Proving that even celebs aren’t immune from the less glamourous side-effects of pregnancy, Jessica Simpson has shared an image of her grossly swollen pregnancy cankles, begging her fans with the caption; “Any remedies?! Help!!!!?”
Despite the swelling, it looks like the 38-year-old star, who is expecting her third child, a daughter, with husband Eric Johnson, is still determined to keep those toesies cute with gold glittery toenails.
However, they do little to distract from the fact the her feet look like they’ve been drawn by a two-year-old! Ooph.
Yeouch! That can’t feel great. Image: Instagram/Jessica Simpson
Fans were quick to jump in with sympathy and concern for the mum-to-be, urging her to drink water and elevate those feet, stat.
Many related to her pain, claiming their feet looked exactly the same during their pregnancy journey, offering up the advice that worked for them.
“Compression socks ASAP!!” wrote one.
“I’m sure they hurt too. Mine looked like that. Could barely walk. Cold ice foot baths,” suggested another.
Others suggested the These Boots are Made for Walkin’ crooner get checked out by a doctor. Swelling in pregnancy, while common, may also be a sign of the potentially fatal pregnancy condition of pre-eclampsia.
“My feet looked just like that, ended up being preeclampsia. Had my daughter at 31 weeks from it,” warned one fan.
“Get checked asap. I had preeclampsia with my first pregnancy and my feet looked like that,” said another.
Complications from pre-eclampsia arise when the placenta releases a toxin into the mother’s bloodstream, damaging blood vessels and causing organ failure, and ultimately forcing an early delivery. Pre-eclampsia affects around one in every 20 pregnancies, and kills approximately 76,000 women a year.
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Midwife Marni Tuala agrees that Jess should get those tootsies up in the air.
“Some swelling in pregnancy can be normal, there is extra fluid in the body which causes this,” says Marni. “Pitting oedema was once identified as a potential symptom of serious conditions of pregnancy such as pre-eclampsia, however recent practice is for clinicians commonly giving the advice to rest and elevate feet when swelling in the extremities is present.
“This type of swelling generally occurs at the middle to end of a day and will reduce overnight. As with anything, if a woman is concerned about herself or her baby we encourage her to seek medical advice.”
Midwife Marni Tuala suggests resting and elevating those feet. Image: Supplied
Perhaps not unsurprisingly, the fat shamers have come after Jessica again, ignorantly suggesting that she should have “lost weight before she got pregnant”, or that she should perhaps “try lipsuction”.
No stranger to fat shaming, the famously curvy star spoke to CBS in 2017, mentioning the unflattering press that surrounded her first pregnancy.
“It’s like, ‘I’m pregnant! How could I be fat-shamed?'” she said. “It’s not fair. I deserve a f** donut!”
Jessica and husband Eric Johnson have been married for four years. They share six-year-old daughter Maxwell Drew and five-year-old son Ace Knute.
This baby girl will make them a family of five.
