Compression socks for swollen ankles in pregnancy: are they worth it

Your shoes fit this morning. By teatime there's a sock line pressed into your shin, your ankles have gone soft and shiny, and the only thing that still fits is a pair of sliders.

Nobody warns you about the shoes.

That's the normal, boring kind of pregnancy swelling. It turns up in the last few months, on hot days, and on any day you've stood for hours. Compression socks are the one thing we sell for it, so this is an honest go at when they help, when they don't, and when swelling is a phone call rather than a sock.

• The NHS says some swelling in your legs, ankles, feet and fingers is normal in pregnancy, often worse by the evening and further into your pregnancy.
• A sudden increase in swelling in your face, hands or feet is on the NHS urgent list: call your midwife, GP or labour ward straight away.
• For a flight or any trip over 4 hours, the NHS says graduated compression stockings help reduce leg swelling, along with water and a walk about every 30 minutes.

Why your feet and ankles swell in pregnancy

You're holding more water than usual. The NHS says that through the day the extra water gathers in the lowest parts of your body, more so when it's hot or you've been standing a lot. Your womb also presses on the blood flow in your legs, so fluid builds up in your legs, ankles and feet.

Which is why it's worse at teatime than at breakfast, worse in a British July than a February, and worse after a shift on your feet or a long drive. Swelling that creeps up gradually like this isn't usually harmful to you or your baby. It's uncomfortable, and it makes your shoes lie to you.

It also tends to get worse the further along you are. Plenty of people don't notice it until the third trimester. Some get it from the second, especially with a desk job and a warm office.

Do compression socks help swollen ankles in pregnancy?

For the everyday kind, yes. The word that matters is graduated: the sock is firmest round your ankle and eases off as it goes up the calf. That gentle squeeze from the bottom up keeps the blood and fluid in your lower legs moving instead of sitting round your ankles all day.

What that looks like in practice, from the people who've bought ours: ankles that look less puffy by the evening, legs that feel lighter at the end of a long day, and shoes that still fit at five o'clock. One reviewer with a desk job wrote that her feet and ankles "started to swell quite early on" and the socks "have been a massive help". Another: "They made my legs feel noticeably less heavy by the end of the day".

What they won't do, and I'd rather say it here than have you find out at 36 weeks: they don't stop you swelling altogether, they do nothing while they're in the drawer, and they're not a treatment for anything. If the swelling is sudden, or it's one leg and it hurts, skip to the midwife section below.

They're also not magic on day one. You need them on in the morning, before your ankles have filled up, and on most days, to notice the difference. One reviewer at 22 weeks put it well: she feels "a big difference on the days I don't wear them".

What else helps with swollen ankles

Socks are one lever. The NHS list for normal pregnancy swelling is short, and it's worth doing all of it:

• Don't stand for long stretches if you can help it. Sit for the bits of the day that can be done sitting.
• Comfortable shoes and socks. Nothing with a tight strap or a band that pinches, which is why a compression sock has to be graduated and the right size, not just tight.
• Feet up when you rest, as high as the sofa allows.
• A walk every day, plus the NHS foot exercises: bend and stretch each foot up and down 30 times, then circle each foot 8 times one way and 8 times the other. They work at a desk.

If you're also waking at 3am to turn over, our sleep in pregnancy guide has the side lying set up. If your legs ache as well as swell, our post on common pregnancy body aches covers cramp and heavy legs.

When swelling is a call to the midwife

Gradual swelling is normal. Sudden swelling isn't, and the NHS is blunt about it: call your midwife, GP or labour ward immediately if you have a sudden increase in swelling in your face, hands or feet. Same call if it comes with a very bad headache, blurred vision or flashing lights, severe pain just below your ribs, heartburn that antacids don't shift, feeling sick or being sick, or just feeling very unwell.

Those can be signs of pre-eclampsia, which is most likely from 20 weeks and can also turn up in the weeks after the birth.

One leg is the other warning. Swelling in one leg, with a throbbing pain in the calf or thigh, or skin that's gone red or darker round it, can be a blood clot. The NHS says pregnancy and the six weeks after a baby are times you're more likely to get one. Ask for an urgent GP appointment or call 111, or your maternity unit if you have the number. Compression socks are not the answer to either of these.

Which compression socks for pregnancy?

Knee high, graduated, 20 to 30 mmHg, in a size that matches your calf as well as your shoe. That's the whole brief.

The rest is what they feel like at hour six.

20 to 30 mmHg, and what that means

mmHg is just the unit the pressure is measured in. 20 to 30 is the firmer of the two everyday ranges, and the one people reach for once the swelling is actually there rather than something they're hoping to avoid. Ours are 20 to 30 mmHg and graduated, firmest at the ankle and easing off at the calf. One reviewer who tested a pair side by side against an unbranded sock called ours "proper, real, graded compression".

Getting the calf size right

This is the choice that decides whether you love them or leave them in the drawer. Socks that dig in under the knee, or take ten minutes and a partner to get on, are nearly always the wrong calf size, not the wrong socks.

Measure round the widest part of your calf, in the morning. Standard and Wide Calf give the same compression; Wide Calf just has more room round the leg. If you measure near the top of the Standard range, or compression socks have pinched behind your knee before, go Wide Calf.

One reviewer bought the Standard fit first and found them "extremely tight and painful. They also took about 10 minutes to put on." She swapped to Wide Calf: "Put on easily straight away and they feel so much nicer with the wider calves". That's the size guide in two sentences.

The sock itself

Ours are a soft bamboo blend, so they go on more easily than the stiff kind and don't make your feet sweat under a desk. The soles have grips for a hard floor, a birthing ball or a hospital ward. Three colours: black, nude and mocha. Black goes with everything; nude disappears under trousers.

Full stockings with a belly panel exist. For swollen ankles and heavy legs, knee highs do the same job for the part of the leg that swells, and you'll actually wear them.

How to put compression socks on with a bump

Honestly, it's the worst bit, and the reviews say so: "a little awkward to get on, not sure if I'm going to be able to put them on myself when more pregnant. Once they're on though, they're quite comfortable." The routine that makes it manageable:

1. Morning, before your feet have filled up. Sit on the edge of the bed, not the floor.
2. Turn the sock inside out down to the heel, so you're holding a short pocket rather than a long tube.
3. Foot into the pocket, heel seated, then unroll the leg up your calf. Smooth out any ridge as you go.
4. Finish a couple of fingers below the knee crease. Don't fold the top over; a doubled band is twice the squeeze in one place.
5. Off at night. Swelling settles while you're lying flat, so they've nothing to do. If they're a fight to get off, the calf size is wrong.

Leg length matters too. The tube is 33cm in the 2 to 5 and 35cm in the 6 to 9, so on a shorter leg the top can reach the knee crease. One reviewer, 5 foot 2, found they "dig in a bit at the top after a few hours". Ease the top down a touch rather than folding it.

Compression socks for flying when pregnant

This is the other big reason people buy them, and the one with the clearest NHS line. Any trip over 4 hours carries a small risk of a blood clot, the NHS says, so drink plenty of water, get up and move about every 30 minutes or so, and wear graduated compression stockings to reduce leg swelling.

Put them on at home before you leave, not at the gate, and keep them on until you're at the hotel. After 28 weeks the airline may ask for a letter from your midwife or doctor confirming your due date, so sort that before you sort the socks. One reviewer flew to Spain at 7 months: "They stopped the swelling massively", after an earlier flight without them where "my ankles swelled up a lot".

The hospital bag, and after the birth

Pack a pair. Labour wards are warm, hospital floors are hard, and you'll be shuffling about in socks, which is where the grip soles earn their place. One reviewer: "helped with my swollen ankles at the end of pregnancy, I also took them in my hospital bag". The rest of the bag is in our hospital bag checklist.

After the birth the same rules hold. The NHS says the six weeks after a baby are a time you're more likely to get a clot, and pre-eclampsia can turn up after the birth too, so sudden swelling is still a phone call once you're home. If the hospital gives you its own stockings, wear those for as long as you're told; they're for a different job. After a C-section, what to wear after a C-section covers the first weeks.

Questions we get asked

When should I start wearing compression socks in pregnancy?

When your ankles start to swell, or sooner if you fly, drive long distances or stand all day for work. For most people that's the second or third trimester. There's no benefit in wearing them before your legs need them, and no harm in starting early either.

Can you sleep in compression socks when pregnant?

Take them off at night. Swelling settles when you're lying flat, so they've nothing to do, and a band round your calf all night is a band you'll feel in the morning. For bed, the NHS says it's safest to go to sleep on your side from 28 weeks; a pillow between your knees does more for your legs than a sock.

How tight should pregnancy compression socks feel?

Snug round the ankle, easing off up the calf, and you should forget about them after ten minutes. Pins and needles, numb toes or a sore ridge under the knee mean the calf size is wrong, not that they're working harder.

What size compression socks do I need?

Shoe size first, 2 to 5 or 6 to 9, then calf. Measure round the widest part of your calf in the morning and pick Standard or Wide Calf from the table above; near the top of the Standard range, take Wide Calf. Socks can't come back once they're open, for hygiene reasons, so it's worth the tape measure.

Can I wear compression socks after the birth?

Yes, and plenty of people do, especially after a C-section when they're moving less. If the hospital gives you its own stockings, wear those while you're told to. The NHS says the six weeks after a baby are a time you're more likely to get a clot, so the same rule applies: one swollen, painful leg is a phone call.

If your ankles are already soft by teatime, start with one pair of BABYGO® Pregnancy Compression Socks in your shoe size, and give the size guide a minute for the calf measurement before you order.