Chorevia

Day 176 of 280 · 25 weeks + 1 day

Puffy

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 6 sources · Plain-text version

Puffy face, hands and feet are usually water. Sudden puffiness is a phone call. The one-minute morning ring check that tells the two apart.

Size this week
about the size of a courgette
Length this week
around 34.6 cm from head to heel
A Black woman in a loose linen top sitting on the edge of her bed in morning light, turning a ring on her finger, a glass of water on the bedside table, a 25-week bump.

Twenty-five weeks and one day. Rings that don't turn and shoes that don't go on: today is about swelling, which is almost always water, and about the version that isn't.

Your baby

One green zucchini on a plain pale wooden board, soft window light.

Around 34.6cm from head to heel, about the size of a courgette (NHS). Urine now makes up most of the amniotic fluid, which cushions your baby and keeps its temperature steady (NHS). That loop has been running for a while: the baby swallows small amounts of fluid, and the kidneys pass it out as urine (NHS).

Your body

Your face, hands and feet may puff up from water retention; tell your midwife or doctor, so they can check your blood pressure for pre-eclampsia, which can occur in the second half of pregnancy or after the birth (NHS). The Office on Women's Health draws the line at speed: sudden swelling in the hands or feet, or rapid weight gain, may signal preeclampsia, and the instruction is "Call your doctor" (OWH).

For the ordinary kind, the OWH's list is: drink eight to 10 glasses of fluids daily, cut back on caffeine and salty foods, rest with your feet raised, and ask about support hose (OWH). Lying on your left side improves circulation for the baby (MedlinePlus).

Try today

  1. The ring check

    Time: 1 minute each morning

    1. Each morning, before anything else, check two things: do your rings turn, and do yesterday's shoes go on.

    2. Slow change over weeks is a note for your next visit; the NHS wants to know about puffiness so they can check your blood pressure (NHS).

    3. Sudden change, overnight or across one day, is a call today: sudden swelling of the hands or feet or rapid weight gain may signal preeclampsia (OWH).

    4. If a ring is already snug, take it off while it still turns and put it somewhere safe.

    Make it work:

    Attach the check to something you already do every morning, like the first glass of water, so it happens without deciding to.

Watch for

  • Normal

    a puffy face, hands and feet from water retention (NHS).

    Call your provider today

    for extreme swelling of your hands or face (CDC).

  • Normal

    swollen hands and feet, which the NHS lists among the common symptoms of these weeks (NHS).

    Call your provider

    if the swelling comes with headaches or high blood pressure, which MedlinePlus says can signal preeclampsia (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    both legs a little swollen by evening, which limiting salty foods and support stockings may help (MedlinePlus).

    Call your provider right away

    for pain and swelling in one leg but not the other, which can signal a blood clot (MedlinePlus); the CDC lists severe swelling, redness or pain of a leg or arm as an urgent sign (CDC).

For you

Puffy is not a failing of diet or discipline; it's water, and the fix the OWH gives is mostly rest with your feet up and a glass in your hand (OWH). Treat the feet-up half hour as part of the day, not a reward for finishing it.

If you're the partner: the evening is when the swelling shows. Take the standing jobs after dinner so her feet can be higher than her hips, and notice the shoes.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

Get each day’s note the morning it applies

Add your due date to a free Chorevia household, and every morning until the birth the day's note arrives in the app and by email: what's forming, what your body is doing, one thing to try, what to watch for, and a word for you.

Create your household