On the bright and winding road of pregnancy, expectant mothers are always tormented by nausea, vomiting, back pain and other “gremlins”. Among them, “lower limb edema” is also a very common problem. Whenever someone around you is pregnant, you can always hear “Yikes, my feet have swollen into pig’s feet!” “What should I do? I can’t wear my size 37 shoes anymore”! As the pregnant mom’s belly gets heavier day by day, the uterus presses down on the inferior vena cava, making it difficult for blood to flow upward in the veins of the lower extremities, just like a pump that can’t pump water, thus affecting the return of blood. This can easily cause lower extremity edema. In most cases, lower extremity edema is relatively benign, but there is a special case of edema needs attention, that is, because of venous thrombosis caused by edema, to the pregnancy may cause unnecessary trouble, need to pay attention to, if you do not pay attention to, deep vein thrombosis may even threaten life! I. What is venous thromboembolism? Venous thromboembolism (venous thromboembolism, VTE) including deep venous thrombosis (deep venous thrombosis, DVT) and pulmonary embolism (pulmonary embolism, PE), venous thrombosis refers to the blood abnormality in the venous condensation, preferred in the deep veins of the lower limbs, the main cause of formation of The main causes are slow blood flow, damage to the venous lining and hypercoagulability of the blood. A recent clinical trial shows that venous thromboembolism is the 2nd leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity in developed countries. Although the absolute incidence is only 1-2/1000 pregnancies, pregnant mothers should not take it lightly because the concentration of coagulants in the body is relatively high due to the obstruction of venous reflux during pregnancy, and women in a state of hypercoagulability are at a 5-fold higher risk of thrombosis than women of the same age during pregnancy. The risk of thrombosis is 5 times higher than that of women of the same age. Moreover, 50% to 60% of patients with venous thrombosis are asymptomatic, and patients may not feel any aura! Second, flowing thrombus, roving bomb! DVT is like a “walking bomb”, especially during pregnancy, when blood flow slows down and coagulation factors are high, the risk factor soars. When an embolus floats in the vein in the form of a flocculent, it is very easy to dislodge, and the dislodged embolus, along with the venous blood flow back through the right ventricle to the pulmonary artery, will cause what we call “pulmonary embolism”. If a large embolus dislodges and blocks the inside of the lungs, it is more likely that the person will die if the embolus is not diagnosed and treated in time during the acute phase. Mothers-to-be with venous thrombosis tend to have poor pregnancy outcomes and are prone to complications such as pre-eclampsia, fetal growth restriction and recurrent miscarriages. Also, women with venous thrombosis are more prone to a range of sequelae, such as swelling and pain in the veins of the lower extremities, varicose veins, discoloration of the skin, recurrent blood clots and even ulcers. In the United States, deep vein thrombosis, a cause of maternal death, has a maternal mortality rate of 1.1/100,000 years, accounting for 9% of overall maternal mortality causes. Third, the subtle symptoms of the big bottom! 1, unilateral lower limb pain or swelling, especially in the calf or thigh; lower limbs have parts of redness or fever. 2, shortness of breath or chest pain. Fourth, expectant mothers beware: when you have the following factors, your risk of blood clots is also elevated! 1, pregnancy – pregnant women have a 4-5 times higher risk of blood clots, due to hormonal changes in the body that make it more likely for pregnant women to develop blood clots. 2. Planning to have surgery, for example, a cesarean section. 3, Have a genetic predisposition to blood clots. 4, Have a personal or family history of blood clots or clotting disorders. 5, Being over 35 years of age. 6, Overweight. 7, Recent prolonged bed rest or activity limitation. 8, Elevated blood pressure. 9, Pre-eclampsia. 10, Smoking. 11, suffering from venous thrombosis. Fifth, if the mother-to-be unfortunately hit the above risk factors, it is more important to play a good preventive war, the first to start. 1, – the basis of prevention is very important: diet, do not meat and tonic, pay attention to balanced intake of vitamins and fiber; often do foot and toe activities, more deep breathing and coughing action, many doctors during pregnancy because of the “birth control”, “preterm labor! Many doctors during pregnancy because of “birth control”, “premature birth”, prescribed fluids, bed rest medical advice, which is prone to thrombosis medical advice, bed rest is often a useless medical advice, even if you need to stay in bed, but also should increase the lower limbs of the active and passive movement, to reduce the chances of blood clots occurring. Get out of bed as early as possible in the postpartum period and never lie down every day. 2, – physical prevention is indispensable: anti-thrombotic compression stockings through the formation of gradient pressure on the lower limbs, eliminating the lower limb edema of pregnant women in the late stages of pregnancy, to promote blood circulation, to prevent thrombosis varicose veins of the lower limbs and deep vein thrombosis after delivery. 3.-Drugs for prevention in accordance with the doctor’s instructions: Use low-dose ordinary heparin, low molecular heparin (LMWH), sodium sulfadiazine heparin, vitamin K antagonist and other anticoagulants for prevention, which need to be used under the doctor’s instructions with close supervision. 4, – thrombus filter: if found in the lower extremities of the veins have thrombosis, in the large blood vessels back to the heart of the road to place a filter, can also play a role in preventing thrombus detachment leading to the risk of death by pulmonary embolism. The baby is a million percent precious, do not let every pregnant mother to take a thousand percent of the risk, do the real queen of pregnancy!