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Getting Ready for Breastfeeding Getting Ready for Baby — Baby Necessities Getting Ready for Baby — Bringing Baby Home Childbirth — Cesarean Delivery Getting Ready for Baby - Packing for the Hospital What is a Pregnancy Calculator? What is a Chinese Conception Chart? What is Implantation Bleeding? Getting Ready for Baby — Planning your Parenting Style What is an Ovulation Calculator? What is an Ovulation Predictor Kit? What Should I Expect My Second Trimester? What Should I Expect My Third Trimester? What is a High Risk Pregnancy? 10 Tips for Better Sleep During Pregnancy? What is Safe to Eat During Pregnancy? 10 Things Your Non Pregnant Girlfriends Should Know Now That You're Pregnant What Should I Expect in My First Trimester? What is a Professional Labor Assistant? What are Some Safe Medications to take During Pregnancy? Finding or Starting a Mom's Group How to Handle a Sympathetic Pregnancy Is Breastfeeding During Pregnancy Safe? Top 10 Gifts for Pregnant Women 5 Things You Should Never Say to a Pregnant Woman Differences Between an OB and a Midwife Is There a Male Biological Clock? What is Secondary Infertility? Coping with Depression during Pregnancy Coping with Postpartum Depression What Affects How Long You Stay in the Hospital after Delivery? What is Artificial Insemination (IUI)? Unwanted Hair Growth During Pregnancy What is Hyperpigmentation During Pregnancy? |
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Pregnancy and Swelling Written by: Olivia Wallace |
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Most, if not all, women will experience swelling during pregnancy. Some women make it through with nominal swelling, while others will suffer with painfully swollen faces, hands, legs and feet. A certain degree of swelling during pregnancy is typical, and no cause for concern, but excessive swelling can be a symptom of a more serious pregnancy condition, preeclampsia. Pregnancy requires the body to have additional fluid for the increase in circulating blood, amniotic fluid, and to meet the baby's needs. Whether you drink more or less fluids, your body will retain what it must to meet these needs, even taking the fluid from the intestines, increasing your chances of getting constipated. In fact, your body retains so much additional fluid, you may be carrying up to 20 extra pounds (9 kg) of water weight by the end of your pregnancy. In addition to the pregnancy hormones that contribute to swelling, poor circulation and gravity can exacerbate fluid retention. By half-way to the end of your second trimester, swelling should be rearing its ugly head. Some women on the other hand, start retaining fluid virtually from day one of their pregnancies. You may start to notice that by your fifth month, swelling has become a daily occurrence. Normal swelling is typically described as gravity edema, swelling that gets better or worse with gravity. If you find that long periods of time spent standing results in some swelling around your legs, feet and hands, you have gravity edema. This, along with a normal weight gain, normal blood pressure and the absence of protein in your urine is not cause for concern. If you experience severe, and/or sudden swelling in your face or extremities, then you may have preeclampsia. A particular cause for concern is when you experience extreme swelling along with high blood pressure, headache and what is called "pitting edema." Pitting edema occurs when simple pressure on the swollen extremity results in denting. If your swelling doesn't subside after putting your legs up for an hour, then you may be developing preeclampsia. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot you can do about swelling during pregnancy, especially if you have significant swelling, or you're towards the end of your third trimester. It's also hard to avoid during hot and humid weather. Try the following to alleviate your swelling:
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