Shoe Addicts Beware! Pregnancy may cause your feet to grow! Well, expand…
There are many things that no one ever told me about pregnancy and childbirth. A major shocker after having my son is that my feet grew! My once perfectly sized 8 1/2 feet bulged out of every favorite pair of shoes I owned during pregnancy. I was told not to worry, that after giving birth my feet would go back down to their normal size. Wrong!
Thank God for a warm October or I would have been quite cold in my $3 Old Navy flip flops on the ride home from the hospital. While I did have pre-hypertension that caused severe swelling during my pregnancy, my experience is not all that uncommon. And while swelling is a part of the reason that your feet expand during pregnancy, there is something else going on.
The pregnancy hormone relaxin loosens the joints in your pelvis so that your baby can make its way into the birth canal. Relaxin also loosens the ligaments in your feet causing them to spread. So while my feet may now need a size 9, they didn’t actually grow, but they did expand a full half size. The bones aren’t as tight as they once were. Swelling caused by pregnancy will go away after childbirth but feet spreading is permanent.
During the latter months of pregnancy, a nice comfortable pair of shoes is a necessity, especially if you are experiencing swelling (also called edema). Here were my staples:
• Flip Flops: Flip Flops with a sturdier sole. They weren’t as confining as a sneaker but had the support of one.
• Uggs: When the weather became chillier, I lived in my Uggs. Fashionable or not, they were comfortable, warm, supportive and easy to slip on and off. Besides, did you see the new cable knit Uggs? Adorable and so versatile!
• Open-Toe Pump Slides: For a dressier occasion, I always chose my 2″ open toe pumps. They didn’t have the pressure of a stiletto and looked dressy enough to wear with a nice outfit.
After pregnancy, it’s recommended that you wait six weeks before you start buying any new footwear. Allow for any swelling to reduce before you re-size your feet. In fact, you just might want to wait till you’re finished having children before you spring for that pair of Louboutin’s!
