When you’re pregnant, you naturally expect a few common symptoms associated with pregnancy to show up down the line. Morning sickness, back pain, heartburn, and swollen feet – these symptoms are well-known parts of pregnancy. But did you know that there’s an additional side effect to being pregnant that you may not know of? It’s vision problems. Don’t worry, these eyesight changes during pregnancy are just as normal as the other symptoms. It’s time to know everything about them, so keep reading.

How does pregnancy affect your eyes?
Pregnancy is associated with a range of eye health problems. Some of these are as follows:
1. Dry eyes-
Dry eyes are a prevalent part of pregnancy, though they can be pretty irritating to deal with. Fortunately, there is a simple solution to this. You can use artificial tears or eye drops to moisturize your eyes. Many prescription eye drops can also be used with contact lenses, so check with your doctor if you specifically need those.

2. Blurred vision:
When you’re pregnant, you’re more likely to retain fluids in your body. High fluid retention can change the shape of your cornea, leading to blurry vision. You don’t have to do anything – these changes dissipate once the baby is delivered or when you stop breastfeeding.

3. Preeclampsia:
Preeclampsia is a serious condition related to high blood pressure that occurs during pregnancy and can cause complications at birth. One of the symptoms of this condition is vision changes. You might also experience light sensitivity, seeing auras and light spots, and temporary vision loss. You must contact your doctor immediately if you experience these symptoms.

4. Gestational diabetes:
This is a temporary form of diabetes that occurs in pregnant women and goes away once the baby is delivered. However, due to the high blood sugar levels in your body, you may experience blurry vision that’s caused by the contraction of blood vessels in the eyes. Your doctor will help you craft an appropriate diet plan to keep your blood sugar levels on the lower side.

Are these changes permanent?
Most of these vision changes that occur during pregnancy are not permanent in nature. They will go away once the baby is delivered or once you stop breastfeeding. However, no matter how mild the symptom is, you must tell your OB/GYN and your ophthalmologist about the same so that they can keep tabs on your pregnancy and vision.

Which food is good for the eyes during pregnancy?
While you cannot prevent any of these vision problems during pregnancy, from occurring, you can certainly try your best to keep your eyes healthy by eating a nutritious diet. The following are some of the foods you should eat:
1. Spinach
2. Corn
3. Kale
4. Broccoli
5. Egg yolks
6. Seafood, especially shellfish, as it contains Omega-3 Fats

About the author- Prof. Dr. Mahipal S Sachdev, Chairman and Medical Director, Center for Sight, New Delhi