Some of the changes that happen in a woman’s body during pregnancy are obvious. Others are not. Body weight is usually the most obvious change. Expectant mothers generally gain about 24 extra pounds, accounted for by the growing fetus and the tissues needed to support healthy development.
Less obvious are the changes that occur in the tissues of the mother’s body. Joints and ligaments become looser from the hormones that are released in preparation for delivery. Abdominal muscles tend to get stretched out and weakened as the baby grows.
Pregnancy is a time when aches and pains can start–problems like low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, leg cramps, and hip pain. It is not entirely understood why these problems happen during pregnancy. Fortunately, most of these problems go away after the delivery. Women who stay active during pregnancy generally have fewer problems and are less prone to injury.
Past research seemed to indicate that changes in walking patterns during pregnancy might be a reason for problems of overuse. However, new evidence in this study shows that walking patterns don’t actually change that much during pregnancy. Even the so-called “waddle” of late pregnancy wasn’t actually found to happen. The authors did see that calf and hip muscles showed more activity while pregnant women walked, a possible explanation for problems of overuse. According to the authors, this extra muscle activity might be why some pregnant women have painful cramps in their calf muscles and why they often have pain in their back, pelvis, and hips.