Seven Ways of Reducing Body Swelling During Pregnancy

The unnatural swelling that you may experience during pregnancy could shock you and make you panic.

But the truth is that it is very common, a can happen to all. Swelling is a common medical condition experience during pregnancy that has all   pregnant women frowning at.

The biggest contributing factor to this is build-up of water during pregnancy is because the tide of hormones those pregnant women retain more water than usual, which leads to uncomfortable swelling.

Pregnant women may experience swelling in the legs, ankles, face, hand and feet and they tend to experience the affliction when they are close to fifth month of pregnancy even though the swelling is majorly because of internal sources, the cause could be external as well. Below are some ways in which you can reduce swelling during pregnancy.

1. Reduce salt intake: Limit salt intake from your diet by either reducing the amount of salt you add. Which cooking or reducing the amount of consumption of salty food during pregnancy salt triggers the body to retain more water, causing the limbs to swell. Pregnant women must avoid junk foods due to lot of salt in their body during this period.
2. Drink lots of water: Every pregnant women is advice to take at least eight glasses of water a day or even more than. This goes for everybody irrespective of whether one is pregnant or not.  While it may sound counterproductive to have more water when it is the fluid itself that cause the limbs to swell, the irony is that drinking lots of water actually eases retention.
3. Perform light exercises regularly: Exercise is your best friend to the blood circulation going. Make sure you engage in light exercise from time to time such as standing up and walking after you have been sitting for over an hour. By walking you would prevent the blood from circulating and making it get worse. Perform water aerobics as this will kick your heart rate to blissful high and cool your body as well. What is appalling about water aerobics is that most doctors approve it and even more recommend it.
4. Give your feet the rest the need: Ensure that when you sitting, you have you feet placed above your waist by resting them on a footrest or table. Gravity leads the blood to rush to the feet and legs causing throbbing. Avoid standing for more than 10 -20 minutes at a stretch.
5. Stay away from sun as much as possible: Exposure to heat aggravates swelling and therefore, the best thing to do is to avoid this and stay in a cool and dry environment. Immerse yourself in cool pool and relax with a book on baby’s names perhaps. Remember to stay in a shady place if any part of your body has swollen to the extremes; use a cold compressor on the area for 10-15 minutes to reduce the alleviating pain and swelling.
6. Eat food containing potassium : you can reduce your swelling body by eating potassium foods, such bananas and also avoiding caffeine
7. 7.      Please always consult your medical doctor for medical advice.