Oh, the back.  A rather important part of the body that I didn’t give much thought to, until I messed it up.

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A little while after having my first child, I noticed that I had a sore tailbone when I sat for an extended period of time. It got to the point where I was sitting on a cushion to eat at the table (we have hard, wooden chairs).  I made sure to always sit in the comfier chairs at church (which are always near the front, and we were usually late because of the baby), and still I wanted to cry whenever I had to stand up.  For some reason, I ignored this issue completely.  Then at 8 months postpartum, my sciatic nerve started to hurt.  I would get sharp shooting pains in my left hip, shooting down my leg.  Once it got to the point where I could hardly walk, I decided that I should probably see someone.  Happily, Mr SH had recently been promoted to a position that included benefits such as visits to a chiropractor, so I asked around for references and booked an appointment with my new best friend.

At my first visit, the chiropractor had me stand with each foot on a scale.  My left foot was 15 lbs heavier than my right.  “That’s significant” she told me.  It turns out, I had two issues.  The tailbone pain was from delivery and poor posture during my first month postpartum.  Because everything was still all relaxed, my tailbone shifted and when my ligament went back to normal, it was in the wrong place.  The sciatic pain was from carrying a baby around on my hip too much; I was too lazy to pull out the ergo for short trips into the store, and was carrying little TG around the house a ton, leaving my back very curved (and causing that 15 lb lean.)

I promised to use the baby carrier or stroller more often and to have good posture while nursing.  After a few visits the sciatic pain went away and my tailbone improved, but was still an issue.  I asked her if we would be able to reposition it after my second baby and she said, probably yes.  Yay!

Fast forward a few months (but not that many) and I was pregnant for the second time, with Wonder Baby.  During my first pregnancy I had a very painful case of pubic symphysis.  As I understand it, my body produced plenty of relaxin, and sooner than necessary.  My pelvic area was all nice and relaxed with a huge pregnant belly pushing down on it.  This causes a fair bit of pain in the pubic area, as well as a fun grinding feeling if you move the wrong way.  Super.  From my research it seemed likely that I would experience this again with subsequent pregnancies, and earlier.  And I did.  I started getting pain in the pubic bone by the beginning of my second trimester.  The difference this time, was that I was seeing the chiropractor once a month.  She is experienced in pre and postnatal care, and knew exactly how to help keep everything lined up.  My quality of life was so much improved by this, it was crazy.  It still hurt to walk by the end of my pregnancy, but overall it made a huge difference.

After delivering Wonder Baby I went in at 5 days postpartum and then again at 4 weeks.  I was able to be properly aligned before all the relaxin left my body, and I haven’t had any pain in my tailbone since then.  I also have no issues lingering from the pubic symphysis, which can sometimes happen.  Mr SH and I both go regularly to be adjusted (every couple months or so) as carrying little people around all the time takes its toll on you, even when you’re trying to be careful about it.  I’ve even had both the girls adjusted, and will be taking them in on a yearly basis to be checked out.

So, for you, here is my advice:

While Pregnant

– If you are having back or pelvic pain, try getting to the pool.  I swam laps 3 times a week during my first pregnancy (right up to 3 days before delivering) and taught prenatal aquafit with both pregnancies.  Water is a fantastic way to take the pressure off and get some relief and exercise at the same time.  If you are able to get to a prenatal aquafit class, you will be able to strengthen your core in a safe manner, which will help keep your back healthy.

– If you are having any pain in your back or pelvic area, get a support belt.  During pregnancy #2 I wore this one, which was good because it had some boning.  I wore a tank under it and a belly band over it for comfort/discreetness, so I was happy that I was big in the winter!  I wore it whenever I knew I would be on my feet for a while.

– See a chiropractor who works with pre/postnatal women.  Her advice was invaluable and the adjustments made a huge difference.  Also, she taught me how to realign my pelvis every morning on my own, amazing!

– If you have pubic symphysis, sleep on your side with a pillow between you legs.  For me this was the difference between being able to walk or not in the morning.  Also, try to move your legs as a single unit when you roll over or sit up.

Postpartum 

– Try to get in to see the chiropractor right away, within a week of delivering.  Think about what your body had to go through to bring your child into the world. There are probably some things out of whack.  Then go again near the end of the first month, so that everything is well aligned when the relaxin leaves your body.

– Have good posture, especially for the first month and especially while nursing.  Try not to slouch; instead use a pillow and put your feet on a stool or the coffee table and bring the baby up to you.  This is the biggest way to ensure that you won’t end up with a weird tailbone like I did!  With my second baby, I didn’t even nurse in bed for the first month, I was so paranoid!

– As your baby gets older, watch your posture when you carry them around.  Mr SH tends to carry babies in front and curves his back too far, so I remind him to have good posture when I catch him.  I tend to carry on my hip, and it’s usually my left side so that my right hand is free.  I need to remember to switch sides often and to widen my stance so that I don’t pop my hip out as far.

– Get a baby carrier that puts weight on both your shoulders equally, and lets your hips take the bulk of the weight.  Soft structured carriers (I love my ergo!) are recommended, as are wraps like the Moby (which I hated, but a lot of people like).

And to everyone, I say: Don’t ignore back and pelvic pain!  Ignoring it usually makes it worse, not go away.  Even if you think it’s resolved itself, usually it just means that the rest of your body has found a way to compensate, which will cause you even more pain down the road.