What Causes Numbness in the Feet When Pregnant?
Pregnant women may experience a numbing or tingling sensation in their feet during pregnancy. This conditions is known as sciatica. It occurs because of pressure put on the sciatic nerve by the pregnancy, according to Womenshealthcaretopics.com.
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Sciatica
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Some women mistakenly believe this numbness is due to the baby pressing on a nerve. However, women who are pregnant are more apt to experience injury to a disc. When a disc in your back is damaged, this can result in inflammation in the tissues surrounding the sciatic nerve. If a disc has slipped out of place, it can press on a nerve, causing discomfort. When a disc slips, or inflammation occurs, the pain from this can radiate down your back, and your leg and into your foot, causing numbness.
The Sciatic Nerve
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A long nerve runs down our lower back to the back of our legs and feet and this is the sciatic nerve. This nerves allows us to have feeling in our legs and feet. If the sciatic nerve is injured or inflamed that is when we can experience numbness in our legs and feet or in both along with sciatic pain.
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Massage, Chiropractor, Physical Therapy
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It is believed that sciatica may occur when the psoas or gluteus muscles are tense and tight. Massage is recommended, because it will help loosen the tight muscles. Some pregnant women seek treatment from chiropractors; physical therapy may also help.
Water Retention
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According to Life.familyeducation.com, numbness of the hands, feet, thigh and even the stomach may occur during pregnancy. The numbness follows the path of nerves. The medical community isn't sure why this occurs; however, one theory is that water retention may contribute to this problem.
Raynaud's
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There is a condition called Raynaud's disease, which causes numbness in the fingers and feet, according to Mothernature.com. This isn't brought on by pregnancy; however, if a woman has it while gestating, it may complicate her pregnancy. If you have this disease, the slightest bit of cold results in exaggerated contraction of your blood vessels. This condition, which is more common in women than in men, will cause your skin to change colors: Some women who have Raynaud's report feeling better during their pregnancy, which may be attributable to an increase in blood vessel dilation.
Complications
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Dr. Kahl studied 97 pregnant women who had Raynaud's and found that they had smaller babies, although within normal range. However, these women were more likely to have premature babies; all of them had severe cases of Raynaud's.
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