When you’re pregnant, it can be the simple things that can be hardest to do. One of those things is cutting or painting toenails. Especially as your belly gets bigger, it can be difficult to reach down without causing yourself muscle pain.
How to Cut Your Toenails
Here are some ways to manage those toenails during pregnancy (and if you’re lucky, maybe even paint them):
• Squat on the floor so you can draw your knees up on either side of your bump and give yourself easier access to your feet.
• Do regular squats; not only will this strengthen your pelvic floor, it can help increase your flexibility in pregnancy.
• Use a low stool or toilet seat to place your feet on.
• Sit with legs crossed to reach each foot at an angle.
• Use a pair of nail clippers with a swivel head.
• Create your own long handled toenail clipper.
• Ask your partner to cut them.
• As part of your baby shower gift list, ask for a manicure.
Will I Hurt My Baby if I Cut My Toenails?
Nope! Your baby is safe inside a protective layer of water, muscle and tissue, as well as your pelvis. You may squish baby if you bend over too far, but you’ll likely get a kick for your trouble. If at any stage a position hurts for any reason, take it as a sign from your body that you should stop and try another method.
Susannah is a certified Birth Doula through Childbirth International and the founder of Trimester Talk. With a background in journalism and digital strategy, she combines evidence-based research with real-world knowledge to create accessible content about pregnancy and parenting. She’s a mother of two and stepmother of two more, all of them now teenagers.