4 natural remedies to help you avoid leg cramps during pregnancy.

Being pregnant is a wonderful, exciting, and magical time. But, it can also be very exhausting, tedious, and a bit uncomfortable (okay, a lot uncomfortable).

So far I have had 5 pregnancies and while they have all be slightly different from one another, one thing remains the same: come second trimester, the leg cramps set in.

I can recall several instances in my pregnancies where the cramps would be so bad they’d jolt me out of a deep sleep. Then, I’d be forced to get up and walk around the room for several minutes to walk through them and stretch my legs

Why do pregnant women get leg cramps?

While it isn’t 100% clear why leg cramps flare up during pregnancy, it’s been said to be caused by numerous things.

One, your blood volume increases tremendously during pregnancy and the added weight can put strain on your legs leading to restless leg syndrome and cramps at night.

Also, it could be your body’s way of letting you know that you’re dehydrated.

But from my experience, it’s a combination of these things PLUS  a lack of certain minerals (which we will go over).

DISCLAIMER: The information in this blog is NOT medical advice. Please advise with your practitioner before taking any new supplements during your pregnancy.

DISCLOSURE: Some links mentioned in this blog are affiliate links. It simply means that, at no additional cost to you, I may end up earning a commission. Thanks for your support!

Stay hydrated

Let’s state the obvious here: if leg cramps during pregnancy are caused by dehydration, then it would make sense to increase your water intake.

BUT…don’t just go and drink a gallon of water a day. That could make your leg cramps worse!

You see, when you increase your water intake, you also flush out minerals. So, it’s important to replenish minerals IN ADDITION to increasing your water.

The easiest way to do this?

Add electrolytes to your water! Not only are they absolutely essential for every human being, they are even moreso for pregnant women. You are growing another human being inside of you and it takes a lot of nutrients for your body to do that. Which is why it’s SO ESSENTIAL to eat a well-balanced diet during pregnancy – but that’s a topic for another day.

Up your magnesium intake

It’s thought that leg cramps are caused by mineral deficencies which includes magnesium. So the best way to increase magnesium is to eat magnesium-rich foods!

Just a few magnesium-rich foods:

• kiwi
• blackberries
• dried figs
• avacados
• bananas
• spinach
• kale
• okra
• chicken
• turkey
• beef
• bluefin tuna
• king carb
• canned oysters

If you find it hard to increase magnesium to the point where it’s helping you to avoid leg cramps, then consider using a magnesium supplement.

Just be warned: there are many types of magnesium to choose from and taking too much can have adverse effects. For instance, magnesium citrate can help you with the occasional bout of constipation, but you might not want to take it daily.

I personally prefer to take this form of magnesium glycinate. When I used this daily along with potassium, I rarely ever experienced any leg cramps during pregnancy.

Increase Potassium

Another essential nutrient, especially to help you avoid leg cramps during pregnancy, is potassium.

But, you don’t have to start peeling back a bunch of bananas every day. There’s a lot of wholesome foods that contain potassium (and even more than the famous banana).

Here’s a few potassium-rich foods for you:

• avacado
• potatoes
• watermelon
• coconut water
• beans
• tomatoes
• dried apricots
• chard
• beets
• fish
• yams

I took great enjoyment in eating potatoes nearly every night for dinner. They help with leg cramps, but also better sleep in general – which is a hard thing to come by in pregnancy!

Besides foods, I also enjoyed taking these electrolytes during my pregnancy and felt a MASSIVE difference with leg cramps when I took them daily. If I missed a day, I was for sure going to suffer from a bad leg cramp episode at night, so I definitely kept these babies in stock.

Take dead sea salt baths before bed

This one is not only amazing for preventing leg cramps, but as a pregnant Mom, so relaxing at the end of the day.

You want to soak in dead sea salt and not just epsom salts. Epsom salt is also known as magnesium sulfate. It’s a chemical compound made up of magnesium, sulfur, and oxygen.

And while you can definitely benefit from epsom salt baths, dead sea salt is ever better.

Dead Sea salts contain a high concentration of salts and natural minerals. They are rich in magnesium, sodium, potassium, calcium and bromine. They are extremely saline and only come from the Dead Sea that also contains many trace minerals that absorb through your skin.

Not only do these baths help you with avoiding leg cramps, but they are so healthy for replenishing your minerals!

Growing a baby takes a lot from your body, so in addition to taking a multivitamin and eating a well-balanced diet, soaking in dead sea salt adds bonus nutrients to your healthy pregnancy regime.

Another bonus is that it makes your skin feel SO SOFT.

My skin normally gets mega dry during the winter, but it never did ONCE while I religiously soak in my dead sea salt baths!

I definitely noticed a HUGE difference in leg cramps during my pregnancy when I added a 1/4c of these salts to my bath every night before bed – plus, it was a treat to my pregnant body after a long and tiring day.

Just because you are pregnant doesn’t mean that you are doomed to suffer from leg cramps.

Try out these natural methods and let me know how they end up working for you!

Have you tried any of these natural methods to help alleviate the pain of cramps? What has helped YOU the most?

 

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