# Easy and unexplained bruising during pregnancy??



## AllyRae

This just started about a week ago and now I'm getting concerned. My legs are covered in bruises...some tiny and some the size of peaches. I haven't done anything to hurt my legs at all, but they just keep appearing. I'm 20 weeks pregnant now... Is there a pregnancy related reason this is happening? Should I be concerned? I've never had this problem before...


----------



## ramlita

How is your vitamin C intake?


----------



## acrathbun

perhaps ask your care provider to check your platelets?

You could also have a mild bleeding disorder (like von Willebrands disease - somewhere around 1% of the population has it) but the tests for it would most likely be skewed by your pregnancy.


----------



## anudi01

Vitamin C and Vitamin E are both very good for bruising. There is a lot of pressure on the veins during pg, especially in the legs.


----------



## captain crunchy

Iron baby!!

Are you getting enough?? Women need more than men generally, but when pregnant, we need A LOT more because we are producing 50% more blood! You could be slightly anemic, which is very common in pregnancy...low iron would cause very easy bruising!

Are you taking a pre-natal vitamin? Load up on iron-rich foods (I am nearly vegan and I get enough so you don't need to be chugging steaks *sigh* lol)...and ask your doc or midwife about it!


----------



## AllyRae

I bet it's probably the vitamin C and iron... Two weeks ago I had the flu, and then this weekend I was really dehydrated and throwing up again, so I haven't really been able to keep down much food, let alone a prenatal vitamin. I have my 5 month appointment with my midwife Monday, so I'll ask her to do a finger iron prick to see if it can be iron related.

Thanks ladies!!


----------



## wasabi

Bruising can also be caused by a vitamin K deficiency. Prenatal vitamins usually don't include vitamin K because it controls clotting and they don't want you to get a clot during pg. If you're not getting enough from natural sources then you're more likely to bruise.


----------



## Maggi315

If you were one of my clients, I would run a complete blood count, a platelet count and a fibrinogen count. If you are having problems, now is the time to find out, not when you are in labor. The tests are relatively inexpensive and easy compared to the hassle during delivery. Goodluck! I would also recommend upping your Vitamin C and looking at any supplements/herbs you are taking, some of them (especially ones for varicose veings) have a blood thinning effect.


----------



## JoAida

AllyRae, I hope everything is good with you. I'm glad to hear you are talking to your Mw.

Maggi, I was looking at your siggy, and it made me chuckle. I notice by the ages you have on there, your kids get a year closer each time. 5yrs between, 4yrs between, 3, 2... Bless your heart!


----------



## AllyRae

My midwife decided to hold off on the blood test until 28 weeks, since I had just had one not too long ago. However, I think we found out that the unexplained bruising was actually very explainable. I recently caught my 17 month old thrashing so hard in bed....I moved right before his foot came out me at a speed so hard, it would have knocked out a tooth! It wasn't a normal kick...in his sleep, he had done kick that started with his foot by his face and ended with it hitting the bed...over and over.... I must have been too tired to notice it at first, but we discovered this was a daily occurance! Yikes!! (We've since noticed he also has sensory issues--probably SID. He sleeps with a weighted blanket now and I have no new bruises! LOL!)


----------



## wendy1221

Quote:


Originally Posted by *acrathbun*
perhaps ask your care provider to check your platelets?

You could also have a mild bleeding disorder (like von Willebrands disease - somewhere around 1% of the population has it) but the tests for it would most likely be skewed by your pregnancy.

I've been doing a lot of research on VWD, since I recently found out it runs in both my and dh's families (yikes! I couldn't be tested b/c I'm both pg and nursing, but dh and ds2 both have type 1. I really hope I'm not also a carrier, b/c then this baby would have a risk of having type3, which is really really bad!).

Anyway, it couldn't be VWD b/c when you're pregnant and nursing, your body releases stored of VWF so you levels are the same as somebody w/out the disease. The tests wouldn't just be skewed, they'd come back negative. Just an FYI. So VWD type 1 would not cause bleeding episodes or bruising during pregnancy or the first few months of nursing, if not longer.

Most likely you're anemic. Have you had your iron checked lately? Iron tends to go down in the second half of pregnancy as your blood volume greatly increases. Docs and midwives usuallt check it at week 28, but you can ask to have it checked earlier if you're concerned.

If you are anemic, forget those prescription or otc iron supplements. Go to a health foods store and buy Hema-Plex. I've had anemia problems off and on all my life and have never had a supplement work as well or as fast as this stuff. My iron went from 10 to 12.6 in less than 2 weeks of taking it!

My mw also recommends taking chlorophyll to help w/ iron absorption. No one know if this is really true or not, but the structure of chlorophyll is very similar to the structure of heme in hemoglobin, so it's possible it's easily converted.


----------



## wendy1221

Oops! Missed your last reply! LOL! I don't wake up when my kids kick me in my sleep either. Dh complains all the time when either of our kids sleeps next to him, but they never wake me up. I wake up immediately if ds2 sarts rooting, though. Isn't that funny?


----------

