The blood clot warning every pregnant woman in Ireland needs to hear

When Alma de Bruijn started feeling lower back and leg pain at ten weeks pregnant, she assumed it would pass. It didn’t. Within 48 hours she couldn’t walk properly, her right foot had gone cold, and patches of discolouration were appearing on her leg. What followed was a diagnosis that shocked her — and a surgery she never imagined she’d need while carrying her first child.

Alma, who lives in Clonskeagh in Dublin, was 35 when this happened in 2021. She had no family history of blood clots, didn’t smoke and had a healthy BMI. On paper, she wasn’t the person you’d expect to develop a serious clot. And that’s exactly the point she wants other pregnant women to understand.

A diagnosis nobody saw coming

Alma was initially told she had sciatica and was recommended exercise, massage and paracetamol. She had a physiotherapy appointment booked but something nagged at her enough to ring her GP first. It was the right call.

“My right calf was 7cm bigger than the left calf at this point and my GP referred me to the Holles Street emergency department with a suspected clot,” Alma recalled.

At Holles Street, a scan confirmed her pregnancy was fine — which was her first and biggest concern. But the medical team were worried enough about the clot to administer blood thinners by injection before transferring her to A&E at St Vincent’s Hospital.

She was diagnosed with significant deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The clot had travelled from her calf all the way into her vena cava — one of the largest veins in the body. It was serious.

DVT occurs when blood clots form in deep veins, usually in the leg or arm. Symptoms can include swelling, pain, warmth or redness in one limb. Sometimes there are no symptoms at all, and DVT is only discovered if a complication develops — which is part of what makes it so dangerous.

Surgery while pregnant

Alma and her husband met with vascular and haematology specialists, her obstetrician and a consultant at the Mater Hospital who specialised in mechanical thrombectomies. The procedure carried risks, but crucially, it wouldn’t put the pregnancy in danger.

“While there were risks associated with the mechanical thrombectomy, it would not risk the pregnancy, which was the most important thing to us,” she said.

One week after her diagnosis she went under. The procedure was successful and a large portion of the clot was removed, but the weeks that followed were hard. Walking even short distances took a long time to manage. Her husband administered twice-daily blood thinner injections and she wore a compression stocking throughout — a significant adjustment for anyone, let alone someone in the middle of a pregnancy.

Almost five years on, Alma is healthy and well. So is her son, Zander, who is now four.

What every pregnant woman needs to know

Alma is sharing her story as part of an awareness campaign from the Irish Heart Foundation. The reason she wants to talk about it is simple: she didn’t know that pregnancy itself raises your risk of developing a clot — even without any of the usual risk factors.

“I did not know that I was at a higher risk of developing a clot due to pregnancy,” she explained.

Emily Bury, Chair of the Irish Heart Foundation Council on Thrombosis and Advanced Nurse Practitioner, says awareness genuinely saves lives.

“Around 5,000 people in Ireland develop a venous thromboembolism — a blood clot in a vein — each year,” she said. “Know your risk. Most blood clots occur in people with known risk factors. The risk is highest in the 90 days after a hospital stay, particularly for people who have had surgery, major injury, cancer or prolonged immobility.”

Emily also highlighted that risks can increase during pregnancy, after childbirth and with oral oestrogen treatments. “Greater awareness can lead to earlier diagnosis and better outcomes,” she said.

If you’re pregnant and experiencing swelling, pain or unexplained discolouration in a limb, don’t wait it out. Alma’s story is proof that trusting your instincts and picking up the phone can make all the difference.

For more information and supports on thrombosis, visit irishheart.ie.