Swelling of the Legs After Childbirth – Causes, Identification Methods, and Treatment Options

The arrival of the long-awaited baby replaces some problems in a woman’s life but adds many new ones. Among them is the swelling of legs after childbirth. This unpleasant phenomenon can become reality due to various reasons, which can be rooted in temporary metabolic disruptions or serious pathologies.

The task of a woman who cares about her health and dreams of quickly returning to her pre-pregnancy shape is to promptly identify the causes, find ways to eliminate them, and start correcting the situation as soon as her body allows after childbirth. The best solution, undoubtedly, would be a consultation with a doctor who, based on the symptoms, can identify the “culprit,” provide recommendations, and, if necessary, prescribe appropriate treatment.

Causes of leg swelling after childbirth

One of the causes of swelling is excessive consumption of sweets, salt, spicy foods, fried foods, and high physical stress on the legs. Uncontrolled fluid intake, resulting from the feeling of thirst, is another reason leading to postpartum leg swelling. This can be mitigated by drinking enough fluids to prevent the body from retaining water, but not excessively, for the same reason.

There’s the least reason to worry if postpartum leg swelling occurs due to the shifting of internal organs during pregnancy. In the late stages, blood flow is hampered because the uterus significantly enlarges and begins to press on neighboring organs, causing swelling in the lower part of the body, but it usually subsides shortly after childbirth. If leg swelling persists for a long time after giving birth, it is necessary to consult a doctor to identify any possible pathologies, including cardiovascular diseases and other disorders.

Other Causes

The serious causes that can lead to leg swelling after childbirth include kidney dysfunction, varicose veins, or postpartum preeclampsia. After pregnancy, the kidneys may not return to normal quickly, leading to slow fluid elimination in the early postpartum period. If a woman has chronic urinary system diseases, this may worsen the situation. tests.

A doctor visit and tests can only rule out this option. Circulation disorders in the extremities, known as varicose veins, are caused by the pressure of the fetus during pregnancy on the pelvic vessels, leading to various pathologies. Postpartum leg swelling can also be triggered by preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication that typically manifests in the second or third trimester. In mild cases, it resolves literally on the second day after childbirth, while in severe cases, it requires medical assistance.

Symptoms

Postpartum leg swelling typically appears at the end of the day and can understandably cause concern for a new mother, especially if she has never experienced anything like it before. Detecting the swelling of the lower limbs after childbirth is not difficult at all. The main symptom is the increased circumference of the legs. Using a measuring tape, swelling can be monitored by regularly measuring the circumference of the ankles. An increase of just 1 cm already indicates the presence of leg swelling.

If you press your finger on the front surface of the shin, a dimple remains that doesn’t smooth out for several minutes. Swelling can make it difficult to put on shoes, and indentations from sock elastics remain on the legs. The presence of postpartum leg swelling is also confirmed if the volume of fluid consumed in a day, including water in soups and drinks, significantly exceeds the amount of urine excreted.

First Aid for Leg Swelling

When deciding what to do about leg swelling after childbirth initially without consulting a doctor, you can use practical advice from specialists and women who have faced this problem and successfully dealt with it. Women can reduce swelling and relieve unpleasant symptoms at home with the help of:

• Rubbing the skin of the legs with a massage brush or a rough washcloth, massaging the lower extremities, which tones the vessels, improves blood flow in them, and helps remove excess fluid from the tissues (in the absence of varicose veins).
• Breastfeeding, which increases the level of oxytocin in the woman’s body, having, among other beneficial effects, a vasoconstrictor effect. As a result, venous blood flow improves, the vessels of the lower extremities are toned, and consequently, leg swelling goes away after childbirth.
• Contrast foot baths and wiping calves and feet with ice cubes.

General recommendations for reducing swelling

Besides emergency measures to relieve swelling, there are general recommendations on how to reduce leg swelling after childbirth. They include the following advice:

• Optimize your diet by switching to proper nutrition with the necessary amount of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. Harmful foods that provoke fluid retention in the body and disrupt metabolism should be excluded. Fluid and salt intake, especially in the evening, should be reduced.
• Normalize your daily routine, avoid exhausting your legs, and try to walk less. Rest as much as possible in a semi-reclined or lying position with your legs elevated. This improves fluid drainage from leg tissues and vessels and reduces swelling.
• Adequate physical activity will be beneficial, provided there are no medical contraindications – breathing exercises, simple gymnastics, yoga, all of which also improve lymph drainage from the tissues and reduce leg swelling after childbirth.

Leg Exercises for Swelling

Special gymnastics recommended by doctors for their patients after natural childbirth yields good results. Exercises will be especially effective if done standing. It is necessary, standing evenly on the floor, to alternately lift your legs, holding them in this position for a few seconds. Walk barefoot on tiptoes, hop on the forefeet, roll weight from toes to heels. Shift body weight from one leg to the other.

The second set of exercises is done while sitting. It can be performed by women even after a cesarean section. Alternate rotational movements clockwise and then counterclockwise, made with bare feet. Raise the toes up as much as possible, then bend them down as much as possible. Afterward, spread the toes as wide as possible, then close them. Roll the feet from toes to heels and back, and attempt to pick up a small object from the floor with your feet.

When to see a doctor

If postpartum leg swelling is accompanied by other alarming symptoms, it is a serious reason to consult a doctor. This is because there are grounds to believe that it is unlikely to resolve on its own, and the painful manifestations indicate the presence of serious diseases requiring treatment. For example, postpartum leg swelling, burning, and heaviness can be fundamental symptoms of varicose veins, where inelastic walls of blood vessels or weak vein valves provoke its development.

When swelling of the lower extremities is accompanied by noticeable pain in the lower abdomen, which, unfortunately, is often confused with general postpartum soreness, there is a likelihood of cystitis exacerbation. Inflammation of the bladder can have serious consequences, so consulting with a doctor and a few simple tests will help determine or rule out the cause of the swelling.

Medicated Treatment for Leg Swelling

In some particularly severe, and sometimes life-threatening cases, the use of medication is indispensable. Only a doctor can determine the necessity of taking these medications. Since if the cause of leg edema postpartum is a severe form of preeclampsia, medications will be prescribed to stabilize high blood pressure and protein levels.

In cases of swelling caused by varicose disease, both oral medications and ointments and gels for external use are utilized for treatment. Edemas caused by cardiovascular diseases or kidney diseases are also treated exclusively under the supervision of a doctor, with medications aimed at stabilizing blood pressure, preventing protein loss, and removing excess sodium from the body. In any case, only a doctor can make a diagnosis and prescribe the appropriate treatment.

Folk Medicine for Edema

Along with all other remedies for combating leg swelling after childbirth, folk medicine remedies can also be used. The diet of a breastfeeding mother should include:

• medicinal linden teas;
• herbal teas with a diuretic effect;
• infusions of citrus peel;
• decoctions of lemon balm, which have both diuretic and excellent calming effects.

These remedies can be used not only for ingestion but also for foot baths.

For such baths, you can use decoctions with succession, birch leaves, juniper, mint, succession, and chamomile. The duration of the procedure is five minutes or slightly longer if desired. The water temperature should slightly exceed body temperature, at +38°C. Instead of herbs, you can use apple cider vinegar in the baths. The bath can be replaced with a compress of grated raw potatoes applied to the legs, covered with cellophane and cloth for 20 minutes, and then rinsed with cool water.

Prevention of Leg Swelling After Pregnancy

Treatment and prevention in the fight against leg swelling after childbirth are interconnected. Adhering to the principles of proper nutrition, controlling fluid intake, engaging in moderate physical activity, and proper relaxation will prevent the occurrence of problems such as leg swelling. There is a specific methodology for preventing swelling caused by varicose veins. In this case, regular visits to a doctor who will detect the disease at an early stage and prescribe treatment, as well as wearing compression garments and tights, can be added.

General recommendations include advice to lie down and sleep on your left side, which reduces pressure on the vena cava of the internal organs, improving the outflow of blood through it from the veins of the entire lower part of the torso and lower limbs to the heart.

Experts advise against crossing your legs while sitting. This position compresses blood vessels, exacerbating the condition. Additionally, it is worth eliminating bad habits like smoking.

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