{"id":5888,"date":"2020-12-21T04:03:41","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T04:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vivehealth.com.au\/blog\/?p=5888"},"modified":"2020-12-21T04:03:42","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T04:03:42","slug":"heat-pregnancy-find-ankles-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vivehealth.com.au\/blog\/2020\/12\/21\/heat-pregnancy-find-ankles-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"Heat in Pregnancy | How To Find Your Ankles Again This Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Merakai Therapies<\/a><\/p>\n

As we come into the hottest months of the year, we find so many of our pregnant mums lose their ankles.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk all things ankles or cankles!!<\/p>\n

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This is the fluid between cells and surrounding tissue.\u00a0 You need extra support during pregnancy, and your body not only increases the blood volume approximate 40% it also increases interstitial \u00a0fluid 30-40%.\u00a0 Now this on its own is enough to make anyone have fluid retention, yet a pregnant mum has a few more things to consider.<\/p>\n

One of the roles of our lymphatic system is to \u201cmops\u2019 up excess fluid, which is naturally a slow system.\u00a0\u00a0 Our heart beats on average 60-100bpm, whilst the lymphatic system has no internal beat and will only pulse 6 pulses per minute.\u00a0 This means you have a system which is already slow moving, being overloaded with increase in fluid.<\/p>\n

The third factor to consider for pregnant mum\u2019s is the postural change that occurs because of the musculoskeletal factors.\u00a0 See this video which explains it all:\u00a0 https:\/\/www.merakaitherapies.com.au\/at-home-tips-and-self-care<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 – the understanding pregnancy changes video.<\/p>\n

You will see from this we have the anterior pelvic tilt, which naturally happens as your baby grows.\u00a0 However, this change compresses the inguinal part of the lymphatic system, and reduces the ability of the body to return the fluid from your legs.<\/p>\n

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So all in all, it\u2019s a tough journey for your body to cope with this extra fluid.\u00a0 We do know we can\u2019t predict how a body will respond to pregnancy, some women have minimal impact of the extra fluid, others have a noticeable fluid retention.\u00a0 There are also conditions that may develop during pregnancy that can increasingly impact this fluid which is why it is always incredibly important to discuss any changes, including increase in fluid with your medical care provider.<\/p>\n

What can you do to help?<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n