Lifestyle Fashion

Pregnancy and low back pain, what every pregnant woman should know

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

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

Posture changes during pregnancy:

Pregnancy and low back pain are due to pregnancy weight gain and the automatic adjustments your body makes in posture to accommodate the growing uterus. This change in posture is called lordosis of pregnancy. Upper and lower back pain and pregnancy lordosis go hand in hand because your spine becomes super curved, elongated and your breasts and buttocks stick out pulling and stretching your back muscles.

Pregnancy hormones:

In addition to this, back pain and pregnancy go hand in hand due to the higher levels of pregnancy hormones it produces. Pregnancy hormones have a relaxing effect on many of the muscles in your body to accommodate the muscle stretching required during pregnancy. Relaxed muscles do not support the spine and abdominal muscles as much, which is why many women complain of back pain and shoulder stress during pregnancy.

Pelvic changes during pregnancy:

The female pelvis is made up of many different bones. When she reaches the end of her pregnancy, a baby cannot fit in the pelvis of a normal-size woman without the pelvis opening and expanding. The pelvis has two main joints; one to the right and one to the left of the lower back along with a hinge joint at the far end of the spine.

Back pain and the pulling and stretching of the pregnancy ligaments are the direct result of the pelvic opening, which will allow your baby’s head to latch onto or enter the pelvic socket. Pregnancy and low back pain are also caused by excessive pressure that is felt deep within the pelvis when your baby sits and waits for labor to begin.

All of these factors taken together, it is not unusual for pregnant women to have back pain. So if you have back pain right away, start doing things to keep your back pain from getting worse or getting out of control.

How to help minimize symptoms associated with pregnancy and low back pain:

I definitely recommend taking a nice warm bath, putting good warm compresses on your back, or better yet getting back massages to help you with pregnancy and lower back pain.

I absolutely recommend that all pregnant women see a chiropractor during pregnancy. Many obstetricians, gynecologists, and traditional midwives are a little afraid of referring women to a chiropractor because they are simply not informed about what chiropractors actually do. A chiropractor can help your spine adjust more easily to all of the postural changes that occur during your pregnancy and ease the pain associated with tight, pulled muscles associated with pregnancy and low back pain.

Other than that, let’s see what things you can do with your own body to help minimize back pain and pregnancy. Wearing a good bra during pregnancy will support breast weight gain and lift 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 a host of pregnancy stomach binders that have been created to help support the weight of your growing uterus, which can help ease back pain and ligament discomfort of pregnancy.

Many women focus on fashionable shoes and wear ridiculous footwear during pregnancy that doesn’t fit their posture or feet. I can’t believe how many pregnant women are wearing ridiculously high or low shoes. Remember, as you get pregnant, all the bones and muscles in your feet get stressed.

Take a good look at the shoes you used during your pregnancy and ask yourself these questions to assess the importance of your feet:

Do your shoes have a good arch of support?

Are your shoes nice and wide to accommodate the increasing growth and widening of my foot associated with the extra blood volume and swelling that occurs 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 the pregnancy, the better decisions you will make. Better choices mean a happier, healthier mom and baby. Pregnancy can be an extraordinary experience for a woman. It is much more than growing a baby and understanding pregnancy and low back pain.

Pregnancy has a great emotional, mental, spiritual and energetic side. The more you understand these aspects, the easier and less symptomatic your pregnancy will be. Learning to connect with your fetus’ emotions will allow you to enhance your pregnancy experience and indulge in your normal physiological process of pregnancy and low back pain.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *