When I was pregnant, there were times when I felt like my vision was blurry. I strained to read the words on signs and see images in the distance. I searched my memory for my most recent eye check-up. It didn’t seem to be that long ago. Whether I was wearing glasses or contacts, I would occasionally find myself squinting.
Was I crazy? It seemed that with pregnancy, not only was I having trouble remember things but now I was having trouble seeing too. I had to find out what was going on with my body.
According to babycenter.com, “changes in hormones, metabolism, fluid retention, and blood circulation can all affect your eyes and your eyesight during pregnancy. Water retention, for instance, may cause the thickness and curvature of the cornea of your eye to increase slightly. It's a small change, but it could affect how well your glasses or contacts correct your vision. It's also why laser eye surgery isn't recommended during pregnancy and why it's not a good time to be fitted for new contact lenses.”
Okay, so I wasn’t crazy. It was amazing to me how powerful pregnancy hormones were and just how much of a woman’s body they could affect. Once I understood the changes that were happening, it was easier to adjust.
I did also notice that my eyes were drier than normal and it became more difficult to comfortably wear my contacts. If you also experience this, ask your doctor about dry eye drops that are safe to use during pregnancy. (Some may contain active ingredients that you don’t want to use while pregnant.) This may also be true for mothers that breastfeed.
Like most side effects of pregnancy, the issues with my vision also went away after my baby was born. But unlike most of the things that I knew to expect from pregnancy, I didn’t know that my eyes could be affected. I didn’t see that coming.