At some point during pregnancy, you may begin to suspect that your body is no longer under your direct management. Perhaps it’s when you realize that your feet have grown an entire shoe size, or when your joints start creaking like an ancient pirate ship. Or, if you’re particularly lucky, it’s the moment you wake up and discover that your once-reliable vision has decided to go on an unapproved sabbatical.

Yes, pregnancy can mess with your eyesight. Because when your body is already engaged in the complex task of constructing a brand-new human using nothing but prenatal vitamins and an alarming number of snacks, why wouldn’t it also decide to tamper with your ability to see?

The Science of Pregnancy-Induced Blurry Vision (Or: Why Are My Eyeballs Betraying Me?)

Hormones, as it turns out, are like the universe’s favorite pranksters. They make your hair thick and lustrous, and they also make you sob uncontrollably at the sight of a particularly determined caterpillar. When it comes to vision, these same hormones can cause fluid retention in your corneas, subtly altering their shape. This, in turn, can lead to blurry vision, increased sensitivity, and the distinct impression that your prescription is playing a very unfunny practical joke on you.

For some people, these changes are temporary. For others, pregnancy is less of a brief hormonal detour and more of a permanent system reboot. Either way, it’s best to assume that at some point in the baby-growing process, you may lose the ability to read the fine print on a bottle of headache medicine, which, let’s face it, is hardly readable under normal circumstances.

The Contact Lens Conundrum

If you wear contact lenses, now would be an excellent time to check the expiration date on your prescription. In the U.S., contact lens prescriptions typically expire after one year—a perfectly reasonable policy unless you are a newly postpartum human who would rather attempt astrophysics than schedule an eye exam.

Getting an eye exam with a newborn is an exercise in logistical futility. It involves wrestling with car seats, navigating the precise science of nap schedules, and attempting to have a coherent conversation with an optometrist while someone, somewhere, is absolutely going to be screaming. This is why, if you rely on contacts, the best move is to stock up before your baby arrives. Future You—the one who hasn’t slept in weeks and is attempting to do everything one-handed—will be deeply grateful.

Babies vs. Glasses: A Mismatch in Strength and Determination

If you wear glasses, congratulations! You now own the single most fascinating object in your baby’s world.

Babies are instinctively drawn to glasses. They are shiny. They are easily reachable. They make a highly satisfying sound when flung onto the floor. At some point, your child will look into your eyes with deep, unshakable love—and then use that moment to snatch your glasses off your face with the reflexes of a highly trained cat.

Even worse, well-meaning relatives who wear reading glasses will find this deeply amusing. “Oh, look at that! He loves grabbing glasses!” they will chuckle, because they do not need their glasses to function as a human being.

Your best options here include:

1. Flexible frames – Because they will be bent at some point.
2. Backup glasses – One for wearing, one for when the first pair inevitably vanishes into the toy box, never to be seen again.

The Moment of Truth: Will Your Vision Ever Return?

For some people, pregnancy vision changes vanish as mysteriously as they arrived. For others, they linger indefinitely, much like the realization that your free time is now a thing of the past.

Experts recommend waiting at least six months postpartum before getting a new prescription, as your body may still be sorting itself out. This grace period allows you to determine whether your vision will return to its former state or if you need to accept that your eyes have permanently rebranded themselves.

Final Thought: Seeing Clearly in the Chaos

New parenthood is already a blur of exhaustion, half-drunk cups of coffee, and misplaced burp cloths. The last thing you need is to squint your way through it. A little planning—whether that’s stocking up on contacts, baby-proofing your glasses, or resigning yourself to a slightly new way of seeing the world—can make life just a little bit easier. And when you’re navigating the beautiful, messy, and sometimes literal fog of early motherhood, every bit helps.