Questions & Answers

Tmhess answered exactly what I would say. The main areas of concern for swelling in pre eclampsia are your limbs but this can be normal, however the bigger concern is if you suddenly notice swelling in your face along with elevated BP and proteinurea. Keep an eye out for "stars in your eyes" or general visual disturbances, a headache that spans across your forehead in particular.

You can have really bad swelling without preeclampsia. I am almost 27 weeks and all of my shoes are too tight because the swelling is so bad. My ankles, feet, wrists, and hands are huge. My blood pressure is normal though. I was just at the OB today and it was 100/70. I gained 7 pounds in 1 month and I think it is mostly due to water retention. Swelling can be worse in the summer months or if you are on your feet all day/sit all day. Try to get your feet up as much as possible and make sure to drink a lot of water. It sounds counter-intuitive but water helps clear everything out.

The signs you really want to watch out for is an elevated blood pressure and protein in your urine (which they should check for at every OB visit). It looks like you are technically full term right now so I am assuming you are seeing the doctor every week at this point. They make sure to monitor your BP closely. I think as long as they are ok with it you don't have to worry. :)

Blood pressure is the other biggie...if it's staying pretty normal that's a good sign the swelling is just normal pregnancy swelling. My blood pressure starting slowly increasing around 36 weeks, along with swelling and crazy weight gain (which was basically fluid retention). My BP was 139/96 the day my twins were born and my doctor didn't say much about it but I ended up delivering them early due to low fluid levels. I actually developed postpartum pre-eclampsia, which my doctor said probably started the weeks leading to delivery, which just made my blood pressure go crazy. The swelling resolved by the time I left the hospital and the blood pressure issues resolved in about a month, although I did have to go back on meds for it, but I was already on them before I was pregnant.