Those new born days and weeks for most women can be described as a being a bubble of love and awe at what your body has produced. During the nine months prior to this we invest so much time making sure we eat healthy, exercise wisely and educate ourselves of what’s to come. 

We may have attended ante natal classes that focus on breastfeeding and focus on how to get that perfect latch. Some mothers and babies take to it easily but many have obstacles to overcome, such as suboptimal latch, tongue tie and nipple pain. 

Breastfeeding is supposed to be the most natural thing in the world but it isn’t in anyway easy. 

Someone that is often neglected at this precious time is the mum. It can affect us in so many ways particularly emotionally, mentally and also physically.

How does breastfeeding physically affect the mum?

Many postpartum women who attend the clinic have issues with neck pain, mid back pain, headaches, low back pain and even referred pain into the arm/ hand.  Basically their posture is inadvertently suffering from all that nursing, cuddling, holding and carrying of their little one.

Of course this doesn’t just apply to nursing mothers but also to those that bottle feed.

Tips on how you can help yourself:

• It’s important to ‘check in’ every so often when you’re feeding to make sure you’re not hunching over your baby constantly. This will put strain on those postural muscles and local joints.

• Bring the baby to you and use supports such as a nursing pillow to help.

• Look at changing nursing position if possible. For example try laid back nursing where you can relax more during feeding.

• Foam roll your mid back little and often to relieve tension.

• Start doing some gentle stretches for your mid back, chest, neck and hips.

• Chiropractic, soft tissue therapies and dry needling are excellent tools for relieving joint restrictions and muscle tension. As well as these, stability exercises are given to make sure these areas are better able to withstand the demands of everyday parenting.

If you are still in discomfort or experience an increase in symptoms consult your local health professional or contact us today for a consultation.