Having a baby means you will need to budget for new shoes

Being pregnant is an expanding process.

Fortunately when junior finally flies the coup, you stop looking like a beached whale. And with a little effort, you return to your former shape and size.

Well almost.

Being pregnant will leave you with BIGGER FEET.

It is not your imagination – your pre-pregnancy shoes genuinely do not fit quite as well as they once did.

Flattening out

Researchers from the University of Iowa systematically measured 49 pregnant women’s feet, at the very beginning of their pregnancy and five months after they had given birth.

Around 60 – 70 % of the women ended up with longer and wider feet.

The bit of the foot that was changing was the arch.

Both arch height and arch rigidity decreased – the arch drop left the foot bigger. The difference ranged from 2 to 10 mm.

Not enough to qualify you as BIG FOOT, but enough to make shoes no longer fit comfortably.

One time effect

Good news, your foot will only get bigger the first time round, so if you’re planning a big family, you won’t need to buy new shoes following each birth.

And no you won’t end up looking like Bozo the clown.

Why does it happen ?

You may feel bogged down by the weight of it all. And all that extra weight probably doesn’t help.

But the drop in the arch is not because your foot was weighed down by the baby. It is a side effect of giving birth.

Remember, that BIG HEAD has to makes its way out of a pretty narrow passage. Mother Nature works hard to help this happen – she loosens you up.

Hormonal changes produce laxity in the joints.

The slackness of the joints is the reason something THAT SIZE slips through.

Happy feet

New shoes are one way to release dollops of dopamine, a more expensive happiness option than chocolate. But new shoes can easily be seen as a luxury item in the family budget, especially with all the expenses of a new baby.

Now you know, you will NEED new shoes.

This will not be a luxury item, it will be a genuine necessity.

So plan ahead…. budget for several pairs of “maternity” shoes.

PS. Wait until after the birth to go shopping to ensure you get shoes that are perfect for your NEW foot structure.

Pregnancy Leads to Lasting Changes in Foot Structure. American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 2013; 92 (3): 232 Neil A. Segal, Elizabeth R. Boyer, Patricia Teran-Yengle, Natalie A. Glass, Howard J. Hillstrom, H. John Yack. 

 

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Further reading

You are getting wider even if you’re not getting fatter	Baby making really does pack on the pounds	Lubricate those joints with a daub of fish oil to prevent osteoarthritis

The 7 Big Spoons™…. are master switches that turn health on.

Balance Eicosanoids	Rein in insulin	Dial down stress	Sleep !	Increase Vit D	Culivate microflora	Think champion

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