C-sections account for nearly one-third of U.S. births, and though the procedure is common enough, many may not know that the operation significantly increases a new mother s risk of blood clots. These clots the medical term is deep vein thrombosis (DVT) originate in the legs or groin and can travel to the lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism, which is a serious problem and can even be fatal. During pregnancy and up to six weeks after delivery, as many as two out of every 1,000 women will experience DVT. Signs and symptoms include pain or swelling in one leg, especially in the calf or thigh, and redness or warmth in one area of the leg.
New guidelines issued by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, however, call on hospitals to provide pregnant women with special inflatable stockings, called compression stockings, that regularly inflate and deflate in order to improve blood flow. These devices are routinely used for other major operations, and have been shown to cut the risk of blood clot by two-thirds.
Pregnant women are more prone to developing DVT due particularly to slower blood flow caused by weight gain and decreased mobility, as well as pressure from the enlarging uterus, especially during the last trimester. The compression stockings, therefore, are a good way to prevent the risk of blood clots since they are inexpensive (about $14) and pose no risk.
ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross agrees with the new recommendations, and says that certain factors, including use of birth control pills, obesity, smoking, previous vein abnormalities, and some genetic factors, increase the risk of DVT. Compression stockings have long been used on post-operative patients who underwent major abdominal surgery and, since they re inexpensive, harmless, and effective, he says, I see no reason why they shouldn t be used on women undergoing a C-section as well. After all, a C-section is major surgery.