# If your feet grew while you were pregnant- when? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 27, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-feet-grew-while-you-were-pregnant-when/626482 "2012-06-27T17:08:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-feet-grew-while-you-were-pregnant-when/626482/1 "2012-06-27T17:08:52Z")
I’m currently 33 weeks pregnant. I have heard that some women go up in shoe size during pregnancy. I have seen no evidence of this happening to me yet. If your feet got bigger while you were pregnant, when in the pregnancy did it happen? ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-feet-grew-while-you-were-pregnant-when/626482/2 "2012-06-27T17:20:47Z")
My daughter dropped at 35 weeks, and everything below my waist began to swell. For the last five weeks of my pregnancy, and about a month afterward, I didn’t try to wear anything but slippers and Dansko clogs. When I next tried to put on some “pretty” shoes, some no longer fit and still don’t. So I guess it happened sometime in the last month. ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-feet-grew-while-you-were-pregnant-when/626482/3 "2012-06-27T17:21:00Z")
I had a lot of water retention issues starting at about 30-31 weeks so it is hard to say because there was so much swelling. By the end, I had massive Fred Flinstone feet. It took a while for the swelling to go down all the way, and I ended up with feet about half a size bigger than I had before (a fabulous size 10-1/2, which is next to impossible to find). ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-feet-grew-while-you-were-pregnant-when/626482/4 "2012-06-27T17:23:15Z")
I’m pretty sure mine grew in the last few months, but I’m not really sure. I gave birth in August and didn’t really wear anything but Birkenstocks and flip flops the last 4 months. It wasn’t until fall rolled around and I needed to wear proper shoes that I realized my feet had grown enough to my make closed in shoes I had uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![Lightlystarched](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Lightlystarched](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightlystarched)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-feet-grew-while-you-were-pregnant-when/626482/5 "2012-06-27T18:11:54Z")
My size 9 feet expanded to an 11 during pregnancy - it was in the last month or so. I think it was a combination of water retention, weight gain, and the ligament softening that happens in late pregnancy. I’m happy to report that the size gain didn’t last and I’m back in my 9s. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-feet-grew-while-you-were-pregnant-when/626482/6 "2012-06-27T18:34:16Z")
My feet got huge starting around 6 months. Luckily they shrank right back to my prepregnancy size pretty quickly after the baby was born. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-feet-grew-while-you-were-pregnant-when/626482/7 "2012-06-27T18:40:16Z")
It wasn’t until later in the pregnancy. I’m afraid my gains were permanent, though. I increase about a half size over each of two pregnancies, going from an 8 to a 9. I never got significant swelling in my legs or feet, but my feet definitely got wider. I understand that it has to to with the hormones that allow your pelvis to expand for the birth process. Other joints tend to get looser too as Lightlystarched mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![kbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kbear)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-feet-grew-while-you-were-pregnant-when/626482/8 "2012-06-29T05:56:22Z")
I was carrying twins and my feet got big about halfway in. The only thing I could wear were Birkenstocks. My legs and ankles didn’t swell, just my feet…they looked like potatoes. They stayed about a half size larger, and wider, which makes finding comfortable dress shoes difficult. I still wear Birks about 6 months of the year. ---
**Author:** ![Vihaga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Vihaga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vihaga)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-feet-grew-while-you-were-pregnant-when/626482/9 "2012-06-29T10:05:51Z")
It wasn’t too bad until the end, but some of my shoes still don’t fit, 3.5 months postpartum. My feet are slightly less than half a size bigger, but it’s noticeable because I like my shoes to fit a skosh on the snug side. ---
**Author:** ![dada2fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ccd318/32.png) [@dada2fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dada2fish)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-feet-grew-while-you-were-pregnant-when/626482/10 "2012-06-29T11:14:24Z")
M feet swelled during my last trimester. After delivery, the swelling went down. I have been a size ten my whole adult life, but I was horrified to find out I now fit in size 11. This is probably permanent since it’s been 2.5 years since I gave birth. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2012, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-your-feet-grew-while-you-were-pregnant-when/626482/11 "2012-06-29T14:38:39Z")
During the last month, I’d say. They went up half a size and have stayed that way.