Pregnancy and labour take a toll on you physically, emotionally and mentally. Exercise, diet and rest are the three most important things to pay attention to in order to keep yourself strong and fit. However, there are several issues that can arise during a pregnancy that you may not have prepared for. One of them is back labour.
Pregnant women sometimes experience pain during labour, which can occur in the abdomen and pelvic region but is most common in the lower back. This is known as Back Labour. It occurs in around a fourth of all pregnant women, and the pain is usually worse when going through contractions. This is most commonly assumed to be due to the force exerted by the foetus on your lower back.
Back labour pain is at its peak during and between your contractions, making it nearly unbearable during this time. What does back labour feel like in the beginning? The pain you feel during labour is usually manageable at first, feeling like standard backaches. However, when contractions begin, an incredible burning feeling in the lower back could emerge, dwarfing the pain caused by the labour itself. Back labour pain is consistent with jumps in pain when the contractions arrive. Some women have described it as feeling as if your back is breaking with every contraction.
Studies have shown that there are multiple factors that affect back labour. Before you know how to control and cope with back labour pain, here are some of the reasons of back labour:
Back labour contractions are associated with several symptoms:
While there are no direct risks linked with developing back labour, there are a few factors associated with the posterior arrangement of the foetus.
Interestingly, sometimes, foetuses can be in a posterior position but not cause back labour in the mother at all. In a 2005 study conducted among women in labour, moms-to-be with posterior babies were not likelier to complain of back pain than women who had downward/sideward-facing babies. However, the study was inconclusive as 90% of the women eventually opted for an epidural for pain management.
While back labour can be extremely uncomfortable, it cannot hurt either you or your child. However, it is possible for posterior babies to drop into the birth canal, which can cause complications like difficult labour, exhaustion and vaginal tearing. This situation can be controlled by using forceps to pull the baby through the birth canal, episiotomies to enlarge the vaginal opening, or caesarean surgeries.
As back labour is most commonly caused by the baby sunny side up, fixing the position of the baby can help with the back labour pain. Some of the techniques used to improve foetal position are:
Labour time is stressful enough for an expecting mother without having to deal with the physical discomfort of back labour. The treatment for back labour is easy to do and quite effective.
It is not possible to tell if you will experience back labour when giving birth. However, as mentioned above, fixing the position of the baby is one of the best methods to prevent back labour. In addition to getting your baby the right way up, visiting your chiropractor regularly will help to manage any developing pains. Ensure you get an ultrasound done to check the baby’s position often so you can start treatments as soon as you find out your baby is posterior. You can also visit a childbirth training class to receive advice and pain-relieving techniques from someone trained in the subject.
There are a few other methods to have a comfortable pregnancy without back labour. Some of these are:
Although back labour is incredibly painful, it does not indicate that anything is wrong with your pregnancy. The outcome of most back labour cases is a normal birth. However, a few women might require an epidural to take care of the pain. The most important thing you can do is to stay fit and be in tiptop shape for the arrival of your baby.