O22: Venous complications and haemorrhoids in pregnancy

O22.1: Genital varices in pregnancy

Veins are blood vessels that transport the blood back to the heart. A distinction is drawn between surface veins beneath the skin and deeper-lying veins in the body’s tissue.

During a pregnancy, hormones can make the veins more elastic. As a result, the blood flows more slowly than usual through the veins. A slower blood flow can cause blood to back up in the veins. This can be seen as varicose veins from the outside.

The internal female genital organs include the uterus, the fallopian tubes and ovaries. The vagina is also one of the internal genital organs and goes from the uterus to the outside of the body. Varicose veins in the genital organs can cause the vaginal lips to swell up and be painful, for example.