During pregnancy, many expectant mothers find that their calves are prone to edema. After making a hole, the shoes I originally wore couldn\’t fit in, and some of them could only wear my husband\’s slippers. After pregnancy, the lower limbs become swollen and the feet become enlarged. What about first place? Wen Jiying, chief physician of the Obstetrics Department of Guangdong Maternal and Child Health Hospital, said that most of these cases are caused by edema during pregnancy, which is more common in the third trimester of pregnancy and mostly occurs in the lower parts of the body, such as the soles of the feet, ankles and calves. Sometimes slight edema can also be seen on the face.
Is edema during pregnancy physiological or pathological? Experts teach you four steps to identify
Why does this change happen during pregnancy? Wen Jiying said that edema during pregnancy is caused by the fluid components in the blood vessels leaking from the blood vessels and accumulating in the tissue space during pregnancy. Most edema during pregnancy is a normal physiological phenomenon, but it is not ruled out that some edema is caused by pathological reasons, such as gestational hypertension, pregnancy complicated by kidney disease, etc., which can also cause edema in pregnant mothers during pregnancy. Pregnant.
So how do pregnant mothers know whether their edema is physiological or pathological? Wen Jiying said that it is best to be judged by a professional doctor after edema, but pregnant mothers can also make preliminary identification from the following aspects:
First of all, from the time of appearance, physiological edema usually appears in the third trimester of pregnancy, while pathological edema usually begins to appear in the first trimester.
Judging from the degree of edema, physiological edema is relatively mild, and the depression can be recovered quickly after pressing your fingers on the tibia of the calf. Obviously, the depression will not subside for a long time after finger pressure, and this edema will appear even in a resting state and cannot be relieved.
Judging from the location of occurrence, physiological edema mostly occurs in the lower half of the ankle and calf, while pathological edema not only has obvious edema in the lower half of the human body, but also edema can be clearly seen in the face, eyelids, etc.
From the perspective of weight gain, pregnant mothers with physiological edema have a tendency to gradually gain weight. In the middle and late stages of pregnancy, weight generally increases by about 500 grams per week. For pregnant mothers with pathological edema, their weekly weight gain is greater, and they can even gain more than 1.5 kilograms a week.
In addition, if the blood pressure monitored during pregnancy is normal and there are no abnormalities in auxiliary tests such as urine routine and liver and kidney function, it is more likely to be physiological edema. On the contrary, it is more likely to be pathological edema.
Four tips to relieve physiological edema!
Wen Jiying said that if it is physiological edema, expectant mothers can relieve it through the following methods:
1. Make reasonable arrangements for rest and exercise.
Physiological edema often occurs after sitting or standing for a long time and can be relieved after resting. Therefore, pregnant mothers should arrange rest and exercise reasonably and avoid sitting and standing for long periods of time. If you stand for a long time, you should sit down and rest appropriately; if you sit for a long time, you should stand up and stretch your legs.
2. Eat a reasonable diet.
pregnant motherMom should pay attention to a low-salt and high-protein diet, and try to eat as little or even no pickled products with high salt content. In terms of diet, pregnant women can eat more foods rich in high-quality protein such as meat, eggs, fish, milk and dairy products, soybeans and soy products.
3. Pay attention to your lying posture.
In the third trimester of pregnancy, in order to prevent the enlarging uterus from compressing the veins of the lower limbs, pregnant mothers can sleep on their left side. In addition, raising the foot pads by about 15 degrees can also improve blood return to the lower limbs and reduce edema.
4. Massage the calves.
When resting after meals, the father-to-be can help the mother-to-be squeeze her calves and feet, which can not only enhance the relationship between the couple, but also help prevent and eliminate edema.