When you become pregnant, you body is working much harder to properly pump blood to and from the heart in order to properly oxygenate your organs. The added stress due to weight and other needs that the unborn baby requires. Gravity will cause your blood to be pulled downward towards your feet, this can add even more stress to the heart and can slow circulation. Poor circulation may lead to blood pooling and muscle cramping in the feet and legs. This blood pooling can also lead to varicose veins.
Compression stocking can help you to avoid the problems that come with poor circulation. Compression stockings work by adding a little bit of pressure around the feet and legs. This pressure is graduated, this means that the feet are more compressed and the stockings begin to loosen a bit as the climb the leg. This helps to force blood from the feet back up to the heart wear it can be pumped back into the body. This can help you to avoid a number of circulatory issues. Pressure on the outside of the foot and leg constricts veins that are delivering blood to the feet while allowing the arteries, located less closely to the surface of the skin, to easily carry the blood back up into the body. This is how compression stockings and compression knee highs can help pregnant women increase their circulation, stop blood pooling, leg cramping and help them to avoid varicose veins.
In order to find out if compression stockings are right for your, you should consult your health care professional. He or she will know if these stockings are right for you and if so which ones would suit you. Compression footwear can be purchased in many athletic and medical stores as well as at a large variety of online retailers.