What some women find helpful for their leg cramps
Leg cramps are painful spasms that occur in the foot, calves or thighs and can be experienced by nearly 50% of pregnant women, generally during the last few months of their pregnancy. Leg cramps will usually occur at night, jolting the woman (and often her startled partner) awake, usually adding to the sleep problems often experienced by heavily pregnant women.
Many causes have been suggested for leg cramps. These generally relate to possible low levels of calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium chloride (or salt) in the body. The reasons for this being that these minerals all play vital roles in the functioning of our muscles.
Research into the causes of leg cramps in relation to lack of minerals in the body is slowly evolving. At this stage, it is thought that magnesium (lactate or citrate) supplements are the most likely to help. Calcium supplements have not been shown to be beneficial.
There is also some evidence that adequate salt in the diet may improve leg cramps. Leg cramps due to lack of salt may happen because salt levels naturally lower during pregnancy. This is because salt (or 'sodium chloride') is a major component of our blood 'plasma' (or the fluid that our blood cells float in). Blood plasma increases by up to 50% during pregnancy, peaking at around 32 weeks, using up a little extra salt. In addition, pregnant women tend to sweat more during pregnancy and when you sweat, you lose more salt. This is probably why many women find that their leg cramps tend to worsen during the hotter months.