Tips for pregnant mothers 9 ways to reduce leg edema during pregnancy

You have swollen feet during pregnancy, so you are trying to find ways to reduce swelling during pregnancy to reduce the discomfort you are experiencing? Do not miss the article below of aFamilyToday Health. 

Although it is not too dangerous if it is not accompanied by unusual manifestations, but the swelling of the legs during pregnancy makes it difficult for pregnant women to walk. In addition, swelling of the legs during a prolonged pregnancy without timely treatment can lead to the risk of pre-eclampsia .

To limit bad complications and ensure a healthy pregnancy, please refer to 9 ways to reduce leg edema during pregnancy that aFamilyToday Health introduces below.

Swollen feet during pregnancy: What are the warning signs of danger?

Swollen feet during pregnancy are quite common during pregnancy. Most of the time, this is just a sign that your body is slowly adapting to your baby's growth in the abdomen. Not only legs, you can sometimes develop swelling in your hands or face. If pregnant mothers rest, know how to take good care of this situation, this situation will quickly go away and will not affect the health of mother and baby.

However, a swollen leg is sometimes a warning sign that you are having a more serious problem. One of these may be pre-eclampsia, a very dangerous generalized pregnancy disease syndrome. See the hospital for a check up right away if you notice any of the following:

Shortness of breath

Severe headache

Blurred vision

Dizziness, vomiting

Pain a lot just below the right rib

Pain in the epigastric region

Signs of swelling, swelling increased more than at first

If you notice swelling in only one leg, but with hot, painful redness, you may have had venous thrombosis . This is a disease related to a blood clot usually occurs in the leg vein causing circulation stagnation. If you encounter these signs, you also need to contact your doctor immediately to take prompt action.

Tips for mothers 9 ways to effectively reduce leg edema during pregnancy

Pregnant women with edema often feel uncomfortable and uncomfortable to move due to swollen feet. Luckily there are a few effective ways to reduce leg edema during pregnancy to help correct this problem.

1. Limit consumption of sodium-rich foods

An easy way to reduce swollen feet during pregnancy is to cut back on the amount of sodium (salt in particular) in your diet. Because, eating too much salt will make the body more water, making the swelling of the legs worse. Eating too much salt is not good for the kidneys, too much water intake also leads to increased blood circulation, forcing the kidneys to work harder to filter the blood.

In addition to reducing the use of salt when cooking, mothers should also pay attention to avoid canned foods, because these foods contain a lot of sodium. Instead, you can add flavor to your dish with popular herbs such as rosemary, thyme or oregano ...

2. Increase the amount of potassium

In pregnant women with leg edema often present lack of potassium and excess sodium. Therefore, to ensure the balance of fluid for the body, pregnant mothers should add potassium. In addition to taking some vitamins during pregnancy, you can get extra potassium through your daily diet. Accordingly, the foods containing high natural potassium content include:

Potatoes and sweet potatoes (especially the skin)

Banana

Spinach

Kinds of bean

Juices for fruits and vegetables such as plum, pomegranate, oranges, carrots ...

Yogurt

Salmon…

3. Reduce caffeine intake

Another way to reduce leg edema during pregnancy is that pregnant women should limit caffeinated beverages. From time to time, you can still use tea or coffee to increase apples, but consuming over the threshold will cause many negative effects on the health of both mother and baby.

In essence, caffeine acts as a mild diuretic, promoting more urine excretion during the day. This makes the body more likely to retain fluids to balance itself, so it is inevitable that leg edema can occur.

To limit this adverse effect, pregnant mothers can replace coffee with fresh milk or herbal tea in the afternoon to add more energy!

4. Drink plenty of water

It sounds strange, but in fact this is a very effective way to reduce swelling of the legs during pregnancy. Experts explain that drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day will help clear toxins, remove excess salt and fluids from the body. On the other hand, if you drink less water, your brain sends signals to the kidneys that the body is trying to keep water, making swelling worse.

The trick to motivating you to drink more water each day is to get yourself a beautiful vase or cup. If traveling is difficult, keep a large water tank with you.

Instead of just plain water, you can use some herbal teas or fresh fruit juices to change the taste. Please consult your doctor before consuming these drinks!

5. Lie on your side while sleeping with feet high

When sleeping or napping at naps, pregnant mothers should lie on their left side. This posture helps improve blood circulation, effectively reduces swelling of the legs. This is because lying on its side like this reduces uterine pressure on the lower aorta (the vein that pumps blood from the lower extremities to the heart).

Additionally, when you rest, you can use pillows to prop your legs higher than your heart's position. This action is believed to also contribute to reducing swelling. In addition to this, you can also lie on your back and raise your propped leg on the wall for a few minutes, doing this a few times a day.

6. Choose loose, cool clothes

Wearing tight, tight clothing, especially around the wrists, lumbar, and ankles, can worsen the issue of swelling in the legs during pregnancy. This basically prevents the blood from circulating easily.

Therefore, the best way to reduce leg edema during pregnancy is to choose loose , cool clothes , avoid using elastic types. Suggestions that pregnant mothers can choose maxi dresses in the summer and wide-neck sweaters in winter when the body needs to be kept warm.

During hot and hot days, pregnant mothers should avoid working in the hot sun, limit excessive exercise to keep the body cool, reduce swelling. If possible, stay in the air conditioner or stay close to a fan for comfort.

7. Walk

During pregnancy, you should make time for at least 5–10 minutes a day to walk. This will improve the health, good for blood circulation and help reduce swelling effectively.

When at work, pregnant mothers should not sit or stand for too long. Instead, walk around regularly to promote even circulation in your legs.

In addition to walking, from the 4th month onwards, mothers can choose to practice yoga to prevent shoulder and back pain.

8. Choose the right footwear

Pregnancy is the period when you have to say goodbye to the haughty high heels to "bond" with the less beautiful insole shoes. These shoes are not only helpful in improving the swelling of the legs during pregnancy, but also help you prevent back and hip problems as your body weight changes towards the end of pregnancy.

In fact, fetal leg edema usually tends to subside after delivery. But there are still many cases where women find their feet cannot return to the same size as before. Instead of regretting old shoes, you see this as an opportunity to "reward" yourself with new items after giving birth.

Tip: Choose shoes for pregnant mothers like?

9. Massage

Massage is an effective way to reduce swelling of the legs during pregnancy to help relax the muscles and improve circulation. Accordingly, the massage helps to remove excess fluid from the legs, thereby helping to reduce leg swelling.

In your spare time, you can ask your husband to massage or go to reputable spas with services exclusively for pregnant women. If you massage at home, you can use essential oils such as peppermint , lavender in massage oils to increase the relaxation effect.

During the massage, you should lie down and keep your feet higher for a good effect of reducing swelling. Besides, massage operations also need to be careful not to do too hard.

Above are the measures to help reduce the phenomenon of leg edema during pregnancy. If you try to do this and your condition still doesn't improve, you should go to the hospital to have it checked right away. Hopefully you have a healthy pregnancy ready to welcome the joy of being a mother in the future.

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