High heels and pregnancy

Being fashionable and beautiful during pregnancy is important. For some pregnant women, wearing high heels during pregnancy is a fashion statement they grew accustomed to many years ago. However, when you are pregnant, you balance changes as your body changes. That makes it more likely to take missteps, injure your feet or legs, and even fall.

The impact of pregnancy hormones

The first reason for having potential problems with high heels in pregnancy is due to the fact that pregnancy hormones, like progesterone, fill the bloodstream and loosen ligaments in the lower back and abdomen to allow the stomach room to grow. The bloodstream does not stop at the abdomen, however. The same pregnancy hormones that loosen ligaments to accommodate pregnancy growth will also pass through other areas of the body like the lower legs, feet, and ankles. When ligaments in the lower leg loosen, feet can lengthen and widen and ankle strength can diminish. This makes wearing high heels riskier and less comfortable than before. Lower back ligaments are also affected meaning that there can be additional stress on lower back muscles with added pain and strain.

The risk of losing your balance

With loosened ankle ligaments, stability is also a problem. Combine loose ligaments with balance issues associated with the redistribution of body weight during pregnancy, and wearing high heels can increasingly lead to stumbles and falls that could harm both the pregnant woman and her fetus.

Fluid retention is also a necessary evil during pregnancy. The same gravity that holds the feet firmly on the earth’s soil will pull extra water to the lower half of the body. With feet that are wider and longer, pregnant women may have to force those once comfortable high heels onto their new pregnancy feet. This can increase fluid retention in the feet and lower legs, and lead to pain and swelling.

There are many other ways, besides wearing high heels, that a woman can feel fashionable and beautiful during her pregnancy. Wearing high heels is not worth the discomfort and risks they pose. Lower heels or flat shoes will be more comfortable and will certainly pose fewer safety risks to the pregnant woman and her fetus.