How to relieve leg swelling during pregnancy

Pregnancy is really a very difficult process. From the early stages of pregnancy, pregnant women will experience morning sickness and always feel sleepy. In the middle and late stages, as the abdomen gradually expands, it looks very loose, and pregnant women's bodies will also have stretch marks. In addition, if the blood flow back to the lower limbs of pregnant women is blocked, it will cause lower limb edema. So, how can pregnant women reduce leg and foot swelling?

How to relieve swollen legs and feet during pregnancy

1. Get enough rest: In the later stages of pregnancy, the continuously expanding uterus compresses the blood vessels, causing varying degrees of obstruction in the venous blood flowing back to the heart, leading to symptoms of edema, especially if you stand or sit for a long time, the swelling of the lower limbs will be more serious. Therefore, pregnant women should pay attention to sitting down and resting appropriately after standing for a long time, and change their posture and move their legs after sitting for a long time.

2. Appropriate lying posture: Pregnant women should sleep on their left side to avoid compression of the lower limb veins and reduce the friction resistance of blood flow back. Raising your legs while lying down can speed up blood flow back, allowing blood to return to the heart more easily, relieve venous gas pressure, effectively reduce foot swelling during pregnancy, and also prevent diseases such as varicose veins in the lower limbs.

3. Moderate walking: Walking is a form of exercise that is particularly suitable for pregnant mothers. The contraction of the leg muscles during walking can help venous blood return to the heart smoothly.

4. Calf massage: When lying down watching TV or chatting after a meal, the pregnant father can help the pregnant mother pinch the calf and feet to help prevent and eliminate edema.

Reasons for swollen legs and feet in pregnant women

About half of pregnant women experience swelling (also called "edema") around their ankles, especially in the last few months of pregnancy. Edema in pregnant women is caused by increased pressure on the blood vessels in the feet and compression of the large veins in the groin by the growing baby. Water retention also makes edema more likely to occur.

To check whether there is edema, you can press your thumb on the shinbone of the calf. When you press down, the skin will be obviously sunken and will not recover quickly, which means there is edema.

After reading the detailed introduction in the editor's article, you also know how to reduce swollen legs and feet in pregnant women. Pregnant women should have enough time to rest, sleep in the left side lying position, and take moderate walks. It is not necessary to squat when pregnant. When they are free, pregnant fathers can help pregnant mothers massage their calves and feet, which can prevent and eliminate edema.