Pregnancy Signs & Symptoms, Week by Week Pregnancy Guide

At your 26 weeks, you are almost in the end stage of the second trimester.

Your baby weighs about 2 pounds and about 14 inches long when measured from head to heel. Symptoms may vary from woman to woman and may vary from successive pregnancies.

In 26 weeks pregnant, there are some symptoms like leg cramps, dizziness, stretch marks, Braxton Hicks Contractions.

These Leg cramps at 26 weeks pregnant are caused by various reasons.

Leg cramps and causes

• Leg cramps is a symptom during this week. You may experience these leg cramps particularly during night times. It probably occurs due to the combination of things which leads the leg muscles to seize up and result in the shooting pain of the cramp.
• Your muscles are supporting the growing baby, and probably they are feeling strain. Your growing womb will be applying stress on your legs main vein. When this combines with the effects of pregnancy hormone called progesterone, it affects your legs muscle tone.

Nutritional causes

These leg cramps may occur due to the salts and nutrients shortage like magnesium or calcium, which are moving in your blood. This deficiency occurs as your baby absorbs the required amount from the supplies of your body and leaving only little bit amount for you. But still it is not clear if taking these supplements like magnesium or calcium salts will aid in preventing the cramps or not.

How to stop these cramps?

Here are some methods which may help you in having cramp free sleep.

Liquids

Drink lots of liquid. If you are worried about going to the bathroom in the night times, try to not drink anything before 1 to 2 hours of bedtime. But be sure that you drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water in the day.

Foot exercises

Every day try to do foot exercises. Stretch and bend your each foot smartly up and down for thirty times. Then you rotate each foot for 8 times in one manner and again 8 times in another manner. Do not stand for a long time or sit with legs crossed.

In the night

During night times take a warm bath earlier to the bed, and do not sleep with your toes directing downwards.

Other exercises

Stretching the leg muscles and having a nutritious diet can help you in alleviating the severity and reducing the frequency of these cramps. Prenatal exercise like light aerobics or walking may help you in relieving from these leg cramps.

If there is a constant muscle pain and not an occasional pain; or if you find any tenderness or swelling in the legs, consult your physician.