Your belly isn’t the only thing to change during pregnancy. Your eyes and vision can also be affected. Here’s what to expect.
July 2, 2024
Written by
Katherine Solem
Expert review by
Siddarth Rathi, MD
Your belly isn’t the only thing to change during pregnancy. Your eyes and vision can also be affected. Here’s what to expect.
July 2, 2024
Written by
Katherine Solem
Expert review by
Siddarth Rathi, MD
Of all the parts of your body that will grow, stretch, and change during pregnancy, one you may not be aware of is your eyes. Some things, like blurry vision, are normal. Others, like floaters or sudden flashes of light, can be signs of more serious problems.
Here’s how pregnancy affects your vision during pregnancy, what’s normal and not, and when to call the doctor.
Blurry vision is one of the most common vision changes women experience during pregnancy. About 14% of pregnant women become more nearsighted (myopic). It usually occurs during the second or third trimester. Increased water retention can cause the cornea to become thicker and change its curvature. This makes the eyeball slightly longer, which causes or worsens nearsightedness.
Typically, the change is minor. You may notice that objects in the distance are a little more blurry. In most cases, you won’t need to change your prescription or get glasses or contacts if you don’t already have them.
The good news is that your eyes should go back to normal once the baby arrives. In fact, eye doctors won’t perform standard vision-correction surgery during pregnancy. This is because this distortion in your eye’s shape is only temporary.
If your vision change is so significant that it’s hard for you to see, contact your eye doctor. They may want to examine your eyes to ensure other complications, such as high blood pressure, aren’t affecting your vision.
Some — but not most — migraine headaches come with visual symptoms. These can include flashing lights, floaters, weird lines, or blind spots in your vision. Women who experience migraines will usually have fewer and less intense migraines during pregnancy. But, a small percentage of women will experience their first migraine during pregnancy. Migraines are more common during the first and early second trimesters. They often subside or go away altogether in the later second and third trimesters.
Contact your eye doctor and obstetrician about any sudden changes in your vision, including flashes and floaters. Also, contact your obstetrician about new or worsening migraine headaches.
Hormone changes can lead to or worsen dry eye. Dry eye can feel even more bothersome if you wear contact lenses. That’s because wearing contacts can dry out the eye even more. Dry eye during pregnancy should improve after the baby is born or after you finish breastfeeding.
To minimize dry eye symptoms:
One eye condition that can actually improve during pregnancy is glaucoma. Glaucoma causes increased pressure inside the eye. This can put pressure on the optic nerve and cause vision damage and blindness. During pregnancy, especially in the second and third trimesters, eye pressure can drop by 2-5 mmHg on average. If you have glaucoma, let your eye doctor know right away if you become pregnant. They may lower or even take you off your glaucoma medication entirely. This is due to unknown risks to the baby of exposure to this medicine.
Eye pressure typically returns to pre-pregnancy levels several months after delivery.
Pregnancy can worsen or trigger pre-existing diabetic retinopathy. Diabetic retinopathy is a type of serious eye disease in people with diabetes. It can lead to permanent vision damage, including blindness, if untreated. See your eye doctor for a dilated eye exam before getting pregnant if you have diabetes. This allows your eye doctor to get a baseline of your retina before pregnancy. You should have a follow-up appointment in your first trimester and again as your eye doctor recommends. If you are already pregnant, contact your eye doctor to schedule an eye exam.
Managing your blood sugar during pregnancy is important for you and your baby’s health. It also reduces the risk of developing diabetic retinopathy. Work with your diabetes doctor and obstetrician on a plan to manage your blood sugar.
Contact your eye doctor right away if you experience:
Preeclampsia is a potentially life-threatening complication during pregnancy that is characterized by elevated blood pressure. High blood pressure can cause headaches and/or vision changes. But you may feel no symptoms at all. Preeclampsia requires close monitoring by your doctor.
Preeclampsia happens in about 5% of pregnant women, typically in the second or third trimesters.
Visual symptoms include blurry vision, flashing lights, and double vision. About one-third to one-half of women with preeclampsia experience visual symptoms. These tend to worsen as the condition becomes more severe.
Call your obstetrician and eye doctor right away if you experience:
If you experience any of the following changes to your vision, contact your eye doctor and obstetrician right away or go to the emergency room:
Most over-the-counter (OTC) eye products are safe to use during pregnancy. These include:
If you’re taking prescription medication for eye issues, including dry eye and glaucoma, talk to your eye doctor about the risks and benefits of taking the medication.
If you have any questions or concerns about your eyes during pregnancy, contact your eye doctor and obstetrician. With so many changes to your body at once, it can be hard to know what’s normal and what’s not. Together, they can help figure out what’s going on and get you the right care.
