During pregnancy, many women experience more symptomatic varicose veins  – as if there’s not enough already they have to deal with!

The worsening symptoms can occur due to several reasons:

• Pregnant bodies produce higher levels of the progesterone hormone. Progesterone relaxes the walls of the veins and decreases valve function. The valves are responsible for pushing the blood forward back to the heart. When they don’t work properly then varicose veins may occur.
• During pregnancy, women also experience an increase in blood flow. In other words, there is more blood in the pregnant body, but the number of veins remains unchanged. You guessed it! The valves get tired of all the extra work, making it more likely for varicose veins to appear.
• The baby bump is heavy and can press against the blood vessels of the legs, causing increased pressure in the veins, which can lead to more visible veins and more discomfort.

Most of the veins appear on the legs, but some women will develop them on the vulvar area. Luckily these veins tend to disappear or decrease in size once the baby is born, however they will likely come back with a vengeance in subsequent pregnancies. Some women will continue to be bothered by symptoms or cosmetic appearance of those veins even after delivery.

Besides, sometimes leg varicosities are fed by veins coming from the pelvis – that’s why the mapping ultrasound is so important, it tells the doctor where the problems is coming from.

Though it is unlikely that we would treat varicose veins during pregnancy, we are more than happy to see you and make recommendations for helpful garments that may lessen the discomfort. And if you continue to have problems after the baby is born, please call us back – a solution might be closer than you think!