# Day 176: Puffy

> 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.

- Series: Your sixth month of pregnancy, day by day (https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-6), day 176 of 280, 25 weeks + 1 day
- Your baby this week: about the size of a courgette; around 34.6 cm from head to heel
- Canonical URL: https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-6/day-176
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-22
- Publisher: Chorevia (https://chorevia.com)
- Cite as: Chorevia. "Day 176: Puffy." Last reviewed October 22, 2026. https://chorevia.com/learn/pregnancy-month-6/day-176

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.

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

Around 34.6cm from head to heel, about the size of a courgette ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-25/)). Urine now makes up most of the amniotic fluid, which cushions your baby and keeps its temperature steady ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-25/)). That loop has been running for a while: the baby swallows small amounts of fluid, and the kidneys pass it out as urine ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-14/)).

## 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](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-25/)). 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](https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/body-changes-and-discomforts)).

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](https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/body-changes-and-discomforts)). Lying on your left side improves circulation for the baby ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm)).

## Try today

### 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](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-25/)).
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](https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/body-changes-and-discomforts)).
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](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-25/)). **Call your provider today** for extreme swelling of your hands or face ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/maternal-warning-signs/index.html)).
- **Normal:** swollen hands and feet, which the NHS lists among the common symptoms of these weeks ([NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-25/)). **Call your provider** if the swelling comes with headaches or high blood pressure, which MedlinePlus says can signal preeclampsia ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm)).
- **Normal:** both legs a little swollen by evening, which limiting salty foods and support stockings may help ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm)). **Call your provider right away** for pain and swelling in one leg but not the other, which can signal a blood clot ([MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000580.htm)); the CDC lists severe swelling, redness or pain of a leg or arm as an urgent sign ([CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/maternal-warning-signs/index.html)).

## 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](https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/body-changes-and-discomforts)). 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

- NHS. "Week 25." Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, Best Start in Life. https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-25/
- NHS. "Week 14." Week-by-week guide to pregnancy, Best Start in Life. https://www.nhs.uk/best-start-in-life/pregnancy/week-by-week-guide-to-pregnancy/2nd-trimester/week-14/
- Office on Women's Health. "Body changes and discomforts." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/body-changes-and-discomforts
- MedlinePlus. "Common symptoms during pregnancy." National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000583.htm
- MedlinePlus. "Aches and pains during pregnancy." National Library of Medicine. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000580.htm
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Urgent Maternal Warning Signs and Symptoms." HEAR HER campaign, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/hearher/maternal-warning-signs/index.html