The Natural History of Oedema During Pregnancy

Summary Clinical evidence of oedema was found in 69 out of 83 women selected during early pregnancy as being healthy; 11 of the 83 developed some hypertension during late pregnancy. Measurements of body weight, leg volume, ankle circumference and finger size suggested that increased hydration of the tissues is likely to be universal in normal pregnancy. The patterns of clinical oedema, when present, were exceedingly variable. Cluster analysis was used to differentiate four broad categories: I, no clinical oedema; II, sporadic signs; III, late oedema; IV, early and persistent oedema. There was a statistically significant, but unexplained, difference of mean birthweights between cases with no or sporadic oedema (3416 g.), those with “late” oedema (3653 g.) and those with “early” oedema (3157 g.). These differences were not related to the occurrence of pre‐eclampsia.