When Should Clots Be a Concern After Having a Baby
For several hundred years, and as recently as forty years ago, women were brash to decrease physical action in the days leading up to delivery, besides as a few weeks afterward. The thought was that staying in bed would let a woman to relieve her energy for labor and recovery after the baby was born. That'due south why 1 of the first maternity hospitals in Great United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland was called the General Lying-In Hospital.
Today, we now know the exact opposite is true: Women should remain agile right upward to delivery, and they should get upward and walk every bit presently as possible afterward commitment to reduce the take a chance of potentially harmful blood clots, fifty-fifty later on a cesarean section (C-section). While the overall risk of this happening is low – ane or two cases for every one,000 deliveries – almost ten percent of maternal deaths in the U.S. are related to blood clots that travel to the lungs. It's split fairly evenly, with half of the clots happening earlier commitment and half afterward.
Unfortunately, too many women aren't aware of this hazard. Not long agone in our dispensary, I checked on a patient who'd delivered nigh a week before and had a painful sore on her thigh. I asked, "Does it hurt when you walk?" The patient looked baffled and said she'd been in bed all week. I explained that changes in a woman's body during pregnancy create a prime opportunity for blood to puddle in the legs, where clots can form easily. If a jell breaks gratis, information technology can travel to the lungs, causing shortness of breath, depression oxygen levels, and fifty-fifty expiry if left untreated.
Thankfully, this patient was fine, and she left with a better agreement of salubrious postpartum activities. Only her story easily could accept gone the other fashion. It'southward important for women to know the symptoms of a claret clot and how to forestall them during and after pregnancy.
Why does this happen?
Pregnancy poses an unusual set up of circumstances that predispose women to the development of clots. First, equally any pregnant woman who developed varicose veins during pregnancy can tell you, the growing uterus puts pressure on veins in the pelvis and the major vein returning claret from the legs. The sluggish return of blood predisposes to the evolution of clots. Second, factors in the blood that favor the development of clots are increased in pregnancy.
"Women should remain agile correct up to delivery, and they should get up and walk equally soon as possible after delivery to reduce the risk of potentially harmful claret clots – even after a cesarean section (C-section)."
Signs of blood clots earlier and later on delivery
Blood clots related to pregnancy tend to take specific symptoms, depending on whether the jell is located to the leg or has traveled to the lung. Show of blood clots in the extremities, which is more common before delivery, include the abrupt evolution of:
● Tenderness in the affected area
● Swelling of the affected leg
● Warmth over the clot location
Claret clots to the lung, which are more common following delivery, manifest every bit experiencing breast pain, coughing (including coughing up claret), and fainting.
The diagnosis is fairly straightforward, depending on what we are suspicious for. We use an ultrasound to examine the period of blood through the legs and to bank check for any blockages. Magnetic resonance imaging also tin can be useful. Special CT tests look for blood clots in the pulmonary vessels.
Risk factors for developing clots
Whatever meaning woman is at increased risk for developing a blood clot. However, some women take boosted factors that put them at increased risk. Factors specific to pregnancy include diabetes, preeclampsia, or a having a C-section commitment. Prolonged bedrest, say for preterm labor or premature rupture of the membranes, likewise will add additional risk.
Other general weather condition that increase a pregnant woman'due south risk include age over 35, being obese, and being a smoker. Women who have a known genetic predisposition for developing clots are at highest risk during pregnancy.
How providers and patients can foreclose blood clots
If bed residue is necessary due to an obstetric complication, your provider should assess your risk. If indicated, you might need to take claret thinners during pregnancy or post-obit delivery. If a woman requires a C-section, nosotros more often than not place sequential compression devices on her legs. These devices gently squeeze the calf muscles, reducing pooling of claret and improving render to the eye.
It's important to follow your doctor's recommendations most resuming activity every bit soon as possible afterwards delivery. At the infirmary, we'll have you up and walking around within hours of delivery. Fifty-fifty afterwards a C-section, we'll remove your bladder catheter and accept you at least sitting upwards in a chair within a few hours of surgery. Don't exist surprised if we encourage you to walk a few steps that same day.
It's important to continuing moving once you get home as well. Nosotros aren't asking that you lot starting time an do routine immediately – walking to the bathroom, going to a chair to hold your newborn, and moving around your home in general is all information technology takes to reduce your chance for developing a claret clot. Women at detail chance, including those with a history of claret clots or those who developed clots in the infirmary, might need additional measures to prevent the development of blood clots.
Pregnancy and the weeks following delivery are a high-risk time for developing blood clots, which can cause serious wellness issues if not detected early. But with proper interventions, more than women tin reduce the risk of unsafe blood clots related to pregnancy.
Stay on top of wellness care news. Subscribe to our blog today.
When Should Clots Be a Concern After Having a Baby
Source: https://utswmed.org/medblog/blood-clots-after-delivery/
0 Response to "When Should Clots Be a Concern After Having a Baby"
Post a Comment