Hello friends! A conversation that I have been having a lot lately is about breastfeeding and carrying form with new parents. After giving birth, perfecting the breast feeding routine can be a cause of stress for many; there can be nipple cracking, mastitis, plus parents have to worry about if the baby is latching.
One thing new parents tend to not pay attention to as much is THIER feeding posture. When we think of our bodies in a feeding position carrying our children, we often collapse through our midback and look down, which can lead to neck pain, midback pain and headaches! Considering parents can spend hundreds of hours in this position, it is an important thing to think about!
So what does appropriate posture look like? Find a comfortable chair to sit in that allow you to sit upright, and use pillows to provide some support to your back if needed. During feeding, make sure to bring your baby to your nipple and not the nipple to the baby, so that you don’t collapse through your midback.
Try to keep your shoulders relaxed when carrying the baby, and to help with this you can use pillows to support your arms and help lift the baby’s head during feeding. To also help ensure success, try to keep anything you might need nearby within arm’s reach, so that you don’t have to twist to get it. Other options are to consider different positions, such as feeding in sidelying, to help reduce stress on your back.
Post-partum back pain is common among new parents; if this sounds familiar to you, come to CSC+M to be evaluated by our physical therapists to help reduce symptoms and aid in your post-partum recovery!
