Wearing contacts during pregnancy

Wearing contacts during pregnancy is a safe choice as long as the pregnant woman does not choose to order a new contact prescription during pregnancy. Eye exams during pregnancy will not be as accurate as they need to be to effectively correct vision. Changes in hormone levels, fluid retention, and blood volume, can all distort vision during pregnancy. Thus, contacts prescribed before pregnancy should be used throughout pregnancy; new prescriptions should only be obtained after giving birth.

Some pregnant women have trouble with dry eyes during pregnancy. For contact wearers, dry eyes can be associated with contacts being worn for extended periods of time. Wearing contacts for shorter time frames can help relieve dry eyes. If this solution does not help dry eyes, the expecting woman may need to switch to glasses until after giving birth.

Are eye drops safe?

Certain eye drops contain ingredients considered unsafe during pregnancy. Before choosing an eye drop to combat dry eyes from contacts, the pregnant woman needs to talk with her attending obstetrician.

Cleaning contacts appropriately is especially important during pregnancy. The female body is under enough stress growing the fetus without having to fight off an eye infection. Prescription antibiotics all carry some sort of risk for pregnant women and should be avoided whenever possible.

Pregnancy-related vision changes

Vision changes during pregnancy can be associated with preeclampsia. Preeclampsia can be a life-threatening condition associated with pregnancy. If double vision, blurred vision, light sensitivity, or spotted vision occurs during pregnancy, it is important to immediately report these changes to the physician. Most often, vision changes are associated with increased blood pressure, which is the most common symptom of preeclampsia.

Dry eyes can also cause some of the same symptoms as preeclampsia. For this reason, glasses are often considered the safest choice until eyes return to your pre-pregnancy condition after birth.