Learn how to prevent pregnancy cramps
During gestation, many women may experience various discomforts, as the body is adapting to changes in that phase. One of the symptoms during this phase that many women complain about is cramp, which can suddenly appear. The causes of cramps in pregnancy are many.
What is cramp?
Cramp can be defined as an involuntary contraction of skeletal muscle. It occurs more often at night or after overeating without physical conditioning for it. The discomfort most often occurs in the muscle groups of the calf and anterior and posterior thigh.
They can occur in any person, but in pregnancy, they are more common in the 2nd and 3rd semester and casually can occur in the abdominal muscles.
To avoid this nuisance during pregnancy, it is possible to follow some recommendations that in most cases works. Here’s how to prevent cramps in pregnancy.
How To Prevent Pregnancy Cramps
To prevent this discomfort during gestation, one of the recommendations is to stretch before bedtime, frequent walking, wear lighter clothes, and avoid high heels. In addition, it is important to practice some type of physical activity at this stage, but as long as the doctor allows. To minimize cramp crises in pregnancy, a good alternative is to do swimming or water aerobics, activities in the water stimulate circulation.
Another important tip of how to prevent cramps in pregnancy is to take care of feeding. This is essential because the cramps in this period occur due to lack of potassium and calcium. To replenish calcium in the body you need to eat foods like milk and derivatives.
To replenish potassium, you need to eat foods such as bananas, tomatoes, white beans, and carrots. In addition, the pregnant woman should also avoid the consumption of some foods such as soft drinks, snack foods, canned products, which contain phosphorus which, in excess, can cause cramp.
In addition to poor diet, cramps also arise due to the woman’s blood circulation during pregnancy, which is compromised due to the pressure exerted by the baby’s weight.
To help improve circulation and prevent this discomfort, you need to consume fruits that have beneficial substances in the bloodstream like watermelon, banana, orange, melon, grape, raspberry, blackberry and plum.
When the cramp appears the ideal is to stretch the affected muscle group. Another tip is to do a good massage on the affected muscle, take a hot bath or put a hot water bag on the spot. Doing small walks also helps relieve pain.
If the cramps are only sporadic, there’s no reason to worry. But if they arise very often, you should be aware of other symptoms that may arise such as swelling, redness, and alteration of the sensitivity of the place.
In this case, it is best to seek your doctor, as these symptoms may be related to vascular alteration.