How To Naturally Prevent Leg Cramps During Pregnancy.

Leg Cramps.

Leg Cramps during pregnancy occur mainly as a result of nutritional deficiencies, electrolyte imbalances, and/or circulatory changes, in addition to the strain placed on the legs by the extra weight.  

Suggestions:

• Increase your calcium and potassium intake by eating foods such as almonds, bananas, grapefruit, low-fat cottage cheese, oranges, sardines, sesame seeds (tahini), low-fat goat’s yoghurt, oats, millet, figs, watercress, seaweeds in soups, stews or salads .Adequate calcium is also needed to help prevent high blood pressure and for fetal development.

• While relaxing or sleeping, elevate your legs so that they are higher than your heart. I used to raise my legs and lean them up against a wall while I was lying on the couch reading a book or watching TV. Then when I went to bed at night I placed one or two pillows under my feet to keep them elevated.  Keep yourself as comfortable as possible.

• Do not stand in one place for too long. Shift your weight from one leg to the other every few minutes.

• Walk at least a kilometer a day to stimulate the circulation of blood through the legs.

•  Make sure your levels of calcium, magnesium, and potassium are correctly balanced. It is often easier to take a single formula that contains all three minerals in the correct proportions.

• To relieve cramps, try to relax as far as possible, try to pull your foot forwards with your hands, wiggle your feet up and down, massage your feet and legs vigorously.

• When experiencing a cramp, apply a hot water bottle or heating pad to the cramping area and apply pressure with your hands.

Herbal teas rich in calcium can also be made from:
Wild oats, meadowsweet, horsetail, valerian root, nettles, plantain

Drink a cupful two to three times daily. There is a herb, suitably named cramp bark or guilder rose, which is specific for cramps. It can be taken as a hot decoction, singly or in conjunction with any of the above herbs three times daily.

If you consider that tension or stress could be causing your cramps, then add to the cramp bark herbs such as: Skullcap, passionflower, chamomile, valerian,    lemon balm, lime flowers

Ginger, hawthorn or angelica can be taken regularly to aid circulation.

Chamomile, lavender or ginger oils can be used to massage the legs, not only to relax over-tense muscles, but also to enhance the circulation through them.

Hot foot baths can be taken at night before bed using the same oils.

Take care with varicose veins – do not massage over them. Alternate hot and cold bathing will stimulate the circulation.

(A Natural Approach to Pregnancy - E-book by Barbara Karafokas)

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