Things to know about leg swelling in pregnant women

The article is professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor II Huynh Thi Hien - Obstetrician and Gynecologist - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Vinmec Nha Trang International General Hospital

During pregnancy, besides the happiness of motherhood, a woman has to go through a tumultuous time for the whole body and for the venous system. In particular, swelling of the limbs during pregnancy is a relatively common phenomenon. Depending on the size of the fetus, the position of the fetus and the location of the mother, the edema is more or less, early or late, and severe or mild.

Leg edema is a normal physiological phenomenon in pregnant women, leg edema can appear at any time during pregnancy, depending on the location of each pregnant woman, but swelling of the limbs in the last month of pregnancy will be common. It is more common during pregnancy due to the increasing weight of the fetus, occupying a large volume in the mother's abdominal cavity, creating great pressure on the lower veins, making it difficult for blood to circulate, causing edema.
Swollen feet during pregnancy is most evident from the ankle down, in the feet is swollen, edematous, painless but inconvenient and uncomfortable in daily activities.
In women, especially women who are pregnant for the first time, venous insufficiency can easily lead to severe leg edema, even swelling. Varicose veins in the legs are also associated with an increase in blood volume and hormone levels 100 times higher than normal.

Swollen limbs in the last month of pregnancy are more common than in previous months, this time coincides with the time when the mother is about to go into labor. Therefore, pregnant mothers in the last months of pregnancy with edema accompanied by the following signs of impending birth should definitely pay close attention to get to the hospital in time:
Water breaks or notices bleeding. Swollen feet, ankles, hands. The contractions of the lower abdomen appear more and more often and have a clear frequency. Mothers have diarrhea more often. The 38-week fetus is less likely to kick or the mother feels that the baby is quieter than usual. Feel the pelvis expand, the abdomen drops down completely.

According to obstetricians and gynecologists, there are 3 main causes of leg swelling in pregnant women:
Changes in blood During pregnancy, a woman's body will automatically increase blood production, causes up to 50% more blood to be produced than normal. Blood that includes these nutrients is used to nourish the fetus. However, it is also the cause of swelling in the body of pregnant women.
Obstruction of blood return to the heart During pregnancy, in the last months of pregnancy, the fetus will gradually increase, increasing intra-abdominal pressure and creating a large pressure on the pelvic veins, making it difficult for blood to flow again. about heart.
Endocrine disorders During pregnancy, a pregnant woman's body weight can increase from 9 to 12 kg, even some people gain nearly 20 kg. It is this increase in weight that puts pressure on the legs of pregnant women, causing the feet to become edematous. In addition, hormonal changes in the body lead to more blood in the pregnant woman's body, and the salt content in the body increases while the potassium content decreases, making the limbs heavy. heavier.
At the same time, wearing inappropriate footwear makes pregnant women's feet tired. If pregnant women wear high heels, the body weight will be pushed forward, making the body unbalanced, the pelvis is tilted, causing a lot of pain in the lower back.
Wearing tight shoes and sandals makes the feet constrained, frustrated, uncomfortable and develops interstitial inflammation, especially between the big toes. More dangerous, in addition to foot edema, if you keep wearing high and tight shoes, it will make pregnant women swollen veins and bring harmful consequences to the fetus if the pregnant woman accidentally twists her legs and falls.
Some other causes of leg swelling in pregnant women such as: Standing for a long time, a low-potassium diet (potassium helps maintain fluids and electrolytes in body cells), consuming a lot of caffeine, eating a lot of sodium ( salt), overwork, hot weather also contribute to leg edema in pregnant women.

The phenomenon of swollen feet during pregnancy usually does not cause much harm to the health of pregnant women and these signs will disappear when the baby is born.
When there is swelling, the first thing that pregnant women feel is discomfort when exercising every day. It does not cause external pain, but it still has an impact on the health of the pregnant mother, namely: It puts more pressure on the kidneys to work. The kidneys are the organs responsible for filtering and eliminating fluids in the body. So when the amount of fluid increases, the kidneys also have to work harder to process that liquid, providing enough water for all parts of the body. In addition, when the concentrated fluid causes leg swelling, it will also affect the circulation, the blood circulation in the legs to the heart is less efficient, affecting the heart's activity.
In some cases, swollen feet in the second trimester of pregnancy are a warning sign of preeclampsia. When pre-eclampsia leg edema is extremely dangerous, if not treated promptly, it can be life-threatening for both mother and baby.
Therefore, during pregnancy, especially swelling of limbs in the last month of pregnancy accompanied by the following signs, pregnant women should actively go to the hospital for examination:
Swollen feet, hands and face unexpectedly. Pregnant woman with severe headache. Often look at everything around is blurred, glare. Sometimes pregnant women feel dizzy, dizzy when standing up, sitting down and mothers have high blood pressure during pregnancy. Pain in the ribs. There are symptoms of vomiting. If one of your legs is swollen more than the other and you feel pain in your calves and thighs, you should see your doctor. This could be a sign of a blood clot.
Leg swelling in the last month of pregnancy can be a normal phenomenon, but it can also be a sign of serious conditions such as pre-eclampsia. If not treated in time, it will endanger the life of the pregnant woman. Therefore, you should have regular antenatal check-ups, urine and blood tests to assess the overall health of both mother and baby.
To protect the health of mother and baby comprehensively, Vinmec provides a package Maternity service. With this package, pregnant women not only get regular antenatal check-ups, prenatal and postpartum screening tests, vaccinations, thyroid screening tests, Rubella, fetal heart rate monitoring and contractions. provided by obstetric monitor at 37-40 weeks of gestation expected time of delivery. In particular, in the 12-week Maternity Package, pregnant women will be tested for pre-eclampsia by quantitative testing of angiogenesis factor. Based on this result, if the mother has leg swelling in the last months of pregnancy, the doctor will offer treatment interventions.
If you have a need to use maternity services at Vinmec, please register directly at the website to be served.