Swelling during pregnancy: Symptoms, causes and management

Swelling during pregnancy does not pose a health risk but may be immensely discomforting, which is why you may like to prevent it or reduce it once occurred. Following measures can help to manage feet and leg swelling:

• Avoiding standing still for a prolonged duration. This will help in avoiding swelling by reducing physical exertion and will also reduce the pressure on veins allowing them to function normally.
• Raise the level of your feet to aid venous return. While sitting, you can prevent your feet from hanging down directly and while sleeping, it is recommended to place a pillow to raise the level of your feet. This will help in the backflow of blood to the heart thereby reducing swelling.
• Always wear comfortable shoes during pregnancy in order to avoid your feet from swelling. Avoid heels and any other footwear with tight straps that can affect the vascular functioning.
• Wear loose clothing. Avoid wearing anything that restricts blood flow to your feet.
• Avoid going out when the weather is too hot.
• Wear supportive tights or stockings to manage swelling.
• Limit your salt consumption since it leads to water retention. Do not sprinkle additional table salt to food items and stay away from cheese, pickles, chips and processed foods.
• Increase your water intake. This will help to flush off excess sodium and other waste products from your body minimising water retention.
• Exercise regularly but do not exert yourself. Exercise is important to maintain adequate blood flow to the feet and it also helps in maintaining proper vascular functioning. At the same time, it is important to avoid exertion since this may worsen swelling.
• Other than this, limiting the consumption of caffeinated beverages including tea, coffee and energy drinks is likely to help.
• Cold compress and elevation will provide some relief.

It is inadvisable to stand for long periods or perform intense exercises during pregnancy as this could worsen your feet swelling. Taking regular walks during the day and certain foot exercises will help you manage the swelling. Here are some simple exercises you can do at home:

Stretching:

• Sit comfortably and bend your feet
• Now, stretch your foot up and down 30 times
• Perform this exercise daily or whenever you feel any discomfort because of the swelling

Rotation:

• Sit down and stretch your leg
• Now, bend your feet and try to perform a rotation
• Perform 8 reps clockwise
• Repeat the same exercise while performing the rotation anticlockwise
• Perform daily or whenever the need be.

The above exercises are beneficial in reducing foot swelling. They improve the blood circulation to the feet and help in improving the vascular functioning of the area, which alleviates oedema. Other than this, exercising your leg helps to avoid muscular cramps in the calf area.

If you are comfortable, you can also perform this exercise while standing. But, if you experience intense pain while performing these exercises, it is recommended to stop immediately and consult your doctor.

Swollen legs can be indicative of an underlying pathology, particularly when accompanied by other conditions like hypertension. Gestational hypertension, if left untreated, can pose a serious threat to both the mother and the child. It is a major cause of hospitalisation during pregnancy and can even cause problems during the normal delivery of the baby. Elevated blood pressure and excessive swelling in legs is often a sign of preeclampsia, which must not be ignored. Other symptoms of this condition are proteinuria or the presence of protein in the urine, which can be detected with the help of a urine test. So, if your legs and feet are extremely swollen, it is important to undergo these diagnostic tests.

It is important to note that the risk of preeclampsia is higher during first-time mothers. This risk is the highest during the third trimester of pregnancy, but can even occur earlier as and when the swelling in feet is noted.

The severity of the condition is determined by the rise in blood pressure. A slight increase in blood pressure and the elimination of some amount of protein occurs with the urine in mild cases. Improvement in symptoms and reduction in blood pressure and swelling occurs after the birth of the baby and retrieval of the placenta in these cases.

However, if your blood pressure is too high, preeclampsia is severe and it cannot be left untreated. Severely high blood pressure can result in preterm delivery, low birth weight and can also be a cause of fatality in the mother because of the risk of stroke. It can also interfere with the functioning of the major organs of your body including the kidney, liver and the brain.

Further, it can lead to growth restriction of the foetus due to the poor blood supply and can also cause placental abruption, wherein the placenta separates itself from the uterine wall.

Following are the signs and symptoms of this condition:

• Headache
• Dizziness
• Visual disturbances- you may see bright, flashy lights
• Nausea and vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Severely swollen legs

In case you observe any of these symptoms, it is important that you see your doctor and get yourself tested. If untreated, it can cause the following problems in addition to the harmful effects on the foetus, which have been discussed.

• Kidney failure
• Liver failure
• Blood clotting disorders

How can you avoid these risks?

You can avoid complications due to swelling during pregnancy by:

• Taking proper prenatal care.
• Visiting your doctor for regular checkups.
• Indulging in regular physical activities to prevent swelling and to keep blood pressure in check.
• Monitoring blood pressure closely during the course of your pregnancy.
• Taking abnormal swellings seriously and seeking medical help.
• Taking prescribed medications on time, especially if you have high blood pressure.
• Not ignoring any symptoms.