Here’s why your legs swell up during pregnancy
Besides expecting a child, moms-to-be can also expect edema—swelling in the lower legs, ankles, and feet.
This is because during pregnancy your body produces over 50% more body fluid than usual.
All these extra fluids provide your baby with the healthy nutrients needed to grow.
But thanks to gravity, most these extra fluids end up in between your legs and ankles causing that oh-so-annoying swelling known as cankles…
The worst part is, this swelling will only continue to get worse. As your baby grows, your uterus expands too.
This growing uterus puts more pressure on the pelvic veins and the vena cava.
That’s the vein on the right side of your body that brings blood back up from your legs to your heart.
Due to this extra pressure, your blood flow slows down, causing it to build up in your lower limbs, especially in your legs and ankles.
Now, combine this with the extra fluid your body is already holding onto… plus the ever-present force of gravity.
It’s no surprise that your legs feel like they’re swollen up, like balloons, ready to pop!
Swollen Legs Doesn’t Have To Be The Usual During Pregnancy
If you’re pregnant, you’ve probably been told to “relax and put your feet up” on countless occasions.
After all, your body is being put through the ringer, so if anyone deserves to put their feet up, it’s you!
While an occasional foot massage from your partner is certainly warranted during pregnancy.
A pair of compression socks can also do wonders for treating and preventing swollen, achy feet.
Most compression socks are 100% ineffective…
Most socks use outdated designs — only giving you “equal pressure” throughout the whole sock.
Gravity is already pulling the blood down, so when socks add equal pressure…
It’s like you’re almost out of toothpaste and you put equal pressure throughout the tube. The toothpaste wouldn’t move!
This creates resistance for the blood that’s trying to flow upwards to your heart.
Making all those extra fluids in your body needed for the growth of your baby become more likely to get stuck.
Stuck fluids leads to varicose veins & blood clots!
Pregnant women are already 5x more likely to experience blood clots.
Normal compression socks trap fluids… Making your blood circulation problems and swollen leg symptoms even worse!
This means…
Graduated pressure or compression is just a fancy way to say the pressure gradually increases throughout the sock!
✅ Most pressure at your ankle (30mmHg) and gradually decreases to 20mmHG at the top.
✅ So just like how you squeeze toothpaste from the bottom to guide every last drop.
✅ They gently “hug” your legs to guide blood from your lower limbs, back towards your heart.
✅ Made out of a moisture wicking material that makes sweat dry really fast.
✅Uses just the right amount of compression — so it doesn’t feel too tight, but instead feels just right!
Allowing you to have the leg pain free pregnancy you deserve!