Pregnancy and Contact Lenses

While pregnant, your body will go through certain changes that can be quite stressful. These changes are a normal and expected part of pregnancy, as your body is adapting itself to be able to nourish your baby. Increased body mass index (BMI), swollen feet, and hormonal spikes are common and instantly noticeable, but another rather natural, yet frequently neglected change lies in your eyes and vision. Because of this, if you regularly wear contact lenses, there are a few things that you should know and think about.

The shape of your eyes changes, because your blood pressure and other body fluids experience fluctuations (hence the swelling of your feet). Even though this is completely normal and usually not dangerous it can directly affect your vision too.

Because your eyes (specifically the cornea) can get swollen as a result of these fluctuations, you might experience some discomfort problems with your contact lenses. Essentially, your contact lenses do not fit your eyes any longer and you should discontinue using them immediately.

Therefore it is good idea is to visit an eye doctor during the pregnancy. They can take a look at your eyes and prescribe you a new pair of contacts or glasses.

After giving birth, your cornea will most likely go back to normal, meaning that you will be able to use your old prescription again. However, make sure to make an appointment with your eye doctor to check if this is possible.

Due to the fact that it is impossible to determine in advance whether or not your eyesight will change, we have listed two possible temporary solutions:

New Contact Lenses
The first alternative is simply visiting your local eye doctor to get a prescription for a new set of contact lenses. These will be custom-fitted to the new shape of your cornea and they can normally be used for another couple of months after giving birth – before the cornea goes back to normal.

Switching to Glasses
The second option you have is switching to wearing glasses. Once again, you will have to get in contact with an eye doctor, as you will need a pair with the correct optical power (remember, your eyesight has changed as a cause of the corneal swelling). Keep in mind that this is usually just a temporary issue – after giving birth, you should be able to go back to wearing contact lenses again.