Dimensional changes of the feet in pregnancy.

Serial measurements of the volume, length, and width of the feet of seventeen pregnant women were made at, or close to, the thirteenth and thirty-fifth weeks of pregnancy and eight weeks postpartum. The same measurements were made twice on a control group of sixteen nulliparous women at intervals that ranged from sixteen to twenty weeks. There was no change in the length or width of the feet in either group. The mean volume of the feet increased 57.2 milliliters between early and late pregnancy (p less than 0.001) and decreased by only 8.42 milliliters between late pregnancy and eight weeks postpartum. These changes were attributed to retention of fluid or to an increase in soft tissue and not to stretching or relaxation of the ligaments.