* Hormone influence/decrease of plasma colloid osmotic pressure During pregnancy, due to the change of hormone concentration in the body, the secretion of hormones such as lutein and adrenocortical hormone increases, which promotes the reabsorption of water and sodium by the kidneys, so that water stays in the body and causes edema. Secondly, due to the increased reabsorption of water, the volume of plasma and blood increases, and the concentration of albumin (note: the main component of plasma colloid osmotic pressure) also decreases relatively, thus diluting plasma and reducing colloid osmotic pressure, and the water in blood easily permeates into the stroma, leading to edema.
* poor blood circulation, reflux blocked. Dr. Chen Yingyou pointed out that after pregnancy, with the growth of the fetus and the production of amniotic fluid, the uterus will gradually increase, and the pressure in the pelvic cavity will increase, which will increase the microvascular pressure of the lower limbs and increase the filtration rate. At the same time, it will also compress the inferior vena cava, affect the return of blood and lymph, cause poor circulation of lower limbs, promote the accumulation of tissue fluid in legs, and thus cause edema.
* Life and diet will also affect women's poor appetite or even vomiting after pregnancy, resulting in insufficient intake of protein, which will affect the reduction of plasma protein content; Or because of the change of dietary taste during pregnancy, eating too much salt and taking too much salt will lead to the imbalance of sodium and potassium ions; In addition, most modern women are professional women, who often need to sit or stand for a long time at work, and are often affected by gravity, resulting in poor backwater of lower limbs. All the above problems can cause edema.
Dr. Chen Yingyou said that physiological edema usually occurs below the calf of pregnant women. However, it can usually be relieved by resting, reducing long-term walking, standing for a long time and moderately raising the lower limbs, promoting the return of water and liquid in the lower limbs, and even reducing the intake of salt in the diet.
Anti-edema High sodium content during pregnancy can also cause edema? Dr. Chen said that high-salt foods and processed foods, such as pickles and canned foods, usually have high sodium content, which will increase the reabsorption of water and sodium by the kidneys, resulting in water retention in the body and difficulty in discharging; From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, cold food, such as lettuce salad, ice products, or cool food, such as coconut and melon, may also worsen the digestive function of pregnant mommy, thus affecting water metabolism and causing edema in the body due to water stagnation.
Watch out! Pathological edema Dr. Chen said that if edema occurs in the first trimester, or edema occurs not only in the lower limbs, but also in the face, upper limbs, perineum and even the whole body, the possibility of pathological edema must be considered. If pregnant women have pathological edema, they must seek medical advice to confirm the cause, which may be caused by other organs of the body, such as cardiovascular system, liver or kidney diseases. If pregnant women have hypertension and proteinuria at the same time, we must pay more attention to whether it is preeclampsia.
From the point of view of traditional Chinese medicine, the fetus in mommy will hinder the rise and fall of qi and affect the patency of waterways in the body. If the expectant mother's constitution is inherently biased towards spleen deficiency, kidney deficiency or qi stagnation, it is easy to cause abnormal water-liquid metabolism, hydrops, and then pregnancy edema.
Dr. Chen Yingyou also added that according to the different swelling positions or degrees, many different names are also recorded in the classic Chinese medicine "Yi Zong Jin Jian Gynecology Mind", such as: Ziswollen (swelling position is edema of head, face and whole body, less urine), (swelling position is mainly between knees and feet, more urine) and Ziman (first pregnancy).
Can fighting edema during pregnancy affect fetal health? Dr. Chen pointed out that general physiological edema will not have adverse effects on mommy and fetus, but if it is pathological edema, you must be very careful, which is likely to pose a threat to mommy's health and fetal development. Especially in pre-eclampsia, due to placental dysfunction, it can't load a lot of blood supply for fetal growth, which affects fetal development, and may lead to amniotic fluid deficiency, fetal growth retardation, fetal short stature, placental abruption, fetal distress, premature delivery, and even seriously affect stillbirth.
Countermeasures for edema during pregnancy If the expectant mother has edema during pregnancy, the following methods may help the expectant mother to gradually alleviate and improve:
* In terms of body posture and sitting posture, it is not advisable to sit in a chair that is too short, and the height of the chair should be higher than the knee. When standing, you should be able to lean forward slightly to help relax. Try to lie on your side when lying flat, and it is better to lie on your left side. The lower foot can be straight, the upper foot can be slightly bent, and a soft pillow is added between the legs to increase comfort. Before going to bed, pregnant mommy can raise her lower limbs for 20 to 30 minutes, and her feet can also be slightly raised during sleep.
Dr. Chen reminded that you should avoid keeping the same posture for too long during pregnancy. If expectant mothers have to sit or stand for a long time at work, they can take time to stretch their legs as much as possible. By moving her toes slightly, rotating her ankles, or finding time to stand up and walk more, it can also help improve the problem of edema.
* Wear clothes and shoes during pregnancy. Besides loose and comfortable clothes, you should also choose soft and breathable shoes. Be careful not to be too tight or too small. If expectant mothers have to stand for a long time because of work needs, they can consider buying suitable elastic socks to wear. It is recommended to buy from a professional medical device store with good quality.
Anti-edema exercise during pregnancy improves pregnancy. During pregnancy, pregnant women do more activities such as walking, stretching, soft exercise or yoga. Through limb stretching exercise, we can relax the body, relieve muscle stiffness, improve flexibility and maintain exercise habits, which can promote blood circulation and help relieve edema. Only when exercising, pregnant mommy must also pay attention to the intensity of exercise according to her own situation, and do not need to force herself to reach a certain speed, agility or a specific angle, so as not to be counterproductive.
* Hot compress * * * Secondly, you can occasionally hot compress the edema area, or do a slight * * * along the direction of lymphatic reflux to promote blood circulation during pregnancy and help relieve discomfort such as swelling.
* Acupoint pressing can lightly press Zusanli (three inches below the outer knee), Fenglong (the midpoint of the connecting line between the knee and the outer ankle), Taixi (the depression between the inner ankle and the achilles tendon) and Fuliu (three fingers above Taixi); Help water metabolism. In addition, Dr. Chen said that you can also seek qualified Chinese medicine practitioners to judge whether you can press other suitable acupoints or directly perform acupuncture treatment according to your personal physique.
* Prescription conditioning prospective moms can also consider seeing Chinese medicine to improve the conditioning of edema according to the Chinese medicine prescribed by the doctor. The treatment principles of traditional Chinese medicine usually adopt the directions of invigorating spleen and promoting diuresis, warming kidney and strengthening yang, regulating qi and removing dampness. However, after TCM syndrome differentiation, the right medicine should be given according to the different situations of individual pregnant women. In addition, remind mothers to pay attention to their physical changes. If the degree of edema increases or the site gradually expands, they must also seek medical attention as soon as possible and investigate the reasons in detail.
What foods are more likely to induce edema during pregnancy? Dr. Chen Yingyou pointed out that foods with high salt content, processed foods, canned foods or pickled products usually have high sodium content, which will make it easy for the kidneys to recover a lot of water and sodium, leading to water retention in the body. Secondly, raw and cold food, such as lettuce salad, ice products, or cold food, such as coconut, cabbage, watermelon and so on. It may also affect the transport function of the spleen and stomach, make the digestive function worse, affect water metabolism, and lead to water-dampness stagnation in the body. Moreover, foods that are not easy to digest or easily induce flatulence, such as glutinous rice, and foods that are too greasy, such as fried foods, are also easy to cause abdominal distension during pregnancy, which makes the blood return poor and easily aggravates edema. So pay special attention during pregnancy.
Make it public! Anti-edema components during pregnancy * Red beans and water red beans are rich in potassium and vitamin B, which have the functions of nourishing heart, enriching blood, diuresis and drainage, and can promote blood circulation and eliminate edema. It is also recorded in ancient books that red beans are often used to improve beriberi and relieve edema of lower limbs. However, it should be noted that it is not advisable to cook red beans when boiling red bean water, and it is not recommended to add sugar to taste. It is best to give priority to with warm when drinking, so as not to affect the effect. But if you have kidney disease, it is not suitable.
* Dr. Chen said that carp is easy to dissipate water, and there are many ancient books, such as "Elbow Backup Emergency Prescription" in Jin Dynasty; In the Tang Dynasty, the Prescription for Preparing a Thousand Daughters and the Prescription for a Thousand Daughters; "Taiping Sheng Huifang" and "Comprehensive Records of Holy Sites" in the Song Dynasty; It is recorded in the Qing Dynasty's synopsis of the golden chamber. Carp, sweet and flat in taste, is rich in high-quality protein, which is easy to digest and absorb, and helps to improve blood colloid osmotic pressure and promote edema.
* Ginger tea ginger is pungent and warm, which can dispel cold, promote peripheral blood circulation, improve metabolism, sweat and remove dampness, promote diuresis and reduce swelling. /
* Shen Si soup consists of Poria cocos, lotus seeds, Chinese yam and Euryale euryales. It has diuretic and stomach invigorating effects. By improving the transport function of spleen and stomach, it helps to improve water metabolism in the body and relieve edema. Suitable for pregnant mommy with low gastrointestinal digestive function.
* Winter melon ribs soup In fact, the part of winter melon that has the effect of eliminating edema is inside the skin of winter melon, so it can be cooked with the skin when cooking. In addition, we must pay attention to the cold nature of wax gourd. When cooking, we can add ginger to help correct the bias. People with cold constitution, such as those who are weak or prone to diarrhea, are not suitable for eating more.
* Corn beard tea corn beard has the function of diuresis and detumescence, which can promote the metabolism of excess water in the body and eliminate edema. It's just that the stigma of corn is slightly cold, so overeating is not recommended.
Dr. Chen reminds you to eat protein-rich and easily absorbed food when you are pregnant. When cooking, the taste should be light. Don't over-season and avoid eating too much salt. Minimizing foods with high sodium content and supplementing foods with potassium, such as bananas, beans and vegetables, will help to improve edema during pregnancy.
Fighting edema during pregnancy, the expectant mother is in good health, which is exciting and exciting. However, this process is quite hard, so we must pay attention to having enough rest to play a good role. If you are physically and mentally tired, it is easy to cause the burden of various organs of the body, and then affect the endocrine balance. Therefore, Dr. Chen reminds expectant mothers that they must evaluate their physical strength and measure a moderate workload, and never be too tired. If edema occurs during pregnancy, it is suggested to adjust the daily routine and diet appropriately first, never take drugs of unknown origin, and never blindly believe in folk remedies to avoid adverse health effects on the mother or fetus.
Finally, Dr. Chen also reminded pregnant mommy that unless the renal function is abnormal and there is severe edema, the intake of water must be limited. In order to promote metabolism and prevent urethritis, we should pay attention to drinking water in moderation. In the face of edema symptoms during pregnancy, mommy must go to the hospital for treatment if necessary, or consult health education to get more correct improvement information.
Chen Yingyou Education: Graduated from Chinese Medicine Department of China Medical University; Resident and Chief Physician of Gynecology Department of China Medical University; Attending Physician of Gynecology Department of Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University; Visiting Chinese Medicine Doctor of Postpartum Nursing Home of East Hospital of China Medical University.