't miss from pregnancy.

A.,

I experienced the same thing during pregnancy and it was excrutiating. I did a lot of stretching and Yoga (try not to point your toes though, as that makes the cramps worse). I also ate a lot of bananas - the potassium is supposed to help and I found it did.

Good luck.

K.

This is one of the pains of pregnancy that I learned from. Even now I always stretch my leg with my otes pointed upwards instead of straight. If you do calf stretches a few times a day and before you get into bed it helps, and trying to be concious about keeping your toes pointed when you stretch your legs in bed. They also say that it could be a lack of potassium and that bananas help, it's didn'thelp me but it might help you. Good luck, remember point toes up and stretch alot during the day.

I had those to the point I would SOB at night! Try eating more bananas!

Oh Good Heavens...yes! I had leg cramps with my first baby. I'm pregnant with my second and haven't had them...yet! Eating bananas helped (the potassium) and also, drinking plenty of water. You're right - they always happened in the middle of the night. During the cramp, if at all possible, bring your foot up to an L shape. Pointing your toes will only make the cramp worse. My mother had lots of calf cramps when she was younger, and she said sitting on the edge of her bed, with her feet on her cold wood floor, and putting weight on her feet helped a lot.

Yep! I had those mostly with my first pregnancy, but sometimes with the others as well. My doctor told me to take a calcium supplement right before bed. Apparently your levels of CALCIUM go down at night (obviously your not taking in anything thru the night). I thought it was random, but it did the trick! I took my pre-natal vitamin and my calcium right before bed so that I had something in my system through the night. Try it and see if it works....good luck!

Hi A.,

The cramps are often due to a mineral deficiency.

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Blessings,
S. c

I had them all the time when I was pregnant too. You'll get instant relief if you stretch your calf when the cramp starts, i.e. pull your toes toward you.

Oh my! I had them through both of my pregnacies. THey were awful. I would be up in the middle of the night cursing like a sailor! ugh.
During my second pregnancy I started taking vitamin B12 and they all went away. You may want to check with your midwife about this but I took one pill a day and it totally did away with the cramps. yay
good luck!

Hi A.,
I had them also. Try adding more calcium to your diet. It worked for me. I also tried to stretch my calf muscles by extending one leg behind me at a time.
Good Luck

Those leg cramps, as well as jittery, restless legs, are the result of insufficient mineral intake -- usually calcium or magnesium -- or from inadequate oxygenation caused by lack of iron. Sometimes it can be caused by a lack of salt.

My leg cramps, too, onset at night after stretching my legs by pointing my toes. I had to consciously remember (while still half asleep) to stretch my legs by pointing my heels down, not by pointing my toe. Also, I took several (around 6) capsules of calcium with magnesium every night. (Taking calcium at night is better because your intestinal tract is less active and the minerals can be better absorbed.) For me, eating a banana at night was not helpful. I ate a really good diet that included bananas and other organic, fresh vegetables and fruits every day. I needed more minerals and taking a lot of the calcium-magnesium supplements did the trick.

There are other things to consider, as well, such as diet, stretching, and exercising. The Natural Pregnancy Book by Aviva Jill Romm has a lot of good suggestions for prevention and relief.

I had the same thing with both of my pregnancies. My OB said it's a sign of a deficiency of some sort, usually potassium. I started eating bananas more often, and they stopped after a while.
Good luck!

Hi A. - congrats on the soon to be new edition! I used to get really bad cramps in my calves during the night. They would wake me up and hurt so bad that I often ended up crying. There are various things that help. In the event of having one, it is helpful if your hubby can massage the ball of the cramp while you try to stretch it - this was usually difficult for me, but did help. To help prevent getting them it is a good idea to both increase your potassium intake and to stretch your calves throughout the day, especially before you go to bed. I hope this can help some - I know how awful they are.
E.

Hi A.. I had the same issue when I was pregnant last year with my first child. I had severe calf cramps that woke me up in the middle of the night during the last trimester. I cried because they hurt so much and it felt like a knife was cutting through me. My husband massaged them and then they felt better. I have been told that calcium and potassium deficiencies can cause the cramps. You are not alone. I gave birth to a healthy daughter. I would check with your midwife and see what she says. I am sure that everything is ok.

I found that standing up helped almost immediately.

Take Calcium AND Magnesium -- it will definitely help!

Congrats!
Jackiee

I had bad cramps with bothof my pregnancies and the only way to help is to stretch your legs before going to bed. Every night I would spend at least 5 minutes stretching and it really helped.

Try eating bananas. It helped me during my pregnancy with the leg cramps. A.