Ay! My back!

[Assisi]

The best thing about my first prenatal class was the instruction we received about helping our backs during pregnancy and after we have baby.

Can we share some tips here of how to avoid back problems in the later stages of pregnancy and just after birth?

 

[tiredwalker]

Subscribes with no helpful tips.

 

[jgonz]

My best advice is to see your chiropractor the last few weeks of pregnancy, sit up straight in a hard chair (not a soft sofa that you'll get stuck in), and make sure to use Plenty of pillows to support the baby when breastfeeding (don't hunch over to nurse~ bring the baby UP to your breast and use pillows to support the baby.) Also, go Back to the chiro after birth to get yourself "put back together". That has made a HUGE difference for me in the past.

I'd love to hear other suggestions!

 

[Assisi]

The physio told us to make sure we have a supportive chair in which to nurse, and not to hunch over the baby too.

She also said we'll be doing a lot of lifting. Most women lift from their backs when it comes to babies etc, but she said make sure you bend your knees and your hips and keep your back neutral while you lift. Be it lifting the baby out of the cot, the pram out of the boot, or the capsule out of the back seat.

She also told us to never nurse while sitting on the edge of the bed.

 

[llghoney]

I have no tips yet either. Maybe when I go to my classes they will give us some. Like Jgoz said, I've read about sitting straight up. I find when I do stuff all day long my back KILLS me. And no matter how I sit it hurts. I've never been to a chiropracter they kinda scare me.

 

[jgonz]

If you decide to try a chiropractor, go to one who uses the Palmer method (it'll say in their Yellow Pages ad~ they're proud of going to the Palmer School of Chiropractic, it's like Ivy League chiro school. ). The adjustment is segment specific, not whip-snap like a regular chiro (in my experience anyway). Also, make sure that the chiro you go to is comfortable adjusting pregnant women and babies. It makes a Really big difference.

HTH~