Table: Some Causes and Features of Swelling During Late Pregnancy

Some Causes and Features of Swelling During Late Pregnancy

Cause	Common Features*	Tests†
Normal (physiologic) edema	Painless swelling (edema) in both legs that may decreases when the woman lies on her left side	A doctor’s examination alone
Deep vein thrombosis Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Deep vein thrombosis is the formation of blood clots (thrombi) in the deep veins, usually in the legs. Blood clots may form in veins if the vein is injured, a disorder causes the blood to clot... read more	Swelling and pain in only one leg or calf Often tenderness, redness, and warmth in the affected area Sometimes risk factors for deep vein thrombosis If a blood clot travels to the lungs and blocks a blood vessel there (causing pulmonary embolism Pulmonary Embolism (PE) Pulmonary embolism is the blocking of an artery of the lung (pulmonary artery) by a collection of solid material brought through the bloodstream (embolus)—usually a blood clot (thrombus) or... read more ), chest pain and difficulty breathing	Doppler ultrasonography of the affected leg to check for a blockage in the veins Sometimes a blood test to measure a substance released from blood clots (called D-dimer) If the woman has chest pain and difficulty breathing, sometimes CT of the chest or ventilation/perfusion (nuclear lung) scanning Chest Imaging
Peripartum cardiomyopathy Peripartum cardiomyopathy Most women who have heart disorders—including certain heart valve disorders (such as mitral valve prolapse) and some birth defects of the heart—can safely give birth to healthy children, without... read more	Swelling in both legs Shortness of breath and fatigue Difficulty laying flat	Chest x-ray Electrocardiography Echocardiography
Preeclampsia Preeclampsia and Eclampsia Preeclampsia is new high blood pressure or worsening of existing high blood pressure that is accompanied by excess protein in the urine and that develops after the 20th week of pregnancy. Eclampsia... read more	High blood pressure High Blood Pressure High blood pressure (hypertension) is persistently high pressure in the arteries. Often no cause for high blood pressure can be identified, but sometimes it occurs as a result of an underlying... read more Swelling in both feet and sometimes in the face and/or hands No tenderness, redness, or warmth in the swollen areas Sometimes headache, confusion, blurred vision, nausea or vomiting, or a reddish purple rash of tiny dots (which indicates bleeding in the skin) Sometimes risk factors for preeclampsia	Measurement of blood pressure Measurement of protein in the urine Blood tests to check liver and kidney function and a complete blood count
Cellulitis Cellulitis Cellulitis is a spreading bacterial infection of the skin and the tissues immediately beneath the skin. This infection is most often caused by streptococci or staphylococci. Redness, pain, and... read more	Swelling in one leg or calf and tenderness, redness, and warmth in the affected area Possibly pitting of the affected skin (resembling an orange peel) Often affecting a relatively small area Sometimes fever	Sometimes a doctor’s examination alone Sometimes ultrasonography to rule out deep vein thrombosis
* Features include symptoms and results of the doctor's examination. Features mentioned are typical but not always present. † Although a doctor's examination is always done, it is mentioned in this column only if the diagnosis can sometimes be made by the doctor's examination alone, without any testing.