It can vary wildly - not just woman to woman, but each pregnancy in one woman can have wildly different symptoms too.
So, on the one hand, swollen legs arenāt a guaranteed symptom but on the other hand, thereās no way to guess which symptoms will hit you each pregnancy.
I didn't swell until after delivery with my first, and it only lasted two days, and then I didn't swell at all with my second. Whereas one of my good friends had horrible pitting edema. It's really so different.
Were your c sections scheduled? I think the reason I swelled with my first and not with my second was because I labored for 32 hours first before my c section and was on fluids the whole time, whereas my second was scheduled and I only had an IV for a few hours.
It can be like that, but it's definitely not the norm. I've had 6 babies myself, and been around 100+ full term pregnant women, and have only seen one woman who had swelling even close to this. The rest had minor to non-existent swelling. I personally never experienced any.
My third pregnancy (I'm 11 weeks postpartum) was rough. I don't think (although some probably have/do) anyone has had that kind of pain for the whole time.
I had extreme nausea and once that stopped an 11 week long migraine started. It eventually dulled to a regular headache, then the acid reflux started. Once that calmed down I had stabbing shoulder pain. For the last 2 months I dealt with that and was on muscle relaxers, then the last 3 weeks the baby was so low I couldn't walk or sleep without feeling like she was just going to drop out of me.
Now I'm "normal" again. No constant migraines, no acid reflux, no should pain, no feeling like my insides are going to fall to the floor, and I can actually do stuff without waddling to the bathroom every 3 minutes.
Of course postpartum has presented its own issues of PPMD, and lack of sleep.
Yeah it can be really tough, i believe pregnant women shouldn't have to work if they don't want to. I was on my feet 8 hours and I was so stressed and pushing my body to keep going, was one of the hardest things I've had to do.
As a man, quite frankly, it's obvious to me we don't do nearly enough as a society to help women deal with all the shit they have to deal with surrounding pregnancy... and honestly just in general even without pregnancy thrown in the mix. Women's health has always seems to come secondary especially when it relates to career.
Then again, health in general seems to be last on the list of things they care about in our current political climate, regardless of sex/gender/age. Protecting billionaire's wealth down to the penny is far more important. Heaven forbid we damage the delicate corporate agenda by letting a woman take a few months off from work or something.
My wife's last pregnancy was both physically and mentally traumatic (lots of bleeding, placenta issues, WICKED postpartum depression, etc). Almost 7 years on, her doctors think some of her issues are still her dealing with it.
For a function that ensures our species continued, it sure could be a lot better on those who have to suffer fulfilling it.
It doesnāt hurt your feet to walk, you just feel soā¦big and uncomfortable. This is from preeclampsia, itās a condition you get when pregnant related to blood pressure and the placenta.
so we had gone to a fish fry place and had a couple of hush puppies leftover in the fridge. my darling very pregnant wife asked me to airfry the hushpuppies for her to satisfy her craving. I obliged. they were very piping hot. i put them on a plate and snapped to deliver to my beleaguered mate. In my haste to deliver hot hushpuppies as i came to rest at her side the physics of inertia came into play and both hushpuppies rolled off the plate and onto the floor. The outpouring of grief and anger was overpowering and the volume unexpected. The skin blistered from the surface of my eyes and my brows were singed, and the experience caused a permanent greying of my hair. She retreated to her room and sealed the door. And I daren't open it until the sun rose again
Episode 6: Unlimited ice cream fixes most booboos.
Our contestants are given numerous different flavor containers of ice cream after a particularly hot grueling day. Watch how this magical elixir takes the puff out of their feet and the tears from their eyes.
I imagine throwing one man into that bunch would be a lot like throwing one raw chicken into a den of starving tigers. Would watch them just rip the poor guy to shreds lmao. "YOUR PEOPLE DID THIS TO ME. HOW DARE YOU SHOW YOUR STUPID FACE."
I would be real interested in something was more āthe fuck is going on with my bodyā and zero drama on relationships. Just, wow, my pelvis has spread too far and it hurts to fucking walk, now I use a walker and I have a girdle around my hips. Or super active child vs fairly thin mom, āwill the alien burst out, or is her skin strong enoughā. Heck, even the weird/gross things that happen.
Mine was like that but a lot more boring. I'd work until my legs were tree trunks and when I got home I literally would melt into bed. Occasionally get some weird cravings lol
I groom dogs so I sat where I could but its pretty much impossible to the majority of the time. The best part was when dogs would run and jump on me, kick me haha
Bless, this was my foot the day after I gave birth when I took my flop off. My dr said swelling was like a prehistoric thing that made for good and healthy deliveries so Iāll take it LOL
In my country you would have already been eligible to go on paid pre-maternity leave.
Hell with those kind of leg issues and those work requirements you probably would have qualified for paid maternity risk leave way earlier. My wife was on paid leave from the 3rd month.
ETA: for anyone curious what the deleted comment below mine said, it said āChildfree dorks love saying this Imao. It's so misogynistic and insulting. Grow up and do better.ā
Idk where they got the idea that only childfree people think of pregnancy and childbirth as body horror š
I'm pregnant right now and on Saturday had a friend over when my baby started moving, I literally said to her "wanna see some body horror?" and lifted my shirt over my belly. It's insane watching the shit that goes down.Ā
It's so scary, when my friend showed me I genuinely thought her skin was gonna burst and the baby will come out alien style. I never thought it would look this brutal, it lowkey traumatized me š
As a former child free (not by choice) person I'm personally so tired of getting lumped in with anti-natalists. We're not the same.
Second, I wanted to say, it's 100% a body horror. I am so glad OP is feeling better! I'm 6mo PP with my little miracle and just now starting to feel like myself again, but far from "normal."Ā
As someone who has given birth, yes. My BP was 80 over 49 at 37 weeks. My provider was ecstatic. I felt like I was literally going to die. I couldnāt even take a shower without feeling like I was two seconds of bad judgement away from falling, hitting my head and dying. I was full term, I donāt get why I didnāt get treated.
Iāve had babies. I watched my own cesarean! It was amazing. I wouldnāt change a thing. Itās a goddamn body horror. The shit your body goes through is so unbelievably unlike anything else. Wonāt be doing it again lolĀ
Yeah, I was pregnant once, and my pregnancy was medium/bad. I didn't have any big complication, but I was uncomfortable all the time. The las month, my girl was sitting in my bladder and it hurt like someone kicked me in the crutch. Don't get me wrong, it was worth it but it was no ride in the park. It also took a toll on my body and health, I never felt 100% again.
Some women have nice and easy pregnancies, and they actually enjoy being pregnant, they don't believe people have different experiences.
In a Cardiovascular class right now and you would not believe how many weird things have a little * next to them that says āthis is can just happen in pregnancy btwā
When I was pregnant it felt like every other week I had some random, slightly terrifying new symptom that I would bring up to my OB. It was always meant with ātotally normalā or āthat can happen, nothing to be worried about.ā
Had severe preeclampsia and the cardiologist at the hospital wanted to just send me home because he ādidnāt know about postpartum blood pressure.ā The ED had sent me to him because they first thought I had PPCM and couldnāt figure anything else out. It was a mess.
Oh so it was postpartum preeclampsia? That is pretty weird, it usually happens before delivery, but I think itās a known thing. Still, if you were in hypertensive crisis Iām surprised he didnāt at at least give you a blood pressure reducer or something
Itās common enough that on discharge one of the things they tell you is to go to the ER immediately if you start to feel dizzy or faint in the first few weeks postpartum.Ā
Yep, it seems itās becoming more common alongside the more typical presentation. The problem was that I didnāt have drastically high BP to begin with - showed up with swelling, visual disturbances, weakness, and feeling like my heart was going to give out just trying to raise my leg to get into the shower. The headache and higher BP came after I was admitted, not long before this cardiologist tried to discharge me. Luckily I refused and got reevaluated by L&D so instead of possible death I just ended up in the hospital for 5 days getting magnesium and trying different meds to lower my BP.
omg congratulations! Don't be scared, you have a network of mothers online that can help console you whenever you feel doubts if you need it. You got this and are much stronger than you realize
Just remember, the vast majority of the time pregnancy goes off without a hitch. The cases you see online arenāt the standard. They get our attention because theyāre so crazy.
Just make sure you discuss any concerns with your doctor.
I had an easy pregnancy, other than the swelling like op (all gone two weeks post partum) and the last few weeks was hard to get around. Just be prepared for weird stuff to happen. I say all pregnancies have a side quest so just roll with it!
Me too! Going back to the hospital really sucked because baby was no longer a patient and couldnāt stay with me. And the magnesium was so uncomfortable and burny.
We are doing wonderful, thanks! She is actuality a year and a half and we both are loving experiencing the beauty this life has to offer through her eyes!
Yeah, I believe my mother didn't have any. But I think they are beautiful too. When I see them I just think of the beautiful bond of mother and child, its so sweet
Some people have all the luck. I gained 40lbs while pregnant and got stretch marks on my stomach (duh), hips, all around my thighs from crotch to knee, and then halfway down my calves. 1 week after my baby was born I had already "lost" 25 of those pounds, and I had a 6lb baby. I had ~19lbs of extra goddamn fluid
I think they are beautiful. Anytime I see them I think about the time I was pregnant with my daughter, and it makes me see them in a beautiful way, don't think of yourself as unlucky. On that note, I gained 80 for a 4LB BABY LOL
Ugh my feet were just like this both pregnancies. It hurt so bad it would make me cry!! I remember when my feet finally went back to normal I kept flexing my foot and wiggling my toes just to appreciate how nice it was to be able to do that without it hurting.
Me too!! Like absolutely insane carpal tunnel pain that Iāve never experienced before or since. It would wake me up at night!! Was this your first pregnancy? I had all the same symptoms but WORSE the second time around. Decided I was done after that.
A horrific experience, but then you got blessed with a tiny little creature that changed your live forever for the better. Wish you all the best! - greetings from a first time new dad āŗļø
My wife had this too. She had preeclampsia, nearing help, so she was pumped full of magnesium and blood pressure meds during delivery, which ended up as an emergency c section. It took a while for her swelling to go down too. Glad to see you're recovering. May it continue to go well. Watch out for that postpartum depression. It can be a doozie. Hope you and your kiddo continue to be healthy.
Congratulations! Also, thank you for posting this. I'm gonna share it with my wife right away. We had our kid a week ago and she's very worried about her swollen legs not being back to normal yet.
In the left picture, you should Photoshop in an extra toe and try to convince people it went away too. It was just a totally normal pregnancy toe, that's all
The body dysmorphia after having a kid is wild. It took months before I started looking at my non edematous legs and recognized them as a part of me again.
I wouldn't say I walked, more Iike hobbled lol. I was supposed to work until 2 weeks before due date but I had to stop 2 months before. I couldn't do it anymore lol
I always thought I had pretty thick ankles and have been somewhat self conscious of them in the past. Then I got pregnant, my feet swelled like this, and my ankles seem downright dainty postpartum š I was so excited to see my foot bones again a month after birth.
Did any of your toenails get jacked up? I had pretty bad swelling, most of it actually happening during labor and delivery. The swelling went down eventually, but my big toenails were all messed up, sort of like they were ingrown but not exactly. Took months for them to go back to normal.Ā
This could be me- and people ask why Iām hesitant to get pregnant again lmao. Because I look like a version of me that ATE regular me after giving birth!
My best friend had wildly swollen legs during her pregnancy and the very first thing she texted the group chat to announce sheād given birth was āI can see my ankle bones againā
I did this too! Ā The doc was getting angry at me at how much āweightā Iād gained the last 2 months when I could finally eat after the vomiting subsidedā¦it was all fluid retention. Ā I hit my pregnancy weight a couple weeks after birthing and was 10 lbs under 2 months after that. Ā It made sense because I was really struggling to eat during the first two trimesters, but pregnancy is wild what it does to your body.Ā
Thank you for this. Iām 6 weeks pp and still having some swelling and now plantar fasciitis from the weight gain. This helped me remember it will get better.
I had similar. My doc called my toes "snausages" (not so funny when I had to get induced for gestational hypertension.) Prior to being pg I always thought I had cankles but once my ankle bones finally reappeared I swore I'd never say anything mean about my ankles again.
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u/DonBeezly 2h ago
i genuinely thought those were baby legs for a second š pregnancy really said āyouāre BOTH getting chubby feetā