After giving birth, my legs and feet were very swollen. Swelling of the legs after childbirth: causes and treatment

Edema after childbirth on the legs can be triggered by various reasons: an unhealthy lifestyle, as a result of an exacerbation of chronic diseases. In any case, only a doctor can quickly eliminate postpartum swelling in the legs, who, on the basis of the study, determines what to do in each specific situation.

With the development of pregnancy, in the body of a woman there are changes in the functioning of internal organs and systems that provoke edema. As a rule, after childbirth, the functioning of the body returns to normal, and the swelling goes away on its own. In the case when natural recovery is impossible for any reason, the patient is shown medication. The necessary drugs are determined by the doctor based on the tests and visual examination.

For edema of the postpartum period, the following manifestations are characteristic:

Legs begin to swell on the third day after childbirth. Most often, this phenomenon is associated with the natural process of milk flow.
Edema of the legs after childbirth manifests itself in the form of swelling of the tissues. When pressed at the site of the edema, a hole is formed that does not disappear for a long time.
Depending on the severity and localization, postpartum edema can cover one or both limbs.

Why do legs swell after childbirth

The reasons for swelling of the legs after childbirth are different.

During the bearing of a child, the body of many expectant mothers is shocked by various changes: hormonal changes, increasing weight, dysfunction of internal organs and systems. The kidneys are the first to suffer. Violation of their work leads to the fact that excess fluid accumulates in the body, edema develops, which persists for a long time after childbirth.

Also, swelling in healthy women after childbirth can be provoked by:

increased load on the legs associated with child care;
malnutrition - excessive salt intake provokes fluid retention in the body.

General factors for the occurrence of pathology

The main causes of swelling in the legs after childbirth:

Varicose veins disease - blood flow is disturbed, and stagnant changes in blood vessels develop, spider veins appear.
Pathologies of the kidneys and organs of the genitourinary system - an excessive load on the kidneys contributes to the stagnation of fluid in the body and the development of edema.
Heart disease - the muscular organ is not able to pump the increased volume of circulating blood, which provokes stagnation in the vessels.
Preeclampsia - the resulting pathology poses a serious danger to the life of the unborn child.

Swelling of the legs after infusions

The process of natural childbirth, as well as the operation of a caesarean section, is accompanied by numerous intravenous infusions - droppers. Already existing kidney diseases, disorders of the heart muscle, as well as pathological conditions of the vessels make it difficult to remove excess fluid from the body. Such factors explain why the legs swell after childbirth and what to do in such a situation.

Edema after surgery

If the swelling does not go away after surgery, you should immediately seek help from a specialist. Puffiness can be provoked by mechanical damage to blood vessels during surgery, squeezing of blood vessels and capillaries by postoperative edema that disrupts the blood flow of the lower extremities.

What to do with postpartum swelling of the legs

There are many reasons that provoked postpartum swelling of the legs. Because what to do and why the legs are swollen after childbirth, only the doctor determines, based on the results of a visual examination and laboratory tests.

First aid for swelling of the limb

Quickly remove the symptoms of severe swelling of the legs after childbirth, provided that they are not caused by diseases of the internal organs or surgery, first aid for edema will help:

if possible, reduce the amount of fluid consumed;
rest more, it is very important to reduce the load on the legs;
daily, spend at least half an hour of light physical exercise;
temporarily exclude fried, salty, sweet foods from the diet;
practice daily foot massage (especially before bed).

Applying in practice the simple rules of first aid, postpartum edema will disappear in seven days. The situation when puffiness persists for a longer time requires serious study by physicians.

Medication treatment

Only a doctor who has studied a specific, individual case can give an exact answer to the question of how to remove swelling in the legs after childbirth. According to the results of the study, depending on the cause of the provoking edema, appropriate medication is prescribed:

promotes the removal of excess fluid from the body in a natural way;
antibiotic therapy is indicated for edema caused by a bacterial infection;
taking iron-containing drugs is prescribed for diseases of the veins (in addition to edema that provokes anemia);
vitamin therapy helps to quickly restore the body's defenses and normalize the work of all internal organs and systems.

Important: drug therapy, the action of which is aimed at how to relieve swelling after childbirth, should be carried out under the strict supervision of a physician. Uncontrolled use of medicines can disrupt the natural flow of milk and harm the baby.

ethnoscience

Having diagnosed the cause of swelling in the legs after childbirth and having indicated the necessary course of treatment, doctors recommend using some traditional medicine at home. Collections of medicinal herbs, having diuretic and sedative properties, not only help in the treatment of edema, but also can eliminate many other postpartum problems.

diuretic teas from chamomile, mint, juniper;
Birch juice;
soothing teas based on melissa and linden;
tincture of horse chestnuts;
decoction of sage and nettle.

Herbal decoctions can be taken orally or added to foot baths. Evening massages using sea salt also have a good decongestant effect.

Important: what to do if the legs swell after childbirth, only the doctor determines. Illiterate actions of using traditional medicine recipes can have a negative effect on the vascular nodes and worsen the condition of the legs.

Also, with special care for herbal treatment, it is necessary for young mothers who are breastfeeding a child. At the slightest allergic reaction (both in a child and in a nursing woman), treatment with decoctions and tinctures must be stopped.

Which doctor to contact

When the first symptoms of swelling of the legs appear after childbirth, it is necessary to consult a general practitioner who, based on the results of the examination, will be able to determine the cause of this unpleasant condition and give a direction for further treatment by a highly specialized specialist.

Most young mothers complain of swelling after childbirth. It is worth noting that this is a fairly common phenomenon among women who have recently given birth. Such a defect causes concern, especially if it does not go away for a long time.

Why do postpartum edema appear?

The edema itself occurs as a result of the accumulation of an excessive amount of fluid. To determine if there is swelling, you can use the usual pressure with your finger. In this case, a hole is formed on the skin. Edema after childbirth can have varying degrees of severity.

Sometimes the whole body swells, in other cases only a certain part. If during childbirth doctors had to give intravenous infusions, then the defect will occur only after 5-6 days.

In some cases, this condition is accompanied by soreness of the breast and its engorgement, dryness and increased sensitivity of the nipples, so there is severe discomfort during the application of the child to the breast.

Sometimes the pain is so severe that natural feeding is stopped for a while. An increase in the volume of the limbs or the whole body requires wearing larger clothes, so an unpleasant feeling is also created.

Causes of edema after childbirth

If the trouble does not go away a week after the birth of the baby, then there are probably more serious reasons for its occurrence.

Significant accumulation of fluid in the body. This disorder occurs due to poor functioning of the kidneys. But in this case, the pathology of these organs will be noticeable even during the bearing of the baby.

If they could not cope with the increased load, then after childbirth they will not be able to restore their normal work and the removal of excess fluid will be difficult for some time. Chronic kidney disease in women increases the risk of swelling for a long period after childbirth.

Unbalanced diet and unsuitable lifestyle. Very often, the causes are hidden in excessive fluid intake and unhealthy diet. You want to drink after a large number of fried, spicy and salty dishes. But high physical activity can also harm. In this case, the reason is hidden in a long stay in a standing position. As a result, the legs swell in the evening, a feeling of heaviness arises in them, and in the morning the swelling subsides.

Vascular diseases. The main source is varicose veins, which, unfortunately, also very often occurs in pregnant women, especially in the last months of pregnancy. The growing uterus compresses the large venous trunks in the pelvis and thereby prevents the outflow of blood from the lower extremities.

Every fourth woman has this pathology, but all of them know about it, since in the early stages the disease is rather weakly expressed. If persistent edema is formed that is not caused by other reasons, then you need to contact a specialist - a phlebologist, because varicose veins are a rather dangerous disease with serious consequences if left untreated.

How to relieve swelling after childbirth

The way to eliminate the defect directly depends on the cause of its occurrence.

If kidney disease is present, medication may be required. In this case, only a doctor can prescribe the necessary drugs, because a woman during lactation cannot take many medications. Perhaps he will allow the use of folk diuretics, for example, birch sap or an infusion of apple peel.

When the cause of trouble is a poor diet and the wrong daily routine, you need to correct them. For example, it is better to eat steamed or boiled dishes, exclude smoked meats, limit the intake of liquid and salt.

As for drinking, preference should be given to mineral water without gas, compote without sugar and herbal teas. Activity and rest should constantly alternate, you can’t spend the whole day “on your feet”. This also applies to excessive passivity. Unpleasant phenomena pass only when the regime is observed.

With varicose veins, it is necessary to contact a specialist who will select a course of therapy depending on the degree of the disease. In any case, such a patient should rest more in a supine position, placing a cushion or pillow under her legs so that they are above the level of the heart.

It is necessary to do special relaxing foot baths and, possibly, wear compression underwear to relieve swelling. A special blood thinning diet may be prescribed. Then the diet includes foods such as sea buckthorn, viburnum, lemons, tomatoes, grapes, cranberries.

Blood clotting can also be caused by a lack of vitamins and minerals, such as lecithin, zinc, selenium and vitamin C. A young mother should not abuse coffee, green and black tea, cocoa, and soda. It is recommended to drink cranberry juice, grape juice, herbal teas, but it is better to give preference to ordinary water.

When does swelling that occurs after childbirth subside?

Normally, these defects should go away on their own a few days after birth. If they are observed for more than a week or occur repeatedly, then there is some kind of violation in the body. In chronic kidney disease, they disappear within a few weeks.

It is worth noting that the time for the subsidence of edema also depends on the fluid accumulated during the pregnancy period, which is excreted by urination. Probably every woman notices that after giving birth she began to visit the toilet more often.

An important point is that limiting fluid intake is not desirable, because milk production may decrease, so it is important to get advice from a qualified specialist about this.

In some cases, the restriction in drinking is a necessary measure. Also, excess water from the body can be excreted by sweating, so that excessive sweating in the postpartum period is a variant of the norm.

Swelling of the legs after childbirth should also go away in a few days if the woman has healthy blood vessels. If this did not happen and the swelling increased, then the valves of the external and internal veins do not work well and varicose veins occur.

Many women after childbirth experience excessive swelling of the legs, arms and even the face. Often, edema occurs during pregnancy, increases in the last trimester and persists even after the birth of the baby. Some mothers are very much absorbed in caring for the child, which is why they do not pay attention to swelling after childbirth. However, doctors do not recommend ignoring this problem, as it may indicate the presence of a latent disease in the body.

Edema after childbirth not only spoils the appearance of a woman and causes difficulties with the selection of clothes and shoes, but also causes hardening of the breast, which makes it difficult to feed the baby.

What causes swelling

In most cases, the causes of puffiness lie in the excessive load on the mother's body or in the disruption of the activity of some of its systems. Very often, swelling after childbirth occurs in lactating women. When breastfeeding, to increase the amount of milk, mothers try to drink as much liquid as possible, which causes its accumulation in the body and increases swelling.

Often, swelling is caused by additional manipulations that were performed during childbirth. For example, with an intravenous infusion of labor-stimulating drugs, edema may appear on the body and face of a woman. However, they do not require special events and pass on their own during the first week after childbirth.

In the last months of pregnancy, the load on the kidneys increases very much, because of which they cannot cope with the function of processing the required amount of fluid. After childbirth, the efficiency of the kidneys is restored and the swelling disappears within a week. However, if a woman had kidney disease before pregnancy, then swelling can persist for quite a long time.
Among the other causes of swelling, the following can be distinguished:

deposition of sodium salts in the soft tissues of the body;
violation of blood flow caused by an increase in the size of the uterus and its pressure on the internal organs;
disruption of the cardiovascular system;
varicose veins, vascular fragility, thrombophlebitis contribute to fluid retention in the tissues, the localization of edema in such cases coincides with the location of the damaged vessels;
problems with the thyroid gland;
long walking, standing, heavy load on the legs, especially in women with venous insufficiency;
malnutrition, which consists in excessive consumption of salty, spicy, fatty or sweet foods, makes the kidneys inefficient.

The main methods of dealing with edema

Usually, swelling after childbirth disappears in about a week, as the load on the body decreases and the action of all its systems returns to normal. If, after this period, the puffiness does not go away, then the woman needs to take a number of measures to eliminate it.

Of course, in order to get rid of edema, you should find out why they appeared and eliminate this cause. With thrombosis and varicose veins, a woman should be examined by a phlebologist. A nephrologist will help you get rid of kidney problems.

In addition to treating the underlying disease, the following recommendations will help reduce swelling:

Review your diet. A woman suffering from puffiness should exclude salty, sour, spicy, fatty, fried and smoked foods from her diet. They bind moisture in the body and accumulate it in the tissues.
Cut down on fluids. It is advisable to drink drinks that have a diuretic effect. It is useful to use dill water, non-carbonated water with honey and lemon, fruit drink, kefir and fermented baked milk, herbal teas, but it is better to temporarily refuse coffee, tea, sparkling water, sweet compotes. Until the puffiness subsides, the daily fluid intake (not counting soups, broths, fruits) should not exceed 1.5 liters. It is also not worth completely abandoning the use of liquid, since its lack can adversely affect the amount of milk produced.
Tights with a slimming effect help to reduce leg swelling after childbirth. At the same time, you should try as often as possible to give your legs a rest, to take a horizontal position.
Swelling of the legs after childbirth disappear faster if during the day several times in a sitting or lying position, fix the legs slightly above the level of the body. This can be done by placing a pillow under the knees or, according to the well-known American tradition, laying out the legs on the arm of a chair or sofa.
It is advisable to do a contrast shower several times a day, which strengthens blood vessels, activates blood circulation in different parts of the body, and therefore helps to reduce swelling. This procedure is especially useful for problems with veins and blood vessels.

Puffiness during pregnancy worries many expectant mothers. For some, this is a variant of the norm, for someone - manifestations of dietary disorders, and for someone - manifestations of complications of pregnancy or extragenital diseases. As a rule, edema reaches its maximum in the third trimester and gradually disappears after the birth of the child. In our article, we will talk about what to do if the swelling after childbirth or caesarean section does not decrease or appears for the first time, and we will also discuss why the legs swell after childbirth?

Pregnant women are prone to edema due to fluid retention, since the state of pregnancy itself contributes to this unpleasant phenomenon. There are a number of reasons for this:

Now that we have discussed the main causes of edema during pregnancy, we can find out why the legs swell after childbirth?

The reasons

In the vast majority of cases, edema after the birth of a child (regardless of the way it was born) goes away within a few weeks. The maximum decrease in edema can be observed already on the first day after childbirth - a woman can lose up to 3 kg in weight due to excess fluid. Thus, the swelling and pastosity of the tissues, due precisely to the factors of pregnancy, should go away within 2 weeks after the birth of the child.

If swelling of the legs after childbirth persists further, it is necessary to figure out what their cause is. Below we provide a list of the most significant and important causes of swelling after natural childbirth and caesarean section. A separate block will include special forms of edema that are typical for women after a caesarean section.

Preeclampsia

The insidiousness of preeclampsia lies in the fact that its manifestations can persist after childbirth. Fortunately, this rarely happens. In the vast majority of variants of the course, gestosis is maximally manifested in the third trimester and in childbirth, quickly fading away after the birth of a child. Despite this, if they persist or increase for a long time, it is necessary to contact a gynecologist or an antenatal clinic therapist to control blood pressure and a general urine test.

Food

Nursing mothers usually diligently monitor their diet and the set of foods they eat, so they do not have gross violations of the diet leading to fluid retention. Women who, for one reason or another, have refused breastfeeding, on the contrary, often allow themselves too much - salty, spicy foods, smoked meats, coffee and sweet carbonated drinks. These products contribute to the retention of salts, fluids, and for this reason, edema occurs after childbirth.

Nursing mothers can provoke the appearance of edema in a fundamentally different way. In an effort to maximize their breast milk, many new mothers may be forced to drink 3 or more liters of fluid per day. Of course, such a water load, especially in combination with any disorders in the functioning of the kidneys and heart, will definitely lead to swelling.

For normal and sufficient lactation, more than 2 liters of fluid per day is enough, and you need to drink when you feel thirsty, and not “through force”. The volume of liquid consumed is far from the main criterion for the normal flow of milk. It is important to eat normally and fully, feed the child on demand and fully rest and get enough sleep.

Varicose veins

Varicose veins are a real misfortune for pregnant women, since it is the state of pregnancy that provokes both the onset of the disease and the deterioration of its course. As a rule, after the end of pregnancy, the condition of the veins improves and the swelling in the legs associated with varicose veins should decrease after childbirth. However, many young mothers spend a lot of time on their feet, walk with the child, carry it in their arms, and have little rest. Therefore, the load on the veins of the lower extremities remains high after childbirth.

For the treatment of such leg edema associated with varicose veins, you need to seek help from a phlebologist. Of course, for the period of breastfeeding, many medicines and medical manipulations are prohibited, but an arsenal of local creams and gels remains in stock. Such topical preparations, especially plant-based ones, are approved for use by pregnant and lactating women. Also, the doctor may recommend contrasting baths and showers for a young mother, special sets of exercises to unload the lower half of the body.

A real salvation for postpartum women with varicose veins is compression stockings - socks, stockings and tights. They are recommended to be worn during the day, especially when standing upright for a long time, removing only for rest and night sleep.

Immediately after the end of breastfeeding, more radical treatment options for varicose veins should be considered - surgical operations and sclerosis of varicose veins.

cardiac

Unfortunately, certain "malfunctions" in the work of the heart and blood vessels are increasingly common in young women. Many cardiovascular diseases complicate the course of pregnancy, forcing women to take medications and give birth in specialized hospitals. For some types of heart disease, especially congenital, pregnancy makes the course easier, while for others, it puts the woman's health at additional risk.

Cardiac edema, that is, swelling in the lower half of the body that occurs in the evening or after exercise, accompanies all heart diseases with chronic heart failure. The weak pumping function of the heart muscle cannot cope with the volume of blood. Blood stagnates in the venous vessels of the lower extremities, as well as the vessels of the lungs and internal organs.

As a rule, during pregnancy, women with cardiovascular pathology are carefully observed by gynecologists and cardiologists, take the prescribed treatment and give birth in specialized hospitals. After childbirth, being at home and immersed in new worries, many women forget about their illnesses and do not take the necessary treatment, so cardiac edema after the birth of a child may worsen, which will indicate worsening heart failure.

That is why in the postpartum period, when there is a reverse “restructuring” of the heart and blood vessels to the previous pre-pregnancy state, it is important to be under the control of a cardiologist. There are many cardiac drugs that can be combined with breastfeeding, so it is necessary to discuss in detail with the doctor possible options for further therapy.

kidney disease

Another important system that regulates the exchange of salts and fluids is the urinary system. Women may suffer from certain kidney diseases even before pregnancy. Such diseases include:

chronic glomerulonephritis;
hydronephrosis of the kidney;
specific disorders of the kidneys and damage to the renal vessels in diabetes mellitus, vasculitis and autoimmune diseases;
chronic pyelonephritis - both with and without stones;
various congenital anomalies of the kidneys;
chronic renal failure - as the outcome of any kidney disease.

During the waiting period for the baby, the kidneys are forced to work for two, since the metabolic products of the fetus are also excreted from the body by the mother's kidneys.

Pregnancy in such patients is observed together with a gynecologist by a urologist or nephrologist. During pregnancy, kidney function is carefully monitored, ultrasound, dopplerometry of the kidney vessels, biochemical blood tests, and so on are repeatedly done. As a rule, after the end of pregnancy, renal edema decreases, since the “double load” is removed from the kidneys.

However, there are various situations and conditions due to which the kidneys can suffer during pregnancy itself:

Gestational pyelonephritis - inflammation of the kidney tissue that occurs during pregnancy, without proper treatment and antibiotic therapy can cause irreversible damage to the kidney tissue.
Preeclampsia is an insidious disease that affects almost all organ and tissue systems. With gestosis, especially against the background of high pressure and the appearance of protein in the urine, the kidneys can be damaged very significantly.
Uncontrolled gestational diabetes. Such disorders of carbohydrate metabolism often first appear in pregnant women. If you do not control sugar and do not follow a diet, then high glucose levels during 9 months of pregnancy can significantly damage the kidney vessels and cause irreversible consequences.

special shapes

This does not mean that the same diseases and conditions cannot occur in women after natural childbirth, just that the operation significantly increases the risk. Why are the legs swollen after a caesarean section?

After infusions

Operative delivery, as well as complicated natural childbirth, often require intravenous infusions - droppers. It often happens that the kidneys do not immediately cope with the excess fluid obtained in the form of therapeutic solutions. Sometimes in the form of intravenous infusions during childbirth or postoperative observation, a woman receives about 2 liters of fluid. The body does not manage to cope with this additional volume immediately, so such edema subsides somewhat longer than physiological ones.

After operation

Edema of the lower extremities and genital organs due to complications of surgical intervention is rare, but such a factor cannot be ruled out. When manipulating the uterus and pelvic organs, the surgeon may inadvertently damage the vessels through which blood drains from the lower half of the body. Also, these vessels can be compressed by postoperative tissue edema or hematomas - accumulations of blood.

In such cases, edema is characterized by:

unilateral lesion - for example, the right or left leg swells, swelling of the genital organs appears on one side;
increase in edema;
the appearance of pain;
change in skin color.

Similar symptoms may be characteristic of thrombosis of large vessels of the legs or pelvis. Both surgery and anomalies in the blood coagulation system lead to the formation of blood clots: thrombophilia, antiphospholipid syndrome, etc. Therefore, if a young mother sees such swelling of the legs after a cesarean section, this is an occasion to urgently consult a doctor.

Hello friends! Let's look at a topic today that is familiar to most new mothers. These are edema after childbirth, which are observed in almost 80% of women who have recently given birth. What causes swelling after childbirth? Can they be avoided? And how to deal with them? Let's understand in more detail.

Edema occurs due to the fact that too much fluid accumulates in the body. In its point nature, edema differs from swelling. If you press your finger on the edema, then after half a minute a hole will appear in this place. Edema after childbirth is a very common occurrence among new mothers. For some, only the arms or legs swell, bags appear under the eyes, and for some, the whole figure suffers. If intravenous infusions were given during childbirth, the swelling will go away later. Often, edema contributes to breast engorgement, a change in the shape of the nipple. The skin in these places becomes wrinkled and dry. The swelling interferes with the attachment of the baby to the breast, which is why some women simply cannot breastfeed their children. In addition, due to swelling after childbirth, women often have to wear shoes and clothes that are several sizes larger. Of course, they do not experience much pleasure from this, and they dream of returning to their former form as soon as possible.

Causes of swelling after childbirth

Edema after childbirth occurs not only due to abundant fluid intake, but also due to the accumulation of sodium salts in the tissues. In addition, edema can be associated with problems of the cardiovascular and urinary systems. Since the uterus actively grows during pregnancy and puts pressure on the organs, the outflow of blood from the lower and upper extremities slows down. As a result, edema occurs. Postpartum hypothyroidism also leads to edema, which occurs due to a decrease in the level of iron in the blood. If a woman stands and walks a lot, rarely rests, not resting her legs, and also has venous insufficiency, then she has every chance of getting edema.

Treatment of edema after childbirth

Doctors advise to drink as little water as possible, not to eat spicy, salty, fatty, sour, smoked, fried foods. All this only increases the thirst. Dill, honey water with lemon, green tea, diuretic herbs are useful for edema, but soda and sweet drinks will not do any good. Instead, you need to drink non-carbonated water, fruit drinks, compotes without sugar. It is necessary and you can use everything that is a diuretic. In general, it is allowed to drink no more than one and a half liters of liquid per day (not counting broths, soups, fruits, vegetables). Women suffering from edema are advised to wear slimming pantyhose, often take baths for hands and feet with the addition of drugs that have a diuretic effect. If edema prevails on the legs, then it is imperative to give them rest, and as often as possible: lie down horizontally, placing a pillow under your legs so that they are slightly raised in relation to the body. By following these simple rules, you can get rid of edema in a couple of weeks. Parents should remember that in the absence of chronic diseases, doctors do not recommend drug treatment of edema after childbirth. This is especially important if the newborn baby is breastfed. During this period, the health of the mother needs attention and support more than ever, so you should not self-medicate and drink diuretics, and in case of all complications, immediately consult a doctor. Be healthy!