Does Pregnancy Affect Vision?

02 Aug Does Pregnancy Affect Vision?

Changes in hormones, metabolism, fluid retention, and blood circulation can all affect your eyesight during pregnancy. Water retention, for instance, may cause the thickness and curvature of the cornea of your eye to increase slightly. It’s a small change, but it could affect how well your glasses or contacts correct your vision. During this time you may not want to invest in a new pair of eyeglasses or schedule a contact lens fitting. Most women who experience a change find that they’re a bit more nearsighted than they were before pregnancy – if you do experience vision changes during pregnancy, they’ll probably be minor.

Hormonal changes can also contribute to dry eye. It is important to keep your eyes hydrated during this time with re-wetting drops. Your vision may temporarily be blurred or less sharp due to dry eye and wearing contacts may irritate your eyes.

If you are pregnant, or thinking of becoming pregnant and are interested in LASIK you may want to consider this: Drs. Del Negro and Senft recommend that women have the procedure 6 months prior to becoming pregnant or 6 months after delivery or nursing.