Tired legs in pregnancy: small things that help

I wrote about both my pregnancies as they happened, and the thing readers asked about most was not the big stuff. It was how to get through a Tuesday.

I am not a clinician and I say so constantly. Everything here is comfort, not advice about your health - for that, ask your midwife or GP.

Getting off your feet properly

The difference between sitting down and actually resting is bigger than it sounds.

Sitting on a kitchen chair for five minutes while you drink tea is not the same as twenty minutes with your feet up higher than your hips. The second one is what makes an evening feel different, and most people never do it because it feels indulgent.

It is not indulgent, it is twenty minutes. Put a couple of pillows under your calves rather than under your heels, so the whole lower leg is supported.

Little and often beats one long stretch

Whether you are on your feet all day or sitting all day, the problem is the same: one position for too long.

If you are standing, sit down properly a few times through the day. If you are sitting, get up every half hour and walk about, even if only to the kettle. Neither needs to be a big change, and both are more useful than one long rest at the end.

Shoes with room in them

Genuinely one of the most useful things. Feet can change during pregnancy, sometimes noticeably, and shoes that were fine at twelve weeks may not be at thirty.

Something you can get on without bending, with room across the widest part and a bit of give, is worth more than almost anything else you could buy. This is also the point at which slip-on shoes stop being a lazy option and become the sensible one.

Socks that are actually comfortable

If you wear compression socks, the fit matters more now than at any other time, because the direction of travel is towards needing more room.

Measure your calf rather than guessing, re-measure every few weeks, and go up when between sizes. A top band that leaves a groove is a sizing problem, not something to tolerate - the sizing and fit guide covers it, and the trimester guide covers how this changes.

Put them on first thing

Before you get up properly, sitting on the edge of the bed. Legs are at their smallest then and it is by far the easiest time.

Keeping the pair on the bedside table rather than in a drawer across the room makes this far more likely to actually happen, which sounds trivial and is the difference between doing it and not - the maternity range covers the styles.

Standing in one place versus walking

Not the same thing, and worth knowing which is harder for you.

Standing still - at a sink, in a queue, at a work counter - is generally more demanding than walking about, because nothing is moving. If you have a choice, keep moving rather than standing in one spot, and if you do not have a choice, shift your weight and change which foot is forward every so often.

It is a small thing that costs nothing and it helps - the maternity range covers what to wear for either.

Water and the temperature of things

Drink more than you think, particularly in warm weather. And a cool shower or simply running cool water over your feet and ankles at the end of a day is a small pleasant thing that costs nothing.

Neither is a remedy for anything - they are comfort measures, which is all I am claiming for them. The everyday range is what I wore around the house.

Getting home

The commute after a long day counts, and it is easy to forget.

If you stand on a train for forty minutes at the end of a day on your feet, that is a genuinely demanding extra stretch. Sit if you can, and if you cannot, shift your weight rather than locking into one position for the whole journey - the work range covers days like that.

The last hour of the day

Where a lot of the difference gets made. If you spend the evening on your feet in the kitchen and then sit down at ten, that is a long day.

Getting twenty minutes with your feet up before dinner rather than after tends to make the whole evening better, and it is easier to actually do than a longer rest later when you are already tired.

Sleeping

People will give you a great deal of advice about this and most of it depends on the person. Two things that are simply practical: a pillow between the knees is comfortable for a lot of people, and take your socks off before bed unless someone has specifically told you otherwise.

The care and FAQs guide covers the sleeping question generally.

Work

If you are on your feet at work, the advice for shift workers applies to you more than the pregnancy advice does - take the breaks you are entitled to, sit down properly on them, and get your feet up if there is anywhere to do it - the on-your-feet guide covers those days.

If you are at a desk, the opposite problem applies and the answer is getting up regularly - the pregnancy comfort guide covers that.

What I would tell someone at twenty weeks

Buy shoes with room in them. Put your feet up properly once a day rather than briefly five times. Get whatever socks you use on first thing, before the day starts. And do not treat any of this as something you have to earn - it is twenty minutes and a pair of comfortable shoes.

This is comfort advice, not medical advice. The pregnancy comfort guide covers the whole subject.

The short version

• Twenty minutes with your feet up higher than your hips beats five brief sit-downs.
• Support the whole calf with pillows, not just the heels.
• Little and often - the problem is one position for too long, whichever position it is.
• Shoes with room in them are worth more than almost anything else you could buy.
• Put socks on first thing, sitting on the edge of the bed, before you get up properly.

Frequently asked questions

What helps most with tired legs in pregnancy?

Getting off your feet properly rather than briefly - twenty minutes with your feet up higher than your hips, with pillows under the calves rather than the heels. Most people never do it because it feels indulgent.

Is it better to rest for a long stretch or often?

Little and often. The problem is one position held too long, whichever position it is. If you are standing, sit down properly a few times; if you are sitting, get up every half hour and walk about.

Do shoes make a difference?

A large one. Feet can change during pregnancy, so shoes that fitted at twelve weeks may not at thirty. Something you can get on without bending, with room across the widest part, is worth more than almost anything.

When should I put compression socks on?

First thing, sitting on the edge of the bed before you get up properly, when your legs are at their smallest. Keeping the pair on the bedside table rather than across the room makes it far more likely to happen.

Should I wear them in bed?

Take them off before bed unless someone has specifically told you otherwise. They are comfort garments for the day, and nothing here is medical advice - your midwife is the person to ask.