Pregnancy – Varicose Veins (Common Problem)

Varicose vein is a problem that is mostly seen in women. This problem is more prominent in the pregnant women. Actually, it is believed that about 45 % of women who have varicose veins are pregnant.

Pregnant women face lot of changes in the body during the entire pregnancy period. The changes are not same in all the women. The changes truly depend upon the way of living.

If a pregnant woman exercise regularly, it might not be much difficult for her to face those changes. But a less conscious pregnant woman may face the difficulties during pregnancy.

Basically, the different causes that may develop the varicose veins during the period of pregnancy are: -

Hormonal changes during pregnancy

This is believed to be the primary cause of varicose veins in pregnant women. During the pregnancy period, the level of hormone progesterone is increased in the body.

The increased level of this hormone gives relaxation to blood vessels. This relaxation in blood vessels slightly separates halves of the vein valves, which ultimately makes the valves unable to stop the blood to flow back into the vein pool.

Enlargement of Uterus:

Uterus is responsible for holding the developing fetus. With development in fetus, the size of uterus also increases. The increase in the size of uterus pushes the primary veins of the pelvic area, which tends to act as the root of main problem. The force over the primary veins of pelvic area results in an enhancing the pressure over the veins of the legs and that is the subject to become varicosed.

Family history:

If any women in the family like grand mother or mother had varicose veins at the time of pregnancy, then this may increase the chances of developing varicose vein in the next generation.

Varicose veins are not a serious problem during pregnancy. It can be taken as a part of physical changes that occur in body during pregnancy. It is not permanent and normally disappears after the few months or weeks of the delivery. This problem may become more aggressive with every successive pregnancy.