Pregnancy and back pain, what every pregnant woman should know

Pregnancy and back pain, what every pregnant woman should know

Back pain and pregnancy, tips on what you can do to make your pregnancy and lower back pain easier to manage.

Normal weight gain in pregnancy is about 35 pounds, but many women I have met during my twenty-year midwifery career have gained 35 to 70 pounds during pregnancy. The stress of sudden weight gain during the short pregnancy cycle can cause back pain and pregnancy distress.

Change in pregnancy posture:

Pregnancy and lower back pain occur due to weight gain during pregnancy and your body's automatic posture adjustment to accommodate the growing uterus. This change in posture is called gestational lordosis. Upper and lower back pain and pregnancy lordosis go hand in hand as your spine becomes very curved and elongated and your chest and buttocks protrude, pulling and stretching your back muscles.

Pregnancy hormones:

Additionally, back pain and pregnancy go hand in hand due to the higher levels of pregnancy hormones you produce. Pregnancy hormones have a relaxing effect on many muscles in your body to compensate for the muscle stretching required during pregnancy. Relaxed muscles do not provide as much support to the spine and abdominal muscles, so many women complain of back pain and shoulder stress during pregnancy.

Pregnancy Pelvic Changes:

The female pelvis is made up of many different bones. As you near the end of your pregnancy, a baby cannot fit into a normal-sized woman's pelvis without the pelvis opening and expanding. The pelvis has two main joints; one to the right and one to the left of your lower back along with a hinge joint at the back of your spine.

Back pain and the pulling and stretching of the pregnancy ligament are a direct result of the opening of your pelvis, which allows your baby's head to encroach or enter the pelvic cavity. Pregnancy and lower back pain are also caused by the excess pressure felt deep in your pelvis as your baby sits and waits for labor to begin.

All these factors combined, it is not uncommon for pregnant women to experience back pain. So if you get back pain right away, do something to prevent your back pain from getting worse or getting out of control.

How to minimize symptoms related to pregnancy and back pain:

I definitely recommend taking a nice warm bath, putting nice warm compresses on your back, or even better, getting back massages to help ease your pregnancy and back pain.

I would recommend every pregnant woman to see a chiropractor during pregnancy. Many traditional obstetricians, gynecologists and midwives are a little afraid to send women to a chiropractor because they are simply uninformed about what chiropractors actually do. A chiropractor can help your spine adjust more easily to any postural changes that occur during your pregnancy and relieve pain associated with pulled and stressed muscles associated with pregnancy and lower back pain

Additionally, let's explore what you can do with your own body to minimize back pain and pregnancy. Wearing a good support bra during pregnancy supports the increased breast weight and lifts your breasts so they don't feel as heavy. This will relieve much of the upper back stress associated with pregnancy and lower back pain.

There are also many pregnancy gastric binders designed to support the weight of your growing womb and relieve back pain and ligament discomfort during pregnancy.

Many women focus on fashionable shoes and wear ridiculous shoes during pregnancy that do not support their posture and feet. I can't believe how many pregnant women out there wear ridiculously high or low shoes. Remember, as you become increasingly pregnant, all of the bones and muscles in your feet become stressed.

Look at the shoes you wear during your pregnancy and ask yourself these questions to evaluate the importance of your feet:

Do your shoes have a good arch support?

Are your shoes nice and wide to accommodate the increasing growth and widening of my foot associated with extra blood volume and swelling during pregnancy?

Can your foot easily slip out of your shoe? If so, you could trip and fall and injure yourself or your baby.

The more informed you are about pregnancy, the better decisions you will make. Better choices mean a happier, healthier mother and a healthier baby. Pregnancy can be an extraordinary experience for a woman. It's much more than having a baby and understanding pregnancy and back pain.

Pregnancy has a huge emotional, mental, spiritual and energetic side. The better you understand these aspects, the easier and less symptomatic your pregnancy will be. Learning how to connect with your unborn child's emotions can help you improve your pregnancy experience and indulge in the normal physiological process of pregnancy and lower back pain.

Inspired by Hannah Bajor