Spider veins form during pregnancy due to a combination of hormonal changes, variation in your normal circulatory patterns and increased blood volume, or amount of blood in the body. You can prevent them by wearing compression stockings and remaining active. After pregnancy, there are many available treatment options.
The changes that occur during pregnancy are so rapid, and often unexpected, that they can catch a woman by surprise. Between the swollen feet, expanding belly, heightened sense of smell, extra hair growth, and sensitive stomach, a woman’s body completes a massive hormonal shift that prepares it to host a new life and deliver it safely into the world. One day you’re able to reach your legs for a quick shave, and the next you feel a foot jab your internal organs that makes it impossible to reach the same angle.
While many of these changes are temporary to keep your baby safe and healthy, they can provide unwanted side effects that you don’t want to keep after your pregnancy. One such side effect is spider veins and varicose veins, which can occur for the first time during pregnancy. Along with stretch marks, varicose veins in pregnancy and spider veins in pregnancy are some of the ways your body shows the stress that it has taken on during your 9 month journey. At the Spider and Varicose Vein Treatment Center, we have developed a treatment program to address spider veins and eliminate both the discomfort and the visual aspect that can make these veins unappealing. First, we will walk you through what causes these spider veins, what natural treatments you can pursue, and when it’s time to call a vein expert.
Why Do Spider Veins Occur During Pregnancy?
As your uterus is rapidly expanding to host your growing baby, the blood flow in your body also increases. At the same time, your progesterone hormone increases, which relaxes the walls of your blood vessels. Veins are the vessels that have to return blood back to your heart. So, this means that the blood being pumped back up your legs has to fight against gravity, your increased weight, and weakened blood vessel walls.
Another natural cause that places pressure and increases spider veins in pregnancy is your uterus, which puts pressure on right side of your body, pressing on the major vein that returns blood to your heart. All of these factors combined cause valves, small one-way doors within veins designed to keep the blood from moving backwards, to bend. In turn, this traps the blood back in your veins. When you see the “spider web” formation on your skin, it is actually blood trapped from a faulty valve. While your body is preparing for the birth of your baby, it has also created the perfect conditions for the birth of spider veins.
