Leg Cramps During Pregnancy

What They Are
Radiating, painful spasms through the calves, felt especially at night.Leg cramps, also called charley horses, are sudden and seemingly unexplainable cramping, usually of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of the calf. However, leg cramps may also occur in the thigh muscles. Generally, these cramps are harmless, but in rare cases, they may be a sign of other health problems such as peripheral arterial disease or spinal problems. If they continue to occur, you should consult your doctor.

 What Causes Them
Nobody's quite sure. Various theories blame fatigue from carrying pregnancy weight, compression of the blood vessels in the legs, and possibly diet — an excess of phosphorus and a shortage of calcium or magnesium. (You might as well blame pregnancy hormones, too, since they seem to cause so many pregnancy aches and pains.)

 What You Need to Know
Getting off your feet and sinking into that mattress should be a welcome relief from the day, but leg pain during pregnancy can seriously cramp your slumber style. These spasms can radiate up and down your calves during the day, but they're usually more noticeable at night when fatigue and fluid accumulation are at their peak (and when you have all that quiet and stillness to ponder them). Leg cramps are especially common in the second half of pregnancy, when pregnancy weight gain, increasing swelling, and overall fatigue are at their high points and interruptions in your sleeping are most frustrating.

What You Can Do About It

• Try standing on a cold surface, which can sometimes stop a spasm. Or relieve leg pain during pregnancy by straightening your leg and gently flexing your ankle and toes back toward your shins several times. If either of these techniques works, you can try a prenatal massage or add local heat for added relief, but don't massage or add heat if neither flexing nor cold helps the situation (in the rare case that the pain is caused by a blood clot, massaging it could make it worse — or allow it to travel).
• Stretching exercises during pregnancy can help stop cramps before they strike. Before you head to bed, stand about two feet away from a wall and put your palms flat against it. Lean forward, keeping your heels on the floor. Hold the stretch for ten seconds, then relax for five. Try this three times. To ease leg pain during pregnancy you can also put your feet up as often as you can, alternate periods of activity with periods of rest, and wear support hose during the day.
• Make sure you're drinking enough fluids — at least eight glasses a day.
• Bananas are a nutritious fruit, packed with about 600 mg of potassium. Potassium is crucial for cells, tissues and organs to function properly. It plays a role in heart function, skeletal and smooth muscle contraction and digestive function. Many muscle and nerve cells have channels specifically for moving potassium in and out of the cell. When this movement is blocked or there is a deficiency of potassium, activity of both muscles and nerves can become compromised. Thus, bananas can provide the body with a necessary factor for correct muscular function
• Eat a well-balanced diet that includes adequate calcium and magnesium.