VTE Risk Score Calculator in Pregnancy

Venous thromboembolism includes deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Pregnancy and the weeks after delivery increase clotting tendency through changes in coagulation, blood flow, and pressure on pelvic veins. The absolute risk remains low for many people, but it rises when pregnancy-related changes occur alongside personal, medical, obstetric, or temporary risk factors. Structured assessment helps an obstetric team decide who needs closer review and whether preventive measures may be appropriate. This calculator summarizes a limited set of recognizable antenatal factors. It assigns four points for previous VTE, three for a known thrombophilia, one for age thirty-five or older, one for BMI from thirty through 39.9, two for BMI of forty or more, and one each for smoking, multiple pregnancy, and prolonged immobility. A total of zero is labeled lower, one or two intermediate, and three or more higher. The labels communicate relative score bands only; they are not probabilities of developing a clot. Real clinical guidelines are more detailed. They distinguish the circumstances and recurrence risk of a previous clot, the type of inherited or acquired thrombophilia, family history, cancer, heart or lung disease, inflammatory illness, severe infection, dehydration, hospital admission, surgery, ovarian hyperstimulation, preeclampsia, cesarean delivery, postpartum hemorrhage, and many other factors. Recommendations also vary by country, care setting, gestational stage, and whether assessment occurs before or after birth. This compact tool cannot reproduce all of those pathways. A high score does not automatically mean that medication is required, and a low score does not rule out VTE. Decisions about low-molecular-weight heparin or another preventive strategy require a clinician to balance clot risk against bleeding, delivery timing, anesthesia plans, kidney function, allergies, and patient preferences. Never start, stop, or change anticoagulant treatment based on an online result. Urgent symptoms require action rather than scoring. Seek emergency medical care for sudden shortness of breath, chest pain, coughing blood, collapse, or a new painful and swollen leg, especially when symptoms affect one side. For routine use, complete the calculator before an antenatal appointment and bring the result as a prompt to discuss every relevant factor. Risk changes during pregnancy and after delivery, so reassessment is important after hospitalization, reduced mobility, infection, surgery, or a major obstetric event.