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Cramp

by Christine Hill

question
I’m 36 weeks pregnant and keep waking up at night with violent cramps in my legs. I get out of bed to walk around but the cramps are so painful I just don’t know what to do. Could it be from a lack of calcium? Why is this happening and what can I do?

answer
This is a horribly normal problem, but nevertheless really irritating for you, as well as being painful. No one knows exactly why pregnant women suffer from cramp in their calf muscles, but it is very unlikely to be caused by a lack of calcium in your diet. It is more likely to be due to the pressure of the baby on a nerve in the pelvis.

Before going to bed, try sitting or lying with your legs higher than your pelvis. Then move your feet up and down and round in a circle as vigorously as possible. You need to do this exercise for about ten minutes or until your calf muscles start to ache a bit. This sometimes prevents or at least improves the night cramps.

You are already doing the only treatment that gets rid of the cramp. This is getting out of bed, putting the foot of the affected leg flat on the floor and bending the knee towards your toes.
The good news is that as soon as you have had your baby, the cramps will disappear.

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