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Tips to Reduce Swelling During Pregnancy
Pregnancy is an amazing time for expecting mothers. They have an entire new life ahead of them as they embark on the journey of becoming a mother. However, pregnancy can come with certain discomforts that can be overwhelming at times such as body swellings, nausea, and fatigue. These symptoms can be difficult to deal with and make daily tasks harder to complete. While they will eventually go away after the baby is born, in the meantime, it can feel like you’re living in misery. Therefore, make sure to not ignore your water retention and tackle it as soon as it feels uncomfortable.
How does water retention happen?
There can be many different causes to water retention. Since you are most likely pregnant, let’s go over how it takes place in a pregnant mother’s body.
A pregnant woman’s body can produce up to 50% extra body fluids and blood during this period as a form of support for the baby. It is a delicate process that starts from the first trimester where you might feel just the occasional puffiness and bloating, but nothing too bad. As you progress to your second trimester from week 13, you might start noticing more obvious signs of swelling especially in your fingers and feet.
And as you enter your third and final trimester and approach week 40, you might have never seen your feet look so magnificently plump. By this time, in addition to the excess supply of body fluids, your uterus is adding on fuel to the fire by slowing blood flow to and from the legs and heart as it is on the heavier side as compared to the initial stage of pregnancy, hence, the first-rate swelling.
Tips to Reduce Water Retention Swellings During Pregnancy
Keep yourself hydrated
Despite water retention occurring due to ‘excess’ fluids being retained by your body, no, drinking water will not cause or worsen water retention, as long as you are not drinking way too much above recommendations. In fact, the opposite; dehydration, is what can lead to water retention. Hydrate your body with at least a glass of water a day, gradually increasing the volume as you go through the trimesters. You can also opt for sports drinks, which have fewer calories than regular sweetened drinks.
Maintain a Healthy Diet
Between the food cravings and food aversion, your pregnancy makes a good time to change your diet and discover healthier options! Nutrients from your diet are essential for fighting swelling, so make sure to include more nutrient-packaged ingredients. You also have to be careful about what you’re eating. For example, too much salt in your food can increase water retention and make the swellings worse. Hence, try to limit excessive salt intake and use other healthier substitutes for flavour when you cook at home such as onion, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, lemon juice, vinegar, cinnamon, or chillies, depending on how you like your foods to taste. Other practical tips when eating out is to limit sauces, gravies, highly processed foods, chips and condiments.
Ensure sufficient potassium-rich foods
A lot of mommies are going to like this one! Did you know that eating certain foods, in fact, can help to reduce water retention too? Potassium helps in tackling water retention by reducing your sodium level and increasing the urine production. Put simply, potassium is a great mineral that balances the fluids in your body. Maintaining a potassium-rich diet can also help in keeping conditions like high blood pressure and stroke at bay! Some foods that are high in potassium are bananas, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, avocados, and mainly your fruits! So that’s why it’s important to not skip your daily fruit intake!
Elevate your legs
Another effective way to relieve water retention, especially around your legs and feet. After spending the whole day walking or standing up, putting your legs up when resting is always the best way to get rid of the intense foot swelling. You can put your legs up for about 20 minutes every couple of hours. Keeping your feet cool helps too! On a hot day, ensure that your feet are always kept cool. Wear light summer clothes while pregnant, and move to a cooler environment whenever you are outside. Minimize swellings by applying ice packs on the affected body parts.
We hope this list will come in handy for you! If you are still experiencing water retention after birth and find it hard to combat, it might be worth considering confinement food delivery.
As a confinement food delivery Singapore service provider, Tian Wei Signature takes all mothers’ needs seriously, including their journey to maintaining a more balanced diet. With zero MSG added into our dishes, we craft a wide-ranging menu that comprises over 90 fusion and traditional dishes. Ready to book your confinement meal Singapore delivery service? Just ring us up at +65 6727 5599 and we’d be more than happy to assist you!
