Very often, women after a cesarean section experience swelling in their legs, which may not go away for quite a long time. This causes aesthetic discomfort, because short skirts and tight dresses cannot be worn. And painful sensations, heaviness when walking and tired legs at the end of the day prevent a young mother from enjoying the joy of communicating with her baby. Therefore, it is quite understandable that every woman wants to get rid of this disease. But first you have to find out its reasons.
There are several factors that explain why legs swell after a cesarean section: they are most often due to the health status of the young mother during the prenatal period. If fluid accumulated in the limbs even before the baby was conceived or this condition of the veins was inherited, do not be surprised. The sooner you discover the cause of your edema, the faster and easier you will cope with it, and therefore with the disease too.
Keep in mind that among the most popular today, common factors that provoke severe swelling of the legs after a cesarean section, phlebologists name the following:
All these causes of edema of the lower extremities, which quite often occur in women after cesarean section, either gradually disappear on their own or are eliminated through various measures.
The best option is to seek help from a doctor who will help you understand what is happening and advise what to do from a professional point of view. This can be either medication prescribed by a doctor after a thorough laboratory examination, or quick-acting home remedies.
This is interesting! During pregnancy, the expectant mother's foot may increase by several (1-2) sizes due to swelling.
If after a caesarean section you find swelling in your legs, you should first wait a while (1-2 weeks). As a rule, this time is quite enough for this natural process to gradually fade away by itself, since the blood becomes the same in composition as before, even before birth.
But if, after this period, the condition of the lower extremities is still deplorable, it is better to seek help from a doctor, a phlebologist, who will help remove swelling after a cesarean section through medications. Among them:
Drug treatment of leg swelling after cesarean section is a very effective remedy against this scourge, which affects 85% of all women. If the reasons are identified correctly and a full-fledged consultation with a medical specialist is obtained, then just a week is enough to get rid of the problem.
In addition to medications, there are folk remedies that can be an excellent help for the main course of therapy.
Keep in mind . If during pregnancy you take walks in the evenings and engage in feasible sports, this will help avoid swelling of the limbs after a cesarean section.
Since drug treatment is not always acceptable during lactation, since active substances can pass into breast milk and affect the baby in one way or another, folk remedies (baths and infusions) help get rid of edema after cesarean section. They are prepared mainly from natural products and used at home. Specially designed exercises and underwear are no less useful.
A few tips on what measures you can take on your own will allow you to do without medications.
To thin the blood, a young mother’s diet should contain the following foods and drinks:
Excluded from the menu for swelling after cesarean section:
If you follow these recommendations after a cesarean section, you can quickly and easily remove swelling of the legs without resorting to medical help. But this is only if there are no problems with the circulatory system or any other serious diseases. Otherwise, complications cannot be avoided.
And, of course, doctors never tire of warning all young mothers: it is much easier to prevent a disease than to treat it later. So, even during pregnancy, you should take care of the shape of your beautiful legs.
Be careful! Very often, edema is the first harbinger of venous insufficiency, which may develop in the future if no measures are taken.
To prevent your legs from swelling after a cesarean section (if the operation is planned), it is recommended to monitor the health and condition of your limbs during pregnancy. In particular, adhere to the following tips, which in the future (after the baby is born) will allow you not to even remember this misfortune.
If after a cesarean section your legs swell significantly (even to the point of cramps and pain), you should immediately contact a phlebologist. He will help you correctly determine the cause of what is happening to the body, and advise what to do next.
Sometimes it is possible to relieve swelling only with the help of medications, but in most cases it is enough to use folk remedies for 1-3 weeks. The problem would not be so widespread if the majority of expectant mothers deliberately prepared for a cesarean section and were involved in the prevention of this disease.
There are a number of conclusions about the dangers of washing cosmetics. Unfortunately, not all new mothers listen to them. 97% of shampoos use the dangerous substance Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) or its analogues. Many articles have been written about the effects of this chemistry on the health of both children and adults. At the request of our readers, we tested the most popular brands.
The results were disappointing - the most advertised companies showed the presence of those very dangerous components in their composition. In order not to violate the legal rights of manufacturers, we cannot name specific brands. The Mulsan Cosmetics company, the only one that passed all the tests, successfully received 10 points out of 10 (check out). Each product is made from natural ingredients, completely safe and hypoallergenic.
If you doubt the naturalness of your cosmetics, check the expiration date; it should not exceed 10 months. Be careful when choosing cosmetics, this is important for you and your child.
When a pregnant woman is scheduled for surgical birth, many mothers are scared. Typically, such operations are performed when there are special indications. Since a cesarean section is a full-fledged abdominal operation, like any surgical intervention, the procedure is not without unpleasant consequences. One of the common complications is swelling of the legs after cesarean section.
Over a nine-month period, the mother already gets used to hyperswelling in her legs, since during the gestation period such a condition is considered a variant of the norm. Of course, every mother can’t wait to get rid of negative symptoms and give birth to a baby as soon as possible. But after delivery by cesarean section, many mothers have to face many unpleasant symptoms, since the postoperative period is often accompanied by various complications. The postpartum woman is usually worried about the pain of the suture and severe swelling in the legs. Why does this happen?
Experts identify many reasons that explain the occurrence of swelling of the extremities, but the most common is thrombosis - vascular blockage and disruption of blood flow in the deep veins of the legs. Experts also call this condition postpartum thrombophlebitis. In the vessels of the legs, a decrease in the volume of blood flow occurs, as a result of which edema develops, in which the legs swell and become larger in volume. Thrombosis can occur even during normal, natural delivery. This phenomenon is often associated with the fact that the pregnant woman’s body is initially prone to thickening the blood in order to avoid possible heavy bleeding.
The legs after a cesarean section swell due to thrombosis due to damage to the intravascular walls during surgical procedures. To eliminate the “leak”, a blood clot is formed, clogging the site of damage. Since the blood is thick, the blood clot quickly grows in it, closing the vascular lumen. Therefore, most patients after cesarean section experience characteristic swelling of the legs.
In addition, limbs after surgical delivery may swell due to:
In fact, edema is a fluid accumulation between tissue cells. In addition to the reasons described above, it can be triggered by many other factors. Surgical childbirth is extremely stressful for the body, and the administration of anesthetic drugs completely blocks the sensitivity of the legs and pelvis. As a result, a serious circulatory disorder occurs, the exchange of fluids slows down, which leads to swollen limbs. This is another reason why legs swell after cesarean section. If the swelling occupies a small area and begins to subside after a couple of days, then there is nothing to worry about, because this is a normal reaction of the body. But in some situations, hyperedema may indicate serious deviations in organic activity and require contacting a specialist.
After a cesarean operation, women remain in the maternity hospital for several days under medical supervision, thanks to which it is possible to immediately determine the presence of health problems. When mommy is discharged, she takes her health more seriously, reacting sensitively to even minor changes in well-being. Caesarean section seriously weakens the immune status and changes the course of many intraorganic processes such as fluid metabolism, hormonal imbalances or blood circulation. If the swelling of the limbs does not subside for quite a long time, then the body is trying to communicate that it cannot cope with excessive stress. Therefore, mommy should be wary and seek professional help in situations where her legs are swollen, and the swelling does not go away for more than 5 days or spreads over a fairly large area of the body, if the swelling is asymmetrical (for example, the foot is swollen on only one leg) or causes pain.
In addition, the help of a doctor will be needed if, along with swelling, the patient experiences pain in the myocardium, she experiences hyperthermia, the skin in the area of edema turns red and worries about suffocation. Sometimes patients experience an allergic reaction to anesthesia and other medications. You should also consult a doctor if the swelling constantly increases, spreading to larger areas, or if diuresis decreases, as well as if your general health deteriorates.
If a woman notices swelling and is convinced that it is purely physiological, then it is recommended to use home methods. If you suspect a pathological origin of edema, you must be examined by a doctor. In general, medications and home treatments are used to eliminate postoperative swelling of the extremities.
Typically, swelling of the legs after a cesarean section is treated with medications only in cases where they last more than two weeks. For treatment, you should contact a therapist or phlebologist, who will select the necessary medications. Typically, increased swelling indicates thrombophlebitis, so the use of medications that are safe for the baby is required.
Usually prescribed for treatment:
Physiotherapeutic procedures such as phonophoresis and electrophoresis, laser therapy and magnetic therapy, reflexology or massage, contrast foot baths, etc. are also additionally used. According to statistics, about 85% of women in labor after surgical birth experience hyperedema. Only an experienced doctor will be able to determine the true cause of swelling and select the drugs that are as safe as possible for the baby, which is especially important, because nursing patients are contraindicated in taking most medications.
Since eliminating swelling with medications is not always applicable to a nursing mother, you can cope with the problem using home methods such as gymnastics, herbal baths, self-massage or various compresses and rubbing, as well as wearing special underwear. Throughout the day, you need to lie down with your legs elevated for about 15 minutes three or four times. The “bicycle” exercise, which can be performed about a week after the operation, is also an excellent way to cope with hyperedema after a cesarean section. This will help unload the veins and relieve swelling. Mothers are recommended to drink a glass of mint or flaxseed infusion daily.
It is also recommended to take contrasting baths every day. To do this, hot and cool water is poured into different basins. Take turns, for about a minute and a half, hold your feet first in a basin with hot, then with cold water. Adding herbal infusions from oak bark, plantain or chamomile to the water will only have a positive effect on the procedure. Another bath also works well for swelling of the limbs. In a liter of water, hot but comfortable for the feet, dissolve a tablespoon of powdered mustard, 4 large spoons of salt and 2 baking soda. Lower your legs into the basin and hold them until the water cools.
It is recommended to purchase compression underwear, let it be tights or stockings. They need to be worn daily, then the hyperedema will quickly subside. In general, after a caesarean section, it is better for a woman to wear special knitwear that has venotonic properties. Wrapping your limbs with elastic bandages will also help. Also, home methods for eliminating postoperative swelling can include a special diet. To make the blood more liquid, you need to include tomatoes and viburnum, sea buckthorn and dried apricot infusion, cranberry juice, grape juice, herbal teas and lemons, grapes and grapefruit in the menu. In general, you need to drink more regular water. But you should avoid drinks like coffee and cocoa, tea or soda.
If you follow such recommendations, the swelling will disappear quickly enough, the main thing is that it is not caused by problems with the circulatory structures or any pathologies. Then you only need to contact a doctor, or complications may arise. It’s better to take care of the legs in advance, even during pregnancy, then swelling will not bother you.
To avoid edematous complications after cesarean section, you need to take preventive measures during pregnancy:
With postoperative edema after cesarean section, convulsive contractions in the legs may even appear. If this happens, a mandatory consultation with a phlebologist is required, otherwise the situation may worsen. If the swelling is purely physiological in nature, then it is quickly removed using home methods, and after a couple of weeks it disappears without a trace.
If the baby was born by caesarean section, restoring the mother’s health will require significant efforts, because there are more problems after the operation. One of them is fluid retention in the body, which remains mainly in the soft tissues of the lower extremities. But despite the seriousness of the problem, swelling of the legs after a cesarean section, if the therapy is carried out professionally, goes away. And nothing prevents you from enjoying the joys of motherhood. What to do if this does not happen?
The resulting swelling is, rather, not the pathology itself, but a symptom of a more serious problem. An operation undergone by a young mother may be accompanied by complications. After all, this is an abdominal surgical intervention that occurs using anesthesia. A pregnant woman’s blood also naturally thickens to reduce blood loss during childbirth. Because of this, a blood clot may form, which will disrupt the circulation of biological fluid. Both factors can lead to the initial manifestation of a serious illness, as well as turn out to be a sign of a “dormant” but pre-existing pathology. And then, despite the end of pregnancy, during which many women are forced to carry excess fluid, the problem will remain.
Swelling after cesarean section has the following causes:
The variety of reasons for swelling in the legs from excess fluid in them does not give the chance to determine the main culprit of the problem on your own. In each case, the doctor must answer why the legs swell after a caesarean section. Without treatment, the problem does not go away for everyone. In many women it progresses.
For women who have swelling of the legs after a caesarean section, treatment is offered after examination by a phlebologist. Drug therapy includes drugs from several groups.
as well as compositions for external use
*but only if the woman is not breastfeeding
Additionally, the mother will be advised to take vitamin complexes containing ascorbic acid.
The presence of edema, as a sign of another pathology, necessitates treating the underlying disease first. Another important point is the effect of drugs against the presence of excess fluid on lactation and the baby. This is especially true for diuretics. Some of the listed remedies will require monitoring of the mother's condition, as they reduce milk production. Of all, Canephron is preferable, but in case of severe edema one should not give up other medications in this group.
We recommend reading the article about discharge after cesarean section. From it you will learn about the possible types of discharge in a woman after surgery, situations when it is necessary to see a doctor.
If a woman does not want to take medications and does not have underlying pathological problems, the excess fluid may still not go away without intervention. If your legs swell after a cesarean section, what should you do in this case? Folk remedies made from medicinal plants or homemade seasonings will come to the rescue:
When your legs swell after a cesarean section, your lifestyle will help get rid of them faster, as well as forced medication. Despite the inconvenience and pain that every movement causes, you need to walk wearing compression stockings. As you recover, you should start doing exercises for your legs (“bicycle”, lifting your limbs up, walking on your toes). Nutrition will also help remove fluid from the tissues if it contains viburnum berries, herbal teas, and stewed tomatoes. But the amount of salt should be reduced.
Pregnancy for a woman is not only a period of joyful anticipation of the birth of her dearest and most beloved creature, but also a serious stage of changes in her body, testing its strength. During pregnancy, a woman's body undergoes major hormonal changes that affect all processes in the body.
Nature itself makes sure that the birth goes well - the pelvic bones are softened, contractions are stimulated, and the blood thickens throughout pregnancy so that during childbirth the woman loses as little of it as possible. Blood thickening during and after pregnancy can cause swelling of the lower extremities. As a rule, if there are no pathological processes in a woman’s body, then after a couple of weeks the swelling goes away on its own.
The operation of delivery - caesarean section - is a serious test for both mother and baby. The risk of complications during and after it is 12 times higher than during and after childbirth naturally. One such complication is thrombosis. A severed blood clot can cause a pulmonary embolism, which is very serious and dangerous for a woman in labor. Swelling after cesarean section of the lower extremities may be a sign of the development of thrombosis.
Among the reasons that cause swelling of the lower extremities are the following:
Legs swell after a caesarean section if the woman is very tired, sits a lot or moves around a lot. It must be remembered that if a woman already had problems with leg swelling before and during pregnancy, then after surgery they can only get worse. You should consult your doctor about this before leaving the hospital.
If a woman did not have edema before pregnancy, but it appeared during pregnancy, then there are completely natural reasons for this. Within a couple of weeks after delivery, the swelling should go away on its own, and the woman will forget about it. If swelling is associated with disturbances in the functioning of the body, then you need to consult a doctor and follow his recommendations. They can be medicinal in nature, use folk remedies or physiotherapy:
The problem of swelling of the legs is quite common among women after childbirth, about 85% of those who give birth face it.
The main thing in solving this problem is to establish the correct diagnosis, the reason why the swelling occurred. Correct and accurate diagnosis is the key to solving this problem.
Exercises to relieve swelling of the legs
One of the important remedies against swelling of the legs is its prevention. Very good during pregnancy:
After a caesarean section, if the swelling has not gone down after a couple of weeks, then in addition to the doctor’s recommendations for medications, you should do the following:
If swelling occurs after a cesarean section, then you must adhere to a diet and eat foods that help thin the blood:
It is important to exclude drinks such as sweet sodas, sweet compotes, packaged juices, strong tea, coffee, alcoholic and low-alcohol drinks.
A light relaxing massage will help relieve not only swelling, but also tired legs and relieve heaviness. Self-massage is performed using massage oil after a pleasant, relaxing foot bath. You can use a special roller-type massager or hand-held, special devices for foot massage. Good results are obtained by massage in combination with acupuncture and reflexology. Today there are many special “needle” rugs on sale, for example, the “Lyapko rug”. Walking on it or at least standing on it for a few minutes a day helps relieve tension and swelling.
Caesarean section is an abdominal operation that allows the birth of a child. Indications for surgical delivery can be very different - vision problems, incorrect position of the fetus, too much weight of the child, or even the mother's panicky fear of childbirth. One way or another, such an operation has a number of unpleasant consequences. Among them are swelling of the legs after cesarean section.
During pregnancy, the expectant mother even has time to get used to the phenomenon of swelling of the limbs. Swelling is normal during pregnancy, and every woman looks forward to the birth of her baby, as well as getting rid of many symptoms, such as swelling.
However, with delivery by cesarean section, the postpartum period is also quite difficult. In addition to the fact that a fresh stitch is a concern, women may experience severe swelling in their legs.
Why do my feet swell? There may be several reasons for this. The most common ones are:
Edema is a fluid accumulation in the intercellular space of tissues. Many reasons can provoke the appearance of swelling of the extremities, in addition to those described above.
The operation itself is a lot of stress, and anesthesia completely disables the sensitivity of the lumbar region and legs. Blood circulation is disrupted, fluid exchange functions intermittently. The result is swollen legs. If the swelling is not extensive and subsides within 2-3 days, there is no cause for concern. This is a completely natural reaction of the body.
However, there are situations in which swelling of the limbs is a symptom of serious disorders in the body of the new mother.
It is difficult for a person not directly involved in medicine to distinguish physiological swelling from pathological one. Mothers who have undergone a cesarean section are under close medical supervision for several days, which allows them to immediately identify health problems.
However, after a woman is discharged from the maternity hospital and goes into her usual environment, she must listen very sensitively to her condition.
Childbirth, whether a natural process or an operation, significantly weakens the immune system and also changes the course of certain processes (blood circulation, hormonal changes, fluid metabolism, etc.). Swelling that does not go away for a long time indicates that the body cannot cope with the load. You should consult a doctor if:
No matter how difficult it is, if alarming signs appear, it is necessary to consult a doctor and even be hospitalized, if indicated. The role of a young mother is complex and if the problem is neglected, a woman can cause serious damage to her health.
If a woman is convinced that the swelling of the limbs that occurs after the operation is physiological - that is, within normal limits, simple steps can be taken:
If you suspect that the swelling is caused by a disease, you should undergo an examination. This is especially important for nursing mothers, because most medications are contraindicated for women during breastfeeding, so the therapy is prescribed by a doctor. An experienced physician will be able to select gentle medications and give the necessary recommendations.
For prevention, you can follow a diet. Salt, fatty fried and spicy foods, and allergenic foods are excluded from the diet. You can and should drink liquid, but it is better if it is filtered or spring water, homemade compotes or fruit drinks.
The health of the mother is the key to the successful development of the baby, so proper rest and care for well-being should come to the fore.
It would seem that all the worst is over, the operation is over. You gave birth to a child. But the postpartum period is a difficult stage that requires a lot of strength and energy. One of the problems that you will have to face is swelling of the legs that occurs almost immediately after a cesarean section.
Edema is an excessive accumulation of fluid outside the vascular bed, in organs and tissues.
During pregnancy, physiological fluid retention occurs in the body. This is due to hormonal levels. Slight swelling of the lower extremities towards the end of pregnancy can be considered normal.
Legs after cesarean often swell even more than during pregnancy. Swollen ankles, especially, hurt and cannot fit into slippers.
1.? Firstly, the uterus has not yet contracted and its mass compresses the veins and lymphatic vessels, through which the outflow of blood and lymph is hampered (lymph is an interstitial fluid, in common parlance it is ichor, which is formed from the blood, collected from the tissues and, after cleansing, returns to the lymph nodes back into the bloodstream). As soon as the uterus contracts, swelling of the legs after cesarean will go away completely or significantly decrease. This is the case if the reason is not only in the postpartum uterus. This will happen in about 10-11 days.
2.? Secondly, physical inactivity after cesarean section. The fact is that the first day after the operation the woman is forced to remain in bed. And the outflow of blood and lymph from the lower extremities occurs not only due to the work of the heart, but also during muscle contraction. Therefore, 3-4 hours after the operation, start moving on the first day. Rotate your feet, bend your legs at the ankle and knee joints, turn on your side.
3.? Thirdly, varicose veins of the lower extremities. Pregnancy is a huge hormonal load on the body. Progesterone, which maintains pregnancy, relaxes smooth muscles. This is good for the uterus; it grows and stretches painlessly. But not so good for the intestines and veins. Therefore, during this interesting situation, women often encounter problems such as constipation, varicose veins of the lower extremities and hemorrhoids - these are also varicose veins, only in the veins of the rectum.
4.? Fourthly, gestosis. This is a specific complication of pregnancy. In this case, blood vessels and organs are affected, primarily the kidneys. It manifests itself as a triad of symptoms: protein in the urine, high blood pressure and edema. In especially severe cases, not only the legs, but also the arms, face, and abdomen swell. After childbirth, gestosis, as a rule, is easily cured, but changes in the body will occur slowly. Depending on the severity of the condition - from several weeks to several months.
5.? Fifthly, a dangerous complication of any operation is thrombosis of the deep or superficial veins of the leg. Predisposing factors here will be:
Ask your doctor. If he says there's nothing wrong, then don't worry. The swelling will go away in the next two weeks.
Swelling of the legs should decrease every day, and there should be no pain. Otherwise, contact your surgeon.
Swelling after cesarean section is a common consequence of the operation. They are localized mainly on the legs. They begin to worry a woman when they do not go away for a long period. Swelling can cause pain, a feeling of heaviness during physical activity, and extreme fatigue at the end of the day. If during pregnancy swelling may not indicate the presence of a disease, then after a cesarean section swelling most often indicates a disruption in the functioning of the body.
In order not to confuse simply weight gain and swelling, you need to press on the front surface of the lower leg. The presence of a dent indicates swelling.
Before starting the treatment process, it is necessary to find out the cause of swelling. If a woman has had swelling in her legs during pregnancy or previously, she is much more likely to have the problem after a cesarean section than everyone else.
Among the most common reasons are:
Some provoking moments go away on their own after a cesarean section, in particular, this applies to those that led to blood thickening. If this does not happen, then you need to consult a doctor for help. After the examination, he will prescribe treatment, usually medication.
It is necessary to start treatment only if the swelling has not subsided after two weeks after surgery. Physiological edema, which is not associated with disorders in the body, will completely disappear during this time. If this does not happen, then a consultation with a phlebologist is inevitable. Drug treatment includes taking:
This treatment is the most effective. However, it can only be used if the cause of the swelling is known.
To eliminate swelling, not only medications are used, but also other methods, in particular:
Only a doctor can prescribe procedures.
We must not forget about physical activity, which serves as both treatment and prevention of edema after cesarean section. At home, you can perform exercises to reduce swelling:
These exercises do not lead to tension in the abdominal muscles, and after a caesarean section they can be safely performed.
Compression stockings are used as prescribed by a doctor. Contrast baths are also allowed; sea salt or decoctions of medicinal herbs are added to the water.
In your diet, you can include small amounts of foods that can thin the blood (tomatoes, grapes, lemon).
If the swelling does not subside for several days, even after exercise, and if the swelling is asymmetrical, accompanied by pain, burning or redness, self-medication is unacceptable. This may be a sign of severe vein disease.