Eye Pressure and Pregnancy: What to Expect and How to Manage

• DATE: 26 04 25
• BY: Preston Fairweather

If you’re pregnant and your eyes feel a little off, you’re not imagining it. A lot changes in your body during pregnancy, and your eyes can get swept along for the ride. Eye pressure—the pressure inside your eyeball—often drops a bit when you’re expecting. That doesn’t happen to everyone, but it’s common enough that eye doctors mention it at checkups.

Normally, you wouldn’t think twice about eye pressure (unless you have glaucoma or a family history of it). But during pregnancy, hormones shake up the fluids in your body, including your eyes. Some people might notice that their vision changes or their eyes feel dry or weirdly comfortable—yes, lower pressure sometimes brings relief if you had high readings before.

If you’re curious whether these changes mean anything major, here’s the real talk: for most people, it’s just one of those odd pregnancy side effects. But you definitely want to pay attention, especially if you’ve had eye problems before or take medication for eye conditions. Regular check-ins with your eye doctor let you catch anything unusual early. And keeping up with basic stuff like not rubbing your eyes and staying hydrated can actually help more than you’d think.

• How Pregnancy Changes Eye Pressure
• Why Eye Pressure Fluctuates
• Risks and Warning Signs
• Tips for Healthy Eyes During Pregnancy

How Pregnancy Changes Eye Pressure

If you’ve never thought about eye pressure before, pregnancy might surprise you. Doctors call it intraocular pressure (IOP), and it measures how much fluid pushes inside your eye. During pregnancy, studies show that IOP tends to drop, especially in the later months. For most women, that drop is small—about 2 to 3 mmHg—but it’s enough that eye doctors can spot it during checkups.

Why does this happen? Blame it on hormones. Estrogen and progesterone change the way your body handles fluids, not just in your ankles or face, but right inside your eyes. The eye’s natural drainage gets better, meaning less pressure builds up. For anyone who had high eye pressure before getting pregnant—say, if you’ve got glaucoma—this can sometimes be a weird bonus.

Check out this quick comparison:

This lower eye pressure usually bounces back after the baby comes. By a few weeks after delivery, readings go back to what you had before. That being said, every pregnancy is a bit different. A small group of women actually see higher pressure, especially if they already had trouble with it.

What does this mean for your sight? Most of the time, you won’t notice a thing. Still, people with existing eye health problems—like glaucoma or other vision issues—should let their eye doctor know about the pregnancy right away. Your doc might change how often you get your eyes checked or adjust your medications to keep you both safe.

Why Eye Pressure Fluctuates

When you’re pregnant, your body changes in ways that can surprise you, and that includes your eyes. The big player behind these changes is hormones—especially estrogen and progesterone. These hormones tell your body to keep more fluid around, which can show up everywhere, including inside your eyeballs. That’s why eye pressure (the same thing your eye doctor checks for glaucoma) tends to go down for lots of pregnant people.

Here’s what’s happening: pregnancy hormones make the eye’s drainage system work better than usual. This means the clear fluid inside your eye leaves a bit faster, so your eye pressure usually drops. Some experts say you can see an average decrease of about 10% by the middle of pregnancy. If you’ve ever worried about high eye pressure before, this could actually feel like good news.

But it doesn’t stop there. Sometimes, all that extra body fluid can mess with your blood pressure, which also plays a role in how your eyes feel. And if you’re dealing with pregnancy-related conditions like preeclampsia (high blood pressure), things can swing the other way for a bit and push your eye pressure up.

• Hormonal shifts (estrogen, progesterone) = better drainage = lower eye pressure
• Body fluid changes make tissues softer, including in your eyes
• Blood pressure spikes (like with preeclampsia) can sometimes raise eye pressure
• Using corticosteroid meds (for asthma, allergies, etc.) during pregnancy can bump pressure up, so your doctor might watch you closely if that’s the case

If you already have glaucoma or are at risk, it’s smart to keep your eye doctor in the loop. They may tweak your treatment or want to check your eye pressure more often to make sure everything’s cool.

Risks and Warning Signs

Most of the time, those dips in eye pressure during pregnancy aren’t a big deal. But there are a few important risks to know about, especially if you already have eye conditions like glaucoma, or if your pressure swings outside a safe range. While lower pressure usually isn’t dangerous, a sudden spike or drop can mess with your vision and might even threaten your eyesight if ignored.

Here are a few signs you definitely shouldn’t brush off:

• Blurred or cloudy vision that won’t go away
• Eye pain or strong discomfort, not just regular pregnancy dryness
• Seeing halos or rainbow colors around lights
• Severe headaches, especially around your eyes or forehead
• Nausea or vomiting with eye pain (this can be an emergency!)

If you already have glaucoma, pregnancy can throw off your normal balance. Some people find their pressure drops, meaning their vision might even get better. Others, though, can get a spike that needs quick attention. Even if you’ve never had issues, a family history or past injuries raise the risk, so let your doctor know about anything unusual right away.

Here’s a quick look at what changes in eye pressure during pregnancy might mean:

Bottom line—any weird symptoms in your vision deserve a mention next time you talk to your OB or eye doctor. If your doctor wants to keep closer tabs on your eye pressure or tweak your treatment during pregnancy, that’s totally normal and can keep you and your baby safer.

Tips for Healthy Eyes During Pregnancy

Here’s the deal: your eyes might act different during pregnancy, but you can steer things in the right direction with a few habits. Keeping an eye (pun intended) on your eye pressure helps you dodge unexpected problems. Even if you’ve never had eye issues, basic care goes a long way when your hormones are all over the map.

• Keep up with eye exams. Schedule a checkup if you notice vision changes, have a history of glaucoma, or take eye medications. Your doctor can keep an eye on your eye pressure and quickly spot anything that needs attention.
• Stay hydrated. Drinking plenty of water isn’t just for avoiding swollen ankles—it helps your eyes stay moist and healthy, and it may keep those funky pressure changes in check.
• Watch medicine labels. Not all eye drops or over-the-counter meds are safe during pregnancy. Always check with your OB or eye doctor before using anything new—including those allergy drops you loved before.
• Rest your eyes. Pregnancy fatigue is real, and staring at screens too long makes tired eyes feel even worse. Try the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
• Avoid rubbing your eyes. Hormone changes can make your eyes itchier than usual. Rubbing might make things worse or even scratch your cornea if you’re not careful.
• Use artificial tears for dryness. If you get dry, scratchy eyes (super common in pregnancy), preservative-free drops can give quick relief. Ask your eye doc for a pregnancy-safe pick.

Sticking with these habits cuts your risk for big vision changes and helps you keep any eye health issues manageable. Fun fact: a 2018 study in the journal Ophthalmology found around 35% of pregnant women noticed some change in vision, usually related to dry eyes or pressure drops—you’re definitely not alone if you’ve noticed things feel off. If you have glaucoma or other eye diseases, don’t stop meds or make changes solo; doctors sometimes adjust your plan during pregnancy but doing it on your own can be risky.

If you notice major vision changes or eye pain, don’t shrug it off—call your doctor. Most changes are harmless and go away after you deliver, but keeping up with care now makes your life way easier down the line.