Swelling in the feet and legs is very common during pregnancy, and it occurs for a number of reasons. The first reason that women have increased swelling is that during pregnancy, the volume of serum in your body increases by 30%. That's essentially just extra water in your blood. That results in a change in the pressure gradients, resulting in more fluid in the tissue. As a woman progresses in her pregnancy and the uterus grows, it starts to compress the vessels as they leave the pelvis, and that creates even more pressure in the lower legs, resulting in more swelling.
The other thing that happens during pregnancy is sometimes women feel like doing less, and so they sit around more, and that results in more swelling. The best way to treat swelling during pregnancy is to be active and to try to elevate the legs as much as possible during the day. The other method that can be used if the swelling is significant is the use of compression stockings, or T.E.D. hose, that are placed each morning to help decrease the swelling.
Swelling in the feet and legs is very common during pregnancy, and
it occurs for a number of reasons. The first reason that women have
increased swelling is that during pregnancy, the volume of serum in
your body increases by 30%. That's...
More
Dr. Stephen E. Clark of Intermountain Healthcare answered:Swelling in the feet and legs is very common during pregnancy, and it occurs for a number of reasons. The first reason that women have increased swelling is that during pregnancy, the volume of serum in your body increases by 30%. That's essentially just extra water in your blood. That results in a change in the pressure gradients, resulting in more fluid in the tissue. As a woman progresses in her pregnancy and the uterus grows, it starts to compress the vessels as they leave the pelvis, and that creates even more pressure in the lower legs, resulting in more swelling.
