Polyhydramnios and Reducing Amniotic Fluid During Pregnancy

I recently gave birth to my sixth baby and I want to share my experience with polyhydramnios and reducing amniotic fluid during pregnancy. It taught me so much about the power of food. First off, I’m not a doctor, nurse, or health professional. But I love learning about food and the power that it has to change the way our bodies function. I’m a big believer that what we put into our bodies matters a lot and it can affect us in so many ways! My hope is that my experience may encourage and help someone out there that had a similar experience.

My Polyhydramnios Diagnosis

At 20 weeks, my baby was measuring slightly big, so they suggested I do another ultrasound a few weeks for a size check. The baby measured normal, however, another problem surfaced, and that’s when I learned about polyhydramnios. This is a condition where there is too much amniotic fluid in the uterus and can be scary if the amniotic fluid is especially high. I was told that the only thing I could do was wait it out, continue to be checked, and hoped that it would go down…

The plan from my certified nurse midwives was as follows: come in for weekly fluid checks, non-stress tests, and be induced at 39 weeks if the fluid didn’t fix itself.

But, whenever I’m told “there’s nothing you can do except wait it out and hope for the best” I don’t settle for that. The internet is too chalk full of information for me to believe this every time. So like I do, I turned to google and learned more about polyhydramnios. I learned that there is a lot of information out there about what polyhydramnios is and why it’s scary. According to WebMD, it can mean that there are some underlying problems with the baby and does put you at risk for certain conditions. These can be things like a prolapsed umbilical cord (the cord comes out before the baby), baby grows to be too big, premature birth, or even stillbirth.

What is Polyhydramnios?

Polyhydramnios is a condition where there is too much amniotic fluid in the uterus during pregnancy.

Amniotic fluid is measured by what’s called an AFI, or amniotic fluid index. A sonographer will go in a measure four quadrants of fluid, in centimeters, and add the numbers together.

If the measurement is at or above 25, then they want to induce. My first high measurement was just over 25.

Traditional Treatment of Polyhydramnios

A quick google search will show you that the traditional treatment for severe polyhydramnios and reducing amniotic fluid during pregnancy is having a procedure done called amniocentesis. This is where a needle is inserted into the amniotic sac and fluid is drawn out. Medication can also be prescribed for pregnant women to take that will reduce the fluid.

My fluid wasn’t high enough for these procedures, but I was told by my midwives that because of the increased risks that come with polyhydramnios, I would be induced at 39 weeks if the fluid didn’t lessen. I am really not a fan of induction if I can help it.

Other than having a scheduled c-section with my twins, I have never been induced. I have allowed my body to naturally go into labor and it has been such a special experience for me. Giving birth is so different for everyone, and each of my birthing experiences have been different and special in their own ways. But induction is something that I really wanted to avoid. For me, there is something so empowering about letting my body and the baby decide when it’s time. I love being able to feel those early contractions. And I do love the unexpected experience that birth is by allowing my body to experience spontaneous labor. So having been told I would be induced, I was willing to try just about anything.

Cutting out sugar, dairy, gluten, and highly processed foods

Then I read about someone’s experience on a forum explaining how they cut out sugar, dairy, gluten, and processed foods. Within a week, their amniotic fluid had significantly decreased and was no longer in the risk zone. This was one of the few things I read about diet affecting polyhydramnios and reducing amniotic fluid during pregnancy.

But this diet change was very intriguing to me. I have always thought of myself as healthy, but I have never cut out any of these things so strictly for an extended period. I’m not a dieter, but I try to eat healthy foods. However, with the thought of induction looming over my head, I was so ready to try something. So I committed to cutting out sugar, dairy, gluten, and highly processed foods.

Amniotic Fluid Reduced

I didn’t see the fast results as I read about, but over about six weeks’ time, with very little deviation from these diet restrictions, I watched my fluid gradually go down each week. I had weekly non stress tests and fluid checks, and things got better.

Like I said earlier, my initial AFI (amniotic fluid index) was just over 25. After six+ weeks on my diet, my final measurement was at 11!

I was so thrilled with these results and was able go into spontaneous labor without induction, and delivered a healthy baby boy at 40 weeks and 2 days gestation. My midwives were even surprised with the success I had with reducing amniotic fluid!

Surprise Side Effects and What I Learned From a Diet Change

I am so grateful for the reduction of amniotic fluid in my pregnancy. That was my main goal in cutting out sugar, dairy, gluten, and processed foods. What I didn’t know was the other things that would happen as I made these diet changes. Here’s what happened:

• Fewer Braxton Hicks-Braxton Hicks contractions started around 20 weeks during this pregnancy. And I had a lot of them. I noticed a pretty quick reduction in the amount of these early contractions when I started this diet change. They came back as the weeks went on and my pregnancy progressed, but initially, I noticed a big difference.
• Better Sleep-I am amazed at how well I slept during pregnancy. Even in the last few weeks of pregnancy, I was able to sleep well with relatively few interruptions from discomfort or needing to use the bathroom.
• More Energy-Pregnancy takes quite the toll on a woman’s body, but I was amazed that my energy increased in the third trimester instead of decreasing.
• Less Swelling-I walked a fair amount during this pregnancy, but my fingers didn’t swell! Even when I’m not pregnant, I feel like I would often get swollen fingers after a walk. And I know that my overall swelling went down during pregnancy. I only noticed slight swelling in my feet and fingers in the last week or so of pregnancy. I attribute this to the significant reduction of inflammatory foods in my diet.
• Clearer Skin– I haven’t dealt with bad acne during my life, but before this diet change, I did notice pimples appearing around my nostrils. This was a place I had not seen acne before. The diet change cleared it up!

Conclusion and Thoughts about Polyhydramnios

This pregnancy compelled me to make some dietary changes that have really impacted my life. I attribute the decrease of amniotic fluid, and all of these other pleasant side effects to the cutting out of inflammatory foods like sugar, dairy, gluten, and processed foods. And honestly, it has just reinforced what I already believe to be true about food: inflammation can be increased or decreased with food! This is such an empowering idea to me that what we put in our bodies really does matter. I believe that so many health problems can be improved by reducing inflammation. Food is medicine! Even, and maybe especially(!), during pregnancy!

Not eating sugar but craving something sweet? You may like to try my Vegan Chocolate Cashew Pie or Chickpea Chocolate Cookies! Healthy eating doesn’t have to be boring or treat-less!