Spine Health Article

Back Pain and Pregnancy-How to Cope

Unfortunately, very few pregnant women make it through their entire pregnancy without experiencing back pain, particularly if the baby is large, or if they are carrying multiples. Pregnancy can cause many not-so-nice symptoms, such as heartburn, swelling, fatigue, headache, pelvic pain, joint pain, and back pain, just to name a few of the more common complaints. The bad thing is that you can’t really take the medications that you ordinarily might take to help alleviate your pain, as you risk a chance of it crossing the placenta, and getting to your unborn baby, so you have to be extremely careful here. You should let your doctor know about your back pain, and discuss your options, as there are treatment options that may help you, that are safe even in pregnancy. There is no reason why you should have to spend your pregnancy in misery, so just talk to your obstetrician.

Sometimes, your back pain that plagues you during pregnancy may just come and go, off an on for a period of days or weeks, it may not be a constant thing that you are having to deal with everyday. However, for some women, the back pain starts as early as the first trimester, and doesn’t go away for months, sometimes not even after delivery.

In most cases, pregnant women are not plagued by back pain until after the fifth month of pregnancy, which is when a lot of the pregnancy weight is gained, and starts to take its toll. Women who have had back problems prior to becoming pregnant, are much more likely to have to deal with chronic back pain during their pregnancy, and in some, it starts early into the pregnancy.

Most back pain that we experience during pregnancy is confined to our lower backs, which is where most of the burden of the extra weight is carried, or pelvic related pain. Some women even experience what is known as back labor during labor and delivery, meaning that they feel their labor pains in their lower back rather than their stomachs, and this makes for a very excruciating labor.

Pregnancy related back pain is not something that is easily cured, oftentimes lasting for years after delivery, due to the weakening of the back and pelvic muscles. You may find that strengthening and flexibility exercises help, but don’t attempt any of these without first checking for your obstetrician’s approval, either during your pregnancy, or shortly after delivery. If you plan to get an epidural for pain relief during labor and delivery, you should also talk to both your obstetrician and your anesthesiologist first, just to be certain there are no issues with your back that might cause problems during the procedure. Sometimes, women who have epidurals during labor report that they have more back problems after delivery than they did before, and it often lasts for a long time, especially if they make no efforts to do any kind of exercise to help them lose the extra weight and strengthen their weakened back muscles.