Both my legs are swollen. Should I worry?

Symmetric swelling is the common, ordinary pattern — worth mentioning at your next visit, particularly with any sudden facial or hand swelling, which points at preeclampsia instead. It's the one-sided version that prompts a same-day call.

I'm short of breath all the time now. Is that a clot?

Gradual breathlessness that builds over weeks as your uterus presses upward is typical late pregnancy. A clot presents as sudden breathlessness, often with chest pain or a racing heart. Sudden is the operative word.

How long after birth does the risk stay up?

It's highest in the first weeks and declines over roughly the first six. Keep the symptom list in mind through that window rather than assuming delivery ended it.

When it happens · 4 min read

Blood clots in pregnancy and after birth

This is a page about a risk that hides behind normal symptoms. Pregnancy makes blood clot more readily — a sensible adaptation for limiting blood loss at delivery — and the cost is a raised risk of clots forming where you don't want them.

Last updated August 9, 2026

The one-sided rule

Almost everyone gets swollen legs in pregnancy. Nearly always both legs, gradually, worse by evening, better by morning. A deep vein thrombosis is different in character: pain or cramping in one calf or thigh, swelling of that one leg, sometimes warmth, redness, or a leg that simply looks and feels different from the other.

So the practical rule is comparison. Two legs the same? Almost certainly ordinary. One leg noticeably different from the other? Call today.

The emergency version

If a clot travels to the lungs — a pulmonary embolism — it becomes immediately life-threatening. Sudden shortness of breath, chest pain (often sharper on breathing in), a racing heart, light-headedness, or coughing up blood is a 911 call, not a drive to the office. Pulmonary embolism accounts for a substantial share of US pregnancy-related deaths, and it is treatable when caught.

The postpartum half nobody mentions

Most people file clot risk under 'pregnancy' and stop thinking about it once the baby arrives. That is backwards: around two-thirds of pregnancy-associated clots occur after delivery, with the peak in the first weeks postpartum — and higher again after a cesarean, which adds surgery and reduced mobility to an already elevated baseline.

Which means the symptom list above stays active through those early weeks at home, exactly when you are sitting still feeding for hours, sleep-deprived, and inclined to attribute everything to having just given birth.

Lowering the risk

Move regularly — short, frequent walking beats occasional heroics, and getting up during long journeys matters. Stay hydrated. On flights or long drives, walk every hour or two and flex your ankles in between. If you have had a clot before, a known clotting disorder, or a strong family history, say so early in pregnancy: preventive treatment exists and it is decided in advance, not in a crisis.

Common questions

Both my legs are swollen. Should I worry?: Symmetric swelling is the common, ordinary pattern — worth mentioning at your next visit, particularly with any sudden facial or hand swelling, which points at preeclampsia instead. It's the one-sided version that prompts a same-day call.
I'm short of breath all the time now. Is that a clot?: Gradual breathlessness that builds over weeks as your uterus presses upward is typical late pregnancy. A clot presents as sudden breathlessness, often with chest pain or a racing heart. Sudden is the operative word.
How long after birth does the risk stay up?: It's highest in the first weeks and declines over roughly the first six. Keep the symptom list in mind through that window rather than assuming delivery ended it.

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Where this comes from

Venous thromboembolism as a cause of severe maternal morbidity and mortality in the United StatesNIH

Every claim on this page traces to one of these. See every source we use →

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