If you are on this page, you’re more than likely familiar with all the changes the female body experiences during pregnancy. Changes that stick around long after delivery. New problems can develop in the postpartum period, like “mom posture.”
More than just hormones and mental health, having a baby takes a physical toll on your body, especially when you’re over 30. For me, having my second child at 32 really took a toll on my back and sciatic nerve. Like many moms, my back pain and bad posture did not go away after I delivered. In fact, this is when I started noticing my posture getting worse.
I was convinced my body was healing from a c-section and I had to just tough it out, like I did my first birth. I hoped I would eventually get back to normal. It wasn’t until almost seven months postpartum when my husband and I noticed a curve in my spine that I realized my back just wasn’t going to “get better on its own.”
The term “mom posture” is used to describe the hunched back, tense shoulders, and pelvic forward position mothers display most commonly after birth. In other words, the most comfortable way to stand after your body has been nursing nonstop, carrying car seats and exhausted from not having a full night’s rest since you were eight months pregnant.
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After reading countless articles, I realized this “default” position was adding to my neck pain and shoulder pain and giving me those unwanted tension headaches. The leaning forward at my hips was teaching my body to use my lower back to help compensate for the weight of my baby. I had weak core muscles. I found that good posture isn’t just something that serves an aesthetic purpose.
Good posture can help digestive problems, joint pain, and even the dreaded mom pooch!
I share my journey in hopes of reaching a mom who is thinking the pain is normal. It’s not. I have not yet discovered a quick fix for all the postnatal issues I’ve experienced, but I do have tips–things that I have done that have helped me. Here are my tips, dos and do nots, and the morning stretches I use to help me with my, still visible, “mom posture.”
1. Visit a Chiropractor
After noticing my spine, I schedule my first chiropractic appointment. Getting my back aligned has been the best money I’ve spent in a long while. But it was also important to see a professional to evaluate where I was at the moment. I was given helpful advice, shown stretches, and recommended a foam pillow to help correct problems that had developed years before I had my children. Most offices in El Paso, without insurance, will run you close to $180 or less. This includes X-rays, exam, massage, and alignment. Follow up appointments are usually about $80. That’s less than a mani/pedi!
2. Dos and Do Nots
After my alignment, a lot of what I was doing before my chiropractic visit felt unnatural. Here are my biggest “mom posture” mistakes and their correction:
3. Exercising and Stretching
After all my stretches, I’ll do a good five minute body foam roll, and I’m ready to take on the day.
So many changes go on during pregnancy that there is no denying it has an effect on your postpartum body. Not to mention everything we have to do once the baby arrives. These tips are a great way to support your body and help it get back to normal.
The journey is slow but trust me when I say, you will start to feel like yourself again!
The opinions expressed in this post are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of El Paso Mom, its executive team, other contributors to the site, its sponsors or partners, or any organizations the aforementioned might be affiliated with.
