Every expecting mother fantasizes of that moment when she gets to hold her baby in her arms for the first time after nine months of waiting. While bringing a baby into the world is one of the most beautiful things a woman can experience, the changes that happen to a woman’s body during pregnancy—stretch marks and varicose veins—are not things that expecting mothers look forward to.

Varicose veins commonly appear during pregnancy because of the pressure that a woman’s growing uterus places on the veins in her legs. In addition to that increased pressure, her body produces more blood while she’s pregnant. There’s a high probability that the increased blood combined with the increased pressure will cause blood to gather in veins. This is what causes veins to display visibly on legs and skin.

Since it’s more likely during pregnancy, expecting mothers should follow these tips to avoid developing varicose veins:

Stay Active

Being pregnant, especially in your third trimester, is exhausting. Your back hurts, your feet hurt, and you’re tired all of the time. While it may be tempting to sit or lay in a comfortable position as much as possible, it’s important to make sure you get exercise daily during your pregnancy. The exercise you do doesn’t have to be intense, but at the very least, you should make sure to get up and take a walk each day. Staying active will improve your circulation and will help prevent varicose veins by allowing your blood to move freely through your circulatory system.

Wear Support Hose

Blood in your circulatory system has to travel from your heart all the way down to your feet and then back up to your heart. It’s because of the distance blood must travel back up to your heart that legs are a common place for varicose veins to appear. While they may be extremely tight, uncomfortable, and unflattering, support hose help prevent the development of varicose veins by helping push your blood back up your legs.

Rest Like an Executive

In the movies, it’s common to see powerful men sitting in office chairs with their feet propped up on a desk. This is exactly what you want to do while you’re pregnant. While you’ll likely want to find a more comfortable way to keep your legs elevated that sitting at your desk, propping your legs up is another way to make it easier for the blood in your legs to get back up to your heart from your feet.

Dealing With Varicose Veins

Unfortunately for some women, following all of the tips for avoiding the development of varicose veins during pregnancy doesn’t prevent them from appearing. It’s best not to stress too much over it; in many cases, the visibility of varicose veins will diminish a few months after giving birth. And even if varicose veins don’t fade away on their own, there are many treatments available to get rid of them. To get an idea of what treatments are available and how much treating your varicose veins might cost, use our varicose vein treatment cost calculator.