What is swelling during pregnancy?

When you are pregnant, you may develop swelling or puffiness in one or more parts of your body. Swelling can be a normal and healthy part of your pregnancy. Swelling can also be life-threatening.

It is important that you know when your swelling can be dangerous for you and your baby and what you should do.

What are the symptoms of swelling during pregnancy?

Swelling during pregnancy is common symptom of pregnancy. You may have swelling in your feet, ankles, fingers, face and vulva.

Swelling in your ankles, feet and fingers

Swelling in your ankles, feet and fingers can be a normal part of pregnancy. Your swelling might become more noticeable towards the end of the day and towards the end of your pregnancy. It usually goes down overnight when you sleep. Soon after you give birth, your swelling will go away.

Your swelling may make you feel uncomfortable. Your shoes or rings may feel tight on you.

Swelling in your hands along with pain and poor functioning of your hands can be a sign of carpel tunnel syndrome.

Swelling in your vulva

If you develop varicose veins in your vulva (your external genitals), you may become swollen and sore in that area.

Signs of dangerous swelling during pregnancy

While some swelling in pregnancy is normal, sometimes swelling can be a symptom of a dangerous complication for you and your baby.

It is very important to see your doctor, midwife or pregnancy care provider if you have signs of dangerous swelling during pregnancy.

Signs of dangerous swelling to look out for include:

• sudden and severe swelling in your legs, face and hands — this can be a sign of pre-eclampsia
• swelling in one leg or arm, and not the other — this can be a sign of a venous thromboembolism (blood clots in the veins)

Read more about warning signs during pregnancy.

Read more about common discomforts during pregnancy.

What causes swelling during pregnancy?

You may experience swelling while pregnant because:

• you have more blood than usual in your body to help your baby grow
• as your baby grows, your uterus gets bigger and presses and slightly blocks the veins that return blood from your legs to your heart
• your hormones make the walls of your veins softer, which makes it harder for them to work properly

For these reasons, your blood tends to collect in your legs. There, a small amount of blood leaks through tiny blood vessels into the tissues and causes the swelling you can see and feel. This type of swelling is a regular part of pregnancy.

Complications during pregnancy can also cause swelling such as:

• varicose veins in your legs and vulva
• carpel tunnel syndrome
• pre-eclampsia

When should I see my doctor?

You do not need to see a doctor if you have gradual and mild swelling as this is normal during pregnancy. If the swelling is affecting you or causing distress you can visit your doctor or midwife.

You should immediately contact your doctor, midwife or maternity hospital if you develop sudden swelling of your face, hands or feet or any of these symptoms:

• a very severe or dull headache that does not go away
• changes to your vision — blurry vision, flashing lights or dots
• severe pain just below your ribs
• feeling sick or vomiting
• high blood pressure
• heartburn that does not go away with antacids

These can be symptoms of pre-eclampsia, a very dangerous complication for you and your baby.

If one arm or leg is more swollen than the other and you also feel pain, redness or your limb is warm, contact your doctor, midwife or maternity hospital straightaway. You may need urgent care in the hospital. These symptoms can be a sign you have a blood clot in the vein (venous thromboembolism — VTE).

It is very important to urgently see your doctor, midwife or pregnancy care provider if you have any of these symptoms during pregnancy.

FIND A HEALTH SERVICE — The Service Finder can help you find doctors, pharmacies, hospitals and other health services.

How is swelling during pregnancy diagnosed?

During your antenatal appointments, you doctor can diagnose swelling by asking you about your medical history, symptoms and examining you.

To check for swelling in your legs and hands, your doctor may need to touch you gently by pressing on your skin. To assess the swelling in your vulva, your doctor will need to do a vaginal examination.

If your doctor thinks your swelling is caused by pre-eclampsia or a blood clot, they will do specific tests to diagnose those conditions.

It is your right to have someone with you during your appointments. Before your doctor or midwife examines you, they must explain what they will do, as part of shared decision making. It is your choice if you want a test or not. This is called informed consent.

Read more about understanding informed consent and your rights when having a baby.

Read more about vaginal examinations during pregnancy and birth.

Read more about routine antenatal tests.

How is swelling during pregnancy treated?

Here are some tips to reduce swelling in your legs during pregnancy:

• When you rest, elevate (lift) your legs.
• Avoid standing still for long periods of time.
• Wear comfortable and loose clothes and shoes.
• Wear compression stockings during the day, and take them off at night.
• Sleep on your left side, which will help blood return to the heart.
• Exercise regularly by walking or swimming — this helps keep your circulation going.

If you have swelling in your vulva, your doctor or midwife may suggest you wear a sanitary pad firmly against the swollen area for support.

There is some research about how to reduce swelling in your legs during pregnancy. More research is needed to understand if reflexology or immersion in water helps improve your leg swelling during pregnancy.

What are the complications of swelling during pregnancy?

Swelling in your ankles and feet during pregnancy are a normal part of your pregnancy and should not cause any complications.

If you have swelling in your legs because of varicose veins, you can develop some rare complications including:

• venous thrombus — a small clot including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE).
• thrombophlebitis — inflammation of your vein
• bleeding of your varicose vein

Swelling because of pre-eclampsia or VTE can cause serious complications for you and your baby.

Can swelling during pregnancy be prevented?

Here are some tips to reduce swelling in your ankles and feet:

• Avoid standing for long periods of time.
• Rest often with your legs elevated.
• Wear comfortable and loose shoes.
• Wear compression stockings.
• Cook with less salt and eat less salty foods.

Resources and support

Learn more about pre-eclampsia at the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network website.

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have a helpful resource answering some common questions people have in pregnancy.

Read about self-care for expecting and new parents at PANDA.

Do you prefer to read in languages other than English?

The Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health has a catalogue of health resources for women, available in more than 70 community languages.

Visit the Healthy Horizons website in a range of community languages to learn about general health conditions. These include several skin diseases, reproductive health and mental health.

Looking for information for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people?

You can find out more about Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander pregnancy health on Stronger Bubba Born or watch the How to Have a Safer Pregnancy video.

Looking for information for sexually and gender-diverse families?

PANDA provides inclusive and appropriate support for LGBTIQA+ expecting and new parents.