Pregnancy is a time of a great many body changes. From morning sickness to sore breasts to your growing belly, there is almost no part of your body that is unaffected by pregnancy. Even your feet and your ankles are likely to experience some degree or another of swelling during pregnancy. Very often this swelling will occur more severely towards the end of the day, or when the weather is particularly warm. However, you can have feet and ankle swelling at any time during your pregnancy.

The primary cause of ankles swelling during pregnancy is that your body retains (and produces, for that matter) more in terms of fluids during pregnancy. In addition to fluid retention, the growth of your uterus is likely to put pressure on the veins in your legs. This slows the rate at which blood returns from your legs and returns to your heart. This, in turn, causes more fluid to build up in your legs, ankles, and feet. This extra fluid buildup then causes your legs, feet, and ankles to swell during pregnancy.

There are some things you can do to reduce the swelling of your ankles during pregnancy. First of all, you should try to take breaks at various points during the day, during which you can sit down with your feet elevated. If possible, you should lie down with your feet elevated for about an hour each afternoon. At night, you might consider lying on your side, or elevating your legs with pillows. Using a footrest while sitting can also help. Support hose can help you as well.

There are also herbal foot baths that you can use to soak your swollen ankles during pregnancy. While these herbal foot baths don’t necessarily make swelling go away by themselves, the fact that you are off your feet can definitely help. The herbs in these foot baths, such as lavender, thyme, rosemary, peppermint, and yarrow can help to perk up your swollen ankles during pregnancy. There are even herbal foot baths that contain essential oils and herbs that act as an antifungal, in case you are experiencing athlete’s foot.

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