A gropu of researchers have looked at the incidence of postpartum venous thromboembolism along with risk factors.
The article is entitled Incidence and Risk Factors of Venous Thromboembolism During Postpartum-Period: A Population Based Cohort Study.
The authors state that thte aim of the study was to "assess the incidence and mortality of VTE {venous thromboembolism] and identify its associated risk factors during different postpartum periods".
A large cohort of women was compared to nonpregnant women.
The researchers found that nearly half of the venous thromboembolism episodes happened between 43 and 180 days postpartum
The incidence of VTE was four-fold compared to that of non-pregnant women.
Older age, higher BMI, thrombophilia, multiple pregnancy, gestational diabetes, anemia, chorioamnionitis, threatening premature birth, in vitro fertilization with ovarian hyperstimulation, Cesarean section, cardiac or kidney diseases and varicose veins were associated with an increased risk for postpartum venous thromboembolism.
Dr Karamanoukian's note: As can be seen from this large study of over 60,000 patients, the presence of varicose veins is a risk for venous thromboembolism in the postpartum period.