Swollen Ankles Early in Pregnancy! Should I Be Worried? Can You Help?

First before you start the worry cycle.....think about your diet and your activities. I had swollen ankles (and feet) through most of all 4 pregnancies. Cut your sodium intake. Harder than it sounds. Sodium is added to nearly everything we eat in the prepared food arena and VERY VERY high in both fast food and resturant items. Reduce your soda pop intake (yep, even the ones that say "sodium free" are guilty).....Drink more water! This doesn't seem to make sense in some ways but is very important. Be sure to get at least 15% of your body weight in ounces....IE: you weigh 150 lbs, drink at least 24 ounces of PLAIN water . This will assist your body in flushing out the salts that create fluid retention.

Next, look at your physical activities. If you spend most of you day standing relatively still, or sitting down, this will encourage fluid to "pool" at your ankles. Raise your feet whenever you can. (if possible, lie down and raise your feet above the level of your heart with some pillows for at least 20 to 30 minutes) Be active (walking is great excercise and easy to do) ....keeping your circulation up is good for both you and baby. In the evenings, put your feet up and maybe even ice them for a while. You'll be surprised how what you do to keep yourself in the best possible condition is cheap and easy to accomplish.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, BE SURE TO MENTION THE ANKLE SWELLING TO YOUR DOCTOR!! This can be a sign of high blood pressure and can be dangerous if not addressed correctly.

Best wishes in your new role as MOM. I'm sure you'll do great.

I had started getting swollen ankles around the same time and didn't go away until a few weeks after I gave birth. Make sure to drink lots and lots of water. It can be a sign of preeclampsia but mine wasn't. I just retained a lot of water. Your doctor should be notified about everything, any changes especially, during your pregnancy. Pregnancy is not to be taken lightly and your doctor is happy when you call about concerns. In fact, they should urge women to call as mine did. I am sure it is nothing to worry about but don't feel like you shouldn't call your doctor. I called about everything!

Hi K.,
Congratulations on your pregnancy!
Do call your doctor's office and find out what your blood pressure is. When they take your blood pressure, find out what your typical blood pressure reading is (if they're writing it in your chart at the doctor's office - simply ask what they are writing down)...
It is always okay to call and ask questions at your doctor's office...better to be careful.
I teach prenatal yoga and we always include a segment on looking daily at your ankles for signs of swelling and sharing that with your health care provider. There are exercises to help reduce the swelling and I agree with the comments about foot massage helping. However, taking yoga classes is not a substitute for meeting with your healthcare provider by phone and/or office visit to ensure the best prenatal care.
You are welcome at the prenatal yoga classes described at www.universalspirityoga.com (if it is okay with your doctor).
C. L.
mom of three
prenatal yoga teacher
PS. There is a book some of my students are enjoying called "What to expect when you are expecting" (Again this is not a substitute for meeting with your healthcare provider.)

Definitely call your doctor...I don't think it is anything too serious, but you may need to go on a salt free diet, or have preclampsia. Also, it is the summer, so most people normally swell. My feet were horrible when I was pregnant. Elevate your feet, that helped me a ton!!! Also, I cut out most of the salt I could (damn cheez-its were my craving though)

It's never good to worry about things during pregnancy. Watch your salt intake during the pregnancy. I swelled so bad that my husband had to literally cut sandals off my feet quite a few times. Salt poisoning is hard on the blood pressure (not good for baby) and swelling. Keep feet above the heart level when possible...yes, in bed with legs up on pillows and drink plenty of water. Lemon has a saltlike flavor when put on steaks and salads so use that with garlic to flavor your meats. Even on pork, turkey. Stay away from ham and bacon. Toxemia or toxic shock is nothing to play around with. It messes your body up plenty. Look it up on the internet. I didn't listen to my dr. and ended up paying the highest price of all for it. Please listen, for you and babys sake.

I started swelling really bad at 20 weeks, so I understand what you are going through. My OB said that was unusual, but nothing to worry about (in my case), and that it would only get worse (which it did in my case - I was the size of the stay puff marshmellow man). I recomend compression tights when the weather gets cooler - I lived in those - bought a pair at motherhood maternity. Also, kept my feet up as much as possible, cut out sodium, and drank lots of water. There wasn't much else I could do. Walking helped with the swelling too! I also had to take off my wedding rings at that time as well, as they no longer fit. In my case the swelling didn't go down until after I had my son - but as soon as I left the hospital all the puffiness was gone.

Good luck!

I had enormous ankles from very early on in my pregnancy. At the time I had an office job, so I sat all day, and that just made matters worse. I am not a doctor, but sometimes swollen ankles can be an indication of something more serious, such as preclampsia (sp?). But in my case, my urine protein levels were low (also an indication of preclampsia) at my monthly checkups and other factors were fine. So for me, it was just that I needed to walk around more often during the day, instead of sitting at my desk and I tried to drink a lot of water. I also tried "brushing", which is where you brush the skin (I did it in the shower) to get your lymphatic system moving and redistribute the fluid that has accumulated in your feet. It helped some, but honestly, it was just something I had to live with while pregnant, and wasn't a real issue. However, to be safe, it never hurts to get the opinion of your OB/GYN.

I went to Florida around dthe 18th week and had some swelling which got better when I returned home to a cooler less humid climate. Drink tons of water throughout the day. If you work at a desk, elevate your feet while seated(I have stacked old law school books under my desk). Also, call your doctor because they are there to answer questions big and small. When you are resting elevate your feet where possible. I think certain socks and shoes can make circulation worse, so look out for that too.

csll the dr and get off your feet, legs up never dangling.

Call, but don't get yourself too stressed out about it. We've had bad heat lately, so that plus salt in almost everything doesn't help either. Ironically, what helped me (and I lost my ankles last time, just a leg and a big foot) was drinking tons of water!

Anything with added sodium/salt (canned processed)avoid.
keep it simple and natural. I kept a food journal to keep track of what I ate( makes you realize how much salt you eat each day) Good luck & Congratulations!

call the dr. Get off your feet, avoid sodium.. it may be a problem this is a little early for swollen ankles.

K.,

I'd call your doctor to be sure. They will probably check your Blood pressure, to be safe.

It could be totally normal, or a problem.

Good luck!

Ugh, I had that too. The doctors told me that as long as my blood pressure was normal and there was no protein in my urine, there's nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, the swelling gets worse. Drink a ton of water, walk about 1/2 an hour a day, wear gym shoes (I know it's the worst in the summer) when doing any walking or spending time on your feet, and keep your feet up as much as possible. At night, if you can manuvre yourself, elevate your feet. It's not the most comfortable sleeping position, especially if you're sleeping on your side, but it really does help your ankles. If it gets really bad, try either soaking your feet in cold water or putting an ice pack on the bottoms of your feet. Mine were swollen for an entire month before they finally went to a semi-normal size again. Good luck!

Hi K., I work am a childbirth educator and have worked with several women. I would get your ankles checked out as you really should not have swelling this early in pregnancy. It could be a sign of other things. Even if it is not, I would still just get it checked so you can take precautions as it may get worse as the baby continue to develops and we are in the summer months. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions; I would like to know what the Dr says.

-Robin

Hi K.,

I am in the nineth month of my third pregnancy and this is the first time I've ever experienced swollen ankles and feet. I think that if you stay cool and elevate your feet whenever possible you will be fine until your next doctor visit. Then explain your situation. They will check your blood pressure and urine as precaution. Good luck and congradulations to you!

Always call the dr. with any questions. I also used babycenter.com. You plug in your due date and they give you weekly updates about the babys growth, they can give you answers to many questions. Elevate your feet when they start to swell up and drink lots of water and give the Dr. a call.

Go get yourself a good pair of shoes.

Second pregnancy here, 17 weeks. Two weekends ago, after throwing a party, I noticed swelling in my ankles. I had it bad last time, but only in the last two months. I used support hoes then, and that helped, but this time, I know a lot of it has to do with not having really good shoes on.

I usually wear Clarks and Eccos. Just not good enough here. Seriously, now is the time to go splurge and buy yourself a good pair of walking sandals/shoes. I bought a pair of Wolkys. No break in time, and I put them on for 10 minutes after a long walk that left my feet hurting and my feet actually felt better! I'm also wearing tennis shoes when talking walks, instead of my athletic sandals.

Oh yes, and have your hubby rub your feet and lower legs every night. That helps too, and it feels good. '-)

Call your doctor - you're not making a mountain out of a molehill; you're keeping your doctor aware of your conditions and besides her/his job is to put your mind at ease and answer any questions you may have (no matter how stupid you might think they are).

Your ankles are swollen. There are a number of things that could cause this. Have you been on your feet a lot lately? Doing a lot of working or walking? Have you been eating a lot of salty/water-retaining foods? To ease the swelling for now, elevate your feet. If you have a recliner, lie back and put those feet up! Avoid consuming too much salty food that would cause you to retain water.

And...call your doctor tomorrow and ask. An obstetrician is used to getting every question under the sun, so you won't be a bother!