Pregnancy Really Does Make Women’s Feet Bigger

Did you notice that your shoe size went up after you had a baby?  If so, a new study says that you didn't imagine it and you're far from being the only one!

Researchers who tracked the foot size of 49 women during their pregnancies and five months after they'd given birth found that, on average, the women's arch height decreased, and in turn, their foot length increased between 0.1 to 0.4 inches.

Overall, about 60 to 70 percent of the women in the study had longer feet and shorter arches after childbirth, and 11 of the women reported changes large enough that they had a bigger shoe size.

Researchers say the change might be because of the extra weight of pregnancy, which puts greater stress on the feet and may flatten the arch.

Also, pregnant women produce hormones that increase the looseness of the joints and ligaments, possibly making the foot structure more flexible. Researchers also found that this effect is mostly seen only with women's first pregnancies, and not with each pregnancy after.