Pregnancy and Varicose Veins

While pregnancy is a beautiful time in any woman's life, it also has some pitfalls associated with it. One of these is varicose veins.  Sorry to say, but as many as 40 percent of all pregnant women suffer from varicose veins.  There are a number of causes for developing varicose veins during pregnancy and it's certainly important to be aware of them.

Hormones, Hormones, Hormones

During pregnancy, your body is undergoing an incredible amount of hormonal changes.  When there is an increased amount of progesterone in the body, it causes the blood vessels to relax.  This may lead to varicose veins, as the two halves of the valves in the veins separate just a little bit and don't meet back up to block the back-flow of blood.

Gotta Love That Uterus

As your uterus grows to accommodate the baby, it presses against the major veins in your pelvic area.  This adds pressure to the large vein on the right side of the body, the inferior vena cava.  In turn, this puts pressure on the leg veins and may cause some of your veins to become varicose veins.  In addition, since you have more blood in your body while pregnant, this adds to the burden placed on your veins.

Family Says It All

One of the main causes of varicose veins in pregnancy is a family history of varicose veins.  Women who have a family history of this problem have been found to experience varicose veins while pregnant more than have women with no family history.  In addition, varicose veins tend to get worse during each pregnancy.  If you have a family history of them, and you find that you have slight varicose veins during your first pregnancy, you can expect them to come back stronger during subsequent pregnancies.

Other Causes

There are a few other causes of varicose veins during pregnancy.  Some of these causes can be prevented, while others really can't.  If you are overweight, you are more likely to experience this issue during a pregnancy.  Similarly, if you are carrying twins or multiples, you are more susceptible to varicose veins.  Finally, if you stand for long periods of time and don't give your legs enough rest, you can also make yourself more likely to develop varicose veins.  When people tell you to relax and put your feet up, they may not know why they are recommending this course of action - but it's sound advice for varicose vein prevention!

Varicose Veins After Delivery

While varicose veins are quite common during pregnancy, the good news is that they tend to disappear after the baby has arrived.  This is particularly true if you didn't have any problem with varicose veins prior to your pregnancy.  Generally, they improve within three to four months of giving birth.  During this time, women are advised to continue to wear support hose, to exercise consistently, to avoid standing for prolonged periods and to elevate their legs whenever possible.

Of course, if the veins don't go away, you'll find many treatment options available to you.  Hopefully, these won't be necessary and you'll find that varicose veins are just another one of the many changes that your body undergoes during this exciting time.