There’s a lot of conversation about what pregnancy does to your body. The swollen ankles, the aching back, the way your centre of gravity shifts entirely. Most of it is well documented, widely shared, and honestly, you’re prepared for it.
What nobody really warns you about is what happens to your feet after the baby arrives.
For many women, the foot changes that begin during pregnancy don’t simply reverse once the baby is born. Some are temporary and resolve within months. Others are surprisingly permanent. And because new parents have about seventeen other things to think about, foot health tends to fall well down the list. That is, until something hurts enough that it can’t be ignored.
Here’s what’s actually going on, across both the immediate postpartum period and the longer term.
What pregnancy does to feet in the first place
To understand the postpartum picture, it helps to understand what happened during pregnancy. Two things in particular have a lasting impact on feet: relaxin and weight load.
Relaxin is a hormone produced during pregnancy that loosens ligaments and joints in preparation for childbirth. It’s essential for delivery but it doesn’t confine itself neatly to the pelvis. It circulates throughout the body, affecting ligaments everywhere, including the feet. With ligament laxity comes reduced arch support, which is why many women develop flatter feet during pregnancy.
The second factor is weight. The average pregnancy involves significant weight gain, much of which is carried for months. This increases the load through the feet with every step. This sustained pressure, combined with looser ligaments, can permanently alter the shape and structure of the foot.
The postpartum period – what to expect in the first few months
Swelling that lingers
Swelling of the feet and ankles during pregnancy is almost universal, driven by increased blood volume and fluid retention. After delivery, this doesn’t disappear overnight. For many women it actually worsens in the first few days postpartum before gradually improving over one to two weeks as the body works to rebalance fluid levels.
Gentle movement, elevation when resting, and staying hydrated all help. Swelling that is one-sided, accompanied by pain or warmth, or that persists beyond a few weeks should be assessed. You can read more about it in our article on why feet swell for more detail on when to seek advice.
Heel and arch pain
New mothers are disproportionately affected by plantar fasciitis in the postpartum period. The combination of arch changes from relaxin, increased weight during pregnancy, and then suddenly spending long periods on your feet caring for a newborn creates ideal conditions for heel and arch pain to develop.
The irony is that the early weeks of parenthood are also the time when it’s hardest to rest and recover. If heel pain is developing, addressing it early, in ways such as wearing appropriate footwear, stretching, and if needed, orthotics, is far more effective than waiting it out.
Generalised foot fatigue
Spending long hours standing, feeding, rocking, and pacing with a newborn places sustained demand on feet that may still be recovering from the structural changes of pregnancy. Supportive footwear at home, rather than bare feet or flat thongs, makes a genuine difference during this period.
The longer term and changes that may be permanent
Shoe size changes
This one surprises a lot of people. Research consistently shows that a significant proportion of women experience a permanent increase in foot length and width following pregnancy. Usually, the shoe size increases by half a size or more, and sometimes by a full size. It’s not weight-related in the way most people assume. It’s structural: the ligament laxity caused by relaxin allows the bones of the foot to spread, and for many women that spread doesn’t fully reverse.
If your pre-pregnancy shoes feel tight after having a baby, they probably are. Continuing to wear shoes that no longer fit properly is a reliable path to blisters, corns, and longer-term foot problems. It’s worth getting your feet properly measured and accepting that your shoe size may simply have changed.
Flatter arches
For some women, the arch changes that began during pregnancy persist long after delivery. The arch may be lower and less defined than before, and feet that were previously neutral or high-arched may now present as flat. This isn’t always symptomatic, plenty of people have flat feet and no pain, but for others it contributes to ongoing arch fatigue, heel pain, or knee and lower back discomfort.
If you’ve noticed your arches are flatter than they used to be and you’re experiencing related pain, orthotics can provide the support the foot’s own structures are no longer giving as effectively.
Changes with subsequent pregnancies
It’s worth noting that foot changes can compound with each pregnancy. Women who notice arch flattening or size changes after a first pregnancy may find the changes progress further with subsequent pregnancies. This isn’t a reason to avoid having children, but it is a reason to take foot health seriously across the whole journey, rather than waiting until something becomes painful.
Posture, load, and the whole-body picture
Feet don’t exist in isolation, and the postpartum body is dealing with a lot of simultaneous changes. Core strength that was stretched and disrupted during pregnancy takes time to rebuild. Posture shifts that developed over nine months don’t automatically correct. Carrying, feeding, and bending over a cot introduces new load patterns.
All of this flows down through the lower limbs to the feet. Women who experience knee pain or hip discomfort postpartum often find that addressing foot function and alignment is part of the solution – even when the feet themselves don’t obviously hurt.
Practical steps for postpartum foot health
- Wear supportive footwear at home from early in the postpartum period. It’s definitely not the time for thongs or bare feet on hard floors all day.
- Get your feet measured before buying new shoes. Your size may have changed and it’s better to know than to assume.
- Don’t dismiss heel or arch pain as something you just have to push through. Early intervention is far easier than treating something that’s been ignored for months.
- If you wore orthotics before or during pregnancy, have them reviewed as your foot structure may have changed enough that they need updating.
- Gentle foot and calf stretching in the early postpartum weeks can help manage tightness and reduce the risk of plantar fasciitis developing.
- If you’re experiencing pain in your knees, hips, or lower back as well as your feet, mention all of it to your podiatrist – these issues could be connected.
When to see a podiatrist
You don’t need to be in significant pain to benefit from a postpartum podiatry assessment. If you’ve noticed your arches have changed, your shoes no longer feel right, or you’re experiencing any foot, heel, or lower limb discomfort in the months following pregnancy, it’s worth getting a professional opinion.
A podiatrist can assess what’s changed structurally, identify any developing conditions before they become entrenched, and advise on footwear and support options that suit where your feet are now, not where they were before pregnancy.
How Watsonia Podiatry can help
At Watsonia Podiatry, we understand that postpartum life is full and demanding and the last thing you need is foot pain making it harder. We see plenty of new and not-so-new mothers dealing with foot changes they weren’t warned about, and we’re here to help make sense of what’s happening and what to do about it.Your body has been through a lot. Your feet deserve some attention too. Book an appointment with Watsonia Podiatry today.
