Wednesday, April 1, 2009

An END to Pregnancy Cankles (and other water retention issues) in 5 Easy Steps!


Spring is well and truly here as this weekend saw the official start of British Summer Time.

The weather has been playing ball too and it's finally time to start thinking about lovely floaty dresses and cropped trousers. The trouble is that the last time you saw your lower limbs you couldn't tell where your calves ended and your feet began! Oh horror of horrors, you've suddenly got CANKLES!

One of my readers recently asked me how to get rid of her Cankles! She's only 27 weeks but is suffering terribly with swollen joints...

Swollen hands and feet are unfortunately all too common in pregnancy. When you fall pregnant your blood volume increases substantially. Your growing uterus puts pressure on your pelvic veins and vena cava (the major vein that receives blood back from your lower limbs), and slows down the bloodflow returning to the torso. This causes blood pooling, which in turn forces water into the tissues of your extremities (hands and feet).

Pregnancy also increases the likelihood of retaining water, which then adds to your Cankle issues!

So what can you do about it?

1. Elevate, elevate, elevate!!!

Yes you finally have a valid excuse for putting your feet up! Whenever you are sitting down, put your feet up on a stool or a pouffe.

If you are lying down, always lie on your left hand side to take the pressure off the vena cava and relieve the pressure.

2. Drink 1 litre of water for every 50lbs of body weight.

Just 2% dehydration can cause heavy water retention. If you are fed up with all the toilet trips, try putting a couple of grains of organic sea salt in a litre bottle to help you absorb the water into your cells better.

3. Get off the processed food!

Processed foods, sugar, caffeine, wheat and processed dairy all behave as toxins in your body. If your system is holding toxins it will automatically retain water to dilute those toxins so that they are not harmful to you or your baby.

Wheat, in particular, is well known for causing pregnancy oedema and oedema can even slow down delivery of your baby if your pelvic tissues are swollen and congested.

4. Get plenty of exercise

Veins have low blood pressure and so we have to use our leg muscles to help push blood back up to the heart. Strengthening your muscles through regular exercise will help your circulation.

You also need to move frequently during the day and avoid long periods of sitting or standing.

Just remember to always elevate your legs after exercising!

5. Get a massage!

Massage is great for aiding circulation and helping move fluid out of congested tissues. Hey, you now have a free pass to ask your partner for a foot massage every night!

To get all of your pregnancy questions answered, post your comments on my blog, or ask me directly through my pregnancy community

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