Leg cramps during Pregnancy:

Nowadays Mamma sometimes is having tremendous leg pains..middle of the night she will start to feel this discomfort.
Generally I am awake in the night time and can feel what is going around me that time. I like to play around and enjoy my time in mum's small bump at that time..this is my happpy hour ..hee hee
Though mum is little annoyed due to this..but I can't resist myself be awake that time.

But nowadays mom is starting to be awake at night too due the pain and cramps.
I feel helpless and donot know how to help her at that point of time. Probably I will also start to have leg cramps as I am also resting all the time in the womb with my legs folded and gradually my space inside the womb is getting more and more cramped as I am getting bigger in size :(
Poor me..what will I do if I have leg cramps?

Oh god..I am becoming so selfish from now only..no no ..right now we will concentrate on my mum's problem of leg cramps..
Mom has searched the net and has got some reasons and solutions to this problem..I will put the data in front of you too for your advantage

Painful cramps in calves: how can they be stopped?

many pregnant women get these lower leg cramps, often in the middle of the night. Experts aren't sure what causes "charley horses" (the nonclinical name for painful cramps in your calf muscles). Although they can be extremely painful, charley horses are — luckily! — usually momentary.

What might help:

* Do calf stretches before bed to prevent the cramps from occurring. But make sure not to point your toes.
* Straighten your leg and flex your foot when you get a cramp. A gentle massage of the calf may help relax the muscle.
* Make sure you are drinking enough fluids during the day.
* Get regular exercise, which can help reduce cramps.

It was once thought that leg cramps were caused by low levels of nutrients like calcium in the blood, but there's no good evidence that taking supplements is helpful in treating or preventing leg cramps. If the leg pain doesn't resolve, is severe, or is accompanied by swelling, warmth, or redness in the leg or difficulty walking, talk with your health care provider right away.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/question/infants/leg_cramps.html


How to Prevent Leg Cramps During Pregnancy:

Many pregnant women wake up to painful leg cramps in the middle of the night. Some experts think cramps are caused by the weight increase brought on by pregnancy, while others believe they are due to an excess of phosphorus or a shortage of calcium or potassium. Here are some tips to help you avoid them altogether.

• Stretch your legs a few times a day, especially before bedtime.
• Rotate your ankles and wiggle your toes to increase circulation.
• Resist pointing your toes as you crawl into bed.
• Avoid crossing your legs or standing for long periods of time.
• Eat potassium-rich foods such as bananas.
• Eat calcium-rich foods such as dairy products, fish with bones (salmon or sardines), green leafy vegetables, almonds and tofu.
• Reduce your intake of phosphorus-rich foods such as soft drinks, processed meats and snack foods.

http://www.ehow.com/


Leg Pain in Pregnancy : Cramps, Varicose Veins, and Thrombophlebitis

Leg cramps

Leg cramps are a famous misery of pregnancy. They range anywhere from a fleeting musclular pulling all the way to hopping around in agony. There are many factors which may contribute to the increased tendency toward leg cramps in pregnancy, and there is no agreement among doctors as to which factors are the more important causes. Among them are:

*Pressure of the baby's head on the nerves of the pelvis can fire off the leg muscles.
*Alterations in calcium and magnesium, not only because of the altered physiology of pregnancy but also because of alterations in circulation due to swelling and changes in blood volume.
*Increased exertion on muscles due to changes in weight and center of gravity later in pregnancy. In other words, leg muscles that do just fine when non-pregnant, but prove to be out of shape with the increased physical demands of pregnancy.

Remedies for leg cramps have been dismal failures. Massaging the cramps is the most immediate remedy, but that can be like chasing your own tail. Taking extra calcium in supplements sounds like a good idea, but that is probably voodoo. In my practice, these remedies have fallen short of relief. What I have seen work the best is continued exercise to keep the leg muscles in shape, but this assumes good exercise and toned muscles before pregnancy, too.

As impotent as this information seems in trying to prevent or relieve this common misery, the good news is that the phenomenon is harmless, in spite of the severity. Now you know everything I know about leg cramps in pregnancy, which is pretty sad.

But here's the most important thing: REPORT ALL LEG PAIN TO YOUR DOCTOR.

Thrombophlebitis

Leg cramps may be harmless, but it is crucial to differentiate this pain from the pain of thrombophlebitis, which is an inflammation of the deep veins of the legs. Thrombophlebitis is an emergency and a very big deal, because deep leg veins so inflamed can develop blood clots that can fling off toward your lungs and endanger your life suddenly.

Now before there is a flood of hysteria about leg cramps possibly being thrombophlebitis, please know that there is a
simple method of distinguishing between the two. With sporadic leg cramps, the legs should not hurt when there is not a cramp. Squeezing the calf muscles shouldn't be painful in between these episodes. On the other hand, squeezing the calf muscles causing pain any time would be be very disturbing.

The treatment for thrombophlebitis involves anticoagulants ("blood thinners"), which are medicines that decrease the blood's ability to clot. The management of the doses of the anticoagulants can be quite tricky, so it is necessary to hospitalize such patients for a while.

On the one hand we have leg cramps, which are an inconvenience at worst; on the other we have thrombophlebitis, which is extremely dangerous if not diagnosed and treated. Thankfully, it's easy to tell the difference with a simple squeeze of the calf muscles. And if there's any doubt, ultrasound can look at the deep leg veins to see if there are any clots.

Varicose veins

Varicose veins are not dangerous, and they are NOT thrombophlebitis. Varicose veins are a problem with gravity and the weight of the baby on the drainage of superficial veins back up toward the heart. Varicose veins are mere engorgement of these structures and have nothing to do with clots in the deep veins of the legs. Although they can hurt, they don't present as the danger that deep blood clots are. Because they are a result of partial obstruction of their drainage, wearing those nasty grandma stockings can help keep them compressed. There are other specialty girdles that are sold that can help all the way up to varicose veins of the vulva, too.

http://www.gynob.com/legcramp.htm