Ouch! Motherhood!

Nothing compares to motherhood. There is the sensation, both wondrous and alien, when the growing fetus moves or kicks. Soon after there are the overwhelming feelings of love and awe a new mother feels when presented with her newborn. In the succeeding weeks and months, the new mother is fascinated, sometimes to a level that friends may find tiresome, by each little change she observes in her baby.

Sounds blissful, right? Did I forget to mention the anxiety, nausea, weight gain, sleepless nights and aches and pains that are also a part of motherhood? While some of these things are unavoidable, this article addresses what we can do to minimize aches and pains and baby care related injuries to the new mom.

PREGNANCY

A pregnant woman’s center of gravity moves increasingly forward as the baby grows so it is common to lean back a bit to compensate. This can cause back pain. Indeed 50-70% of pregnant women experience some back pain or discomfort. The best way to counteract this is through good posture. Stand up straight with shoulders back and down and relaxed.

You can also try the following simple exercises to help relieve or prevent back pain and strengthen the back:

Seated "rag doll" - Sit in a chair and bend forward slowly letting your arms hanging down in front of you. Hold for 5 seconds and then sit up slowly. Repeat 5 times. Note: not recommended for sciatica.

Backward stretch-Kneel on hands and knees, with arms under your shoulders and knees under your hips. Keeping your hands where they are slowly lower your butt back toward your feet. Hold 5 seconds. Slowly return to the start position. Repeat 5 times.

Cat stretch- Start in the same position as the backward stretch. From there slowly arch your back like an angry kitty. Return to start position. Repeat 5-10 times.