I am 34 weeks pregnant with my third baby. This one of course has been the hardest on me and my body. I have the usual swelling in my feet and ankles. Recently my one leg is larger than the other, my ankle has 4+ pitting edema. The other leg/ankle is swollen, but "normal" to me (similar to the other pregnancies). I have carpal tunnel in my wrist per my OB and have to wear a brace at night. I have numbness and tingling at times in my hand. Then I have had 2 sharp headaches in the past month. My blood pressure is normal and no protein in my urine. Has anyone else experienced this? I have never had such bad edema in focused in one leg. I can barely wear my shoes. I understand swelling is normal, but to this extent? I have let my OB know, but I was just curious if any other moms have had this happen to them. Thanks!
Yep same thing with my 3rd. Compression socks work GREAT!
I wore them almost my whole pregnancy with my 3rd. Also drink as much water as you can stand!!!!
I am 35 weeks pregnant right now and currently going through the same thing. I have really bad edema all over, my hands and feet are the worse. When I get out of bed in the morning my feet are so swollen that I can barely walk and my hands are so swollen that I cannot bend my fingers at all. I have developed carpal tunnel in both of my hands/wrists. Moving my thumbs or holding a pen is very difficult. I also get the numbness and tingling in the hands. My feet are pretty swelled and my dress boots don't fit anymore. So I bought comfy snow boots from target and Ugg-look alikes and they treat my swollen feet well.
My blood pressure is also normal and I have no protein in my urine. This is my 1st pregnancy so I can't compare to other pregnancies but I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone.
Here are some tips on coping with edema:
* Lying on your side helps reduce fluid retention by allowing gravity to pull fluid from your tissues back into your bloodstream so that it can be passed out of your body through your kidneys. If you can't lie down, sit and put your feet up.
You can also do some ankle pumps, sit and move your food up and down like you are tapping your feet to the music and buy a bigger shoe.
My right leg was much more swollen than my left, and I had no feeling in my right hand for a good 7 weeks (still don't, had baby two weeks ago). Had to switch shoes the last month too, couldn't fit into any of them!
Have hubby rub your feet every night to help with the fluid.
On the plus side, most of the weight you've gained is probably water, so after you have baby, you won't have to lose much weight ;-) I only have about 14 lbs, and I had gained 36.
Hang in there, you are close!
Hi J.,
With the permission of your doctor, prenatal yoga is used to reduce carpal tunnel and increase circulation. Yoga is not a substitute for having regular consultation with your doctor to monitor your blood pressure and other vital signs.
C. L
Mom of three
yoga teacher
I had really bad edema in just 1 leg shortly after giving birth and even went to the e.r. but they said it was normal. While I was pregnant that same leg and that ankle had way worse swelling than the other. My ankle looked like a Christmas ham and spilled over my gym shoe. I woeld still mention it to your doctor though just to be safe. Maybe you can wear a compression hose or do nightly soaks.
I had the carpal tunnel in my wrist as well. It went away a few weeks after birth. But you have to watch the way you hold the baby as that can aggravate it. I had swelling of my feet if I did not keep them up. Keep drinking lots of water and of course talk to your doc. Good Luck and congratulations on #3.
I don't want to scare you, but I was pre-eclamptic with my 1 and 3rd pregnancy. Make sure that you get plenty of rest and I know that is hard with 2 kids/holidays. Drink plenty of fluids, watch salt intake, eat healthier, wear compression hose available at most medical supply stores, order groceries for delivery from places like peapod that you can do online. Make sure you tell your doctor about any headaches, visual changes, shortness of breath, chest pain, or just really off sensations(can be pre-seizure). Just do a modified self imposed bedrest to prevent alot from happening. My 1st and 3rd were induced early to "get them out" and stop the probelms. 2nd was breech with a planned section and she turned after I was prepped for surgery and was induced quickly to prevent her from turning again...no section.
Hi Jenifer, I had very bad edema with my second pregnancy. No protein in urine and in the end I suffered from horrible head aches. After I delivered baby I lost 38 lbs of water in a matter of a few days. In my case I also had heart palpitations/skips and I passed out 2 times. Anyway, I was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertention after a cardiac echocardiogram and was on disability since 5 mo pregnancy on. My baby was born at 35 weeks. Are you also short of breath? You may want to go and see a cardiologist because OB is not normaly familiar with these cardiac conditions. In my case it was hereditary only my mom had no idea she has it but now that she is older and has PH we were able to piece this together. Anyway, it is important to know because you can be on the medical leave right now and not stressing your poor heart and getting the rest that you need and also in the future you will know that you have this condition. For one leg more swollen your doctor can do a venous doppler ultrasound to r/o deep vein trombosis, however the position of your baby may be affecting how your veins are compressed and also any venous insufficiency you have in one leg more than in the other (and since it is your 3rd baby, I guarantee you have plenty!)Anyway, what I am trying to tell you is to go to a specialist because there are so many conditions out there and OB is trained to look just at the pregnancy side and you might want to know more about what is going on with you and how it might affect your future.
Well, I hope it helps somehow and I wish you all the strength and good luck and to safely deliver this baby.
This can be normal, especially if it is the side that is down when you are sleeping. But it can also be a sign of a DVT (a blood clot in a vein in that leg). Other possible symptoms of a clot are pain in that leg, especially when you flex the foot, and a thin red streak running up the calf. I would ask your doctor for an ultrasound to rule out a DVT, because sometimes they have no other symptoms, and if untreated the clot could break free and cause a much more serious problem. I would rather be safe than sorry. Good luck with the rest of the pregnancy.
