How to prevent venous thrombosis after cesarean section

As a mother who has undergone a cesarean section, you must exercise moderately if your body allows it after giving birth. You should be more active and strengthen your diet. This is a better way to prevent venous thrombosis. Even during bed rest, you can use some methods, which can not only prevent thrombosis, but also are beneficial for postpartum recovery. In addition, you can wear decompression elastic stockings, which is also a better way to prevent postpartum thrombosis.

How to prevent venous thrombosis after cesarean section

Among the patients with deep vein thrombosis of the lower limbs treated clinically, postpartum patients account for about one-fifth. This proportion can fully explain the relationship between the incidence of deep vein thrombosis of the lower limbs and pregnancy and postpartum period.

Therefore, prevention of deep vein thrombosis in the lower limbs should start from the second trimester of pregnancy. The following preventive measures should be taken starting from the 4th month of pregnancy.

⑴ Regular flexion and extension of the lower limbs can mobilize the function of the calf muscle pump, increase the flow rate of venous blood, and promote the return of venous blood in the lower limbs.

⑵ Lie on your back in bed, raise your lower limbs, and flex and extend your legs alternately, like riding a bicycle. When your uterus becomes enlarged and it becomes inconvenient to lie on your back, you can lie on your side. First move one side of the lower limb, then turn over and lie on the other side, and then move the other side of the lower limb. The focus of the activity is the knee and ankle joints, which can reduce the pressure on the lower limb veins, accelerate the flow rate of the lower limb venous blood, and facilitate the return of the lower limb venous blood.

⑶ If conditions permit, you should buy imported graduated decompression stockings, and you can choose stockings with an elasticity of 15 to 20 mmHg. A pair of elastic stockings can achieve the preventive effect during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

⑷ Those with poor economic conditions can use elastic bandages to bandage both lower limbs, and only need to bandage 3 to 5 cm below the knee joint. This can reduce the time that the lower limb venous blood stays in the lower limbs and can also have a preventive effect.

⑸ The traditional bad habit of “confinement” after childbirth should be abandoned. In the early postpartum period, the lower limbs can be properly moved in bed. The simplest movement is flexion and extension of the knee and ankle joints. The method is: stretch your feet downward with force, try to straighten the ankle joint, hold for 1 to 2 seconds; then flex the foot dorsiflexively (hook the foot), hold for another 1 to 2 seconds. Repeat this exercise to mobilize the calf muscle pump, accelerate the flow rate of venous blood in the lower limbs, and facilitate the return of the lower limb veins, which can effectively prevent deep vein thrombosis.