Lower Back Pain in Early Pregnancy

The weight you gain during pregnancy is good for your baby, but it can be bad for your back.

Change in center of gravity. As your uterus grows, your center of gravity shifts forward. Gradually — and perhaps without notice — you begin to adjust your posture and the way you move. These compensations can lead to backaches and back pain.

Lower back pain during pregnancy is very common in pregnant woman. It is generally located at and above the waist in the center of the back. It may or may not be concurrent with pain that radiates into your leg or foot.

Early pregnancy has its share of discomforts. Soon after you conceive, your body begins a series of major changes that enable it to sustain your baby through 37 weeks of growth and development. The glands of your endocrine system and placenta step up hormone production. Your blood volume increases and your uterus expands.

Causes of Lower back pain during pregnancy

At least 50 percent of women experience back pain during pregnancy. Pregnant women are prone to backaches and back pain for a number of reasons:

• Change in center of gravity – As your uterus grows, your center of gravity shifts forward. Gradually, and perhaps without notice, you begin to adjust your posture and the way you move. These compensations can lead to backaches and back pain.

• Extra weight – The weight you gain during pregnancy is good for your baby, but it can be bad for your back.

• Your hormones – During pregnancy, the hormone relaxin causes the ligaments between your pelvic bones to soften and your joints to loosen in preparation for your baby’s passage through your pelvis during birth.

• As the structures that support your pelvic organs become more pliant, you may feel considerable discomfort on either side of your lower back, often with walking, especially up and down stairs.

Care and treatment for lower back pain in pregnancy

Back pain can occur at any time during pregnancy. For many women, it interferes with daily activities and the ability to get a good night’s sleep. Following are some suggestions to help decrease your chance of suffering from back pain during your pregnancy.

1. Be proactive and get rid of back pain before you conceive. If you have a bad back, pay some attention to it before you become pregnant.
2. Seek appropriate treatment, learn correct exercises, and improve your aerobic conditioning. There are many reasons to get in better shape before pregnancy.
3. Stay active – regular exercise is your best friend. Simple cardiovascular exercise is one of the best means of decreasing the risk for back pain.
4. Back stretching and strengthening exercises help also, but aerobic exercise is best. Of course, pregnancy is not the time to begin a new exercise program. But if you have been active before, continuing to exercise while pregnant gives you many benefits.
5. If you are uncertain, ask your prenatal provider.
6. Don’t be overactive – Your body is undergoing an amazing process that requires a lot of energy.

Your hormones. During pregnancy, the hormone relaxin causes the ligaments between your pelvic bones to soften and your joints to loosen in preparation for your baby’s passage through your pelvis during birth. As the structures that support your pelvic organs become more pliant, you may feel considerable discomfort on either side of your lower back, often with walking, especially up and down stairs.

Back pain can occur at any time during pregnancy. For many women, it interferes with daily activities and the ability to get a good night’s sleep.

Ectopic pregnancy

If a woman has an ectopic pregnancy, she may experience the typical early pregnancy symptoms, including nausea and breast tenderness. Or, she may have no early symptoms at all and may not even realize that she is pregnant. About a week after the first missed menstrual period, one may notice:
• Slight vaginal bleeding that is usually brown in color. Women often mistake this bleeding for a normal menstrual period.
• Pain in the lower abdomen, felt mainly on one side.

If you experience these symptoms, especially if you know you are pregnant or suspects you might be, you should see a doctor right away. Unfortunately, the embryo cannot be saved in the nearly all ectopic pregnancy cases. However, prompt treatment can keep the fallopian tube from rupturing, saving your fertility and perhaps your life.
Without treatment, the symptoms of the ectopic pregnancy will worsen over several days or weeks. They include:
• Severe pelvic pain
• Shoulder pain caused by blood from a ruptured

A ruptured ectopic pregnancy is a serious condition and can be life threatening. If you experience symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy, see your doctor or go to a hospital emergency room right away.
Preterm labor is usually defined as having regular contractions and dilation of your cervix before the 37th week of your pregnancy. This can either be done deliberately by your health care provider due to a pregnancy complication that you or your baby have developed, or it could be spontaneous.

Causes of this are:

• Abnormal placenta or even severe Cervix complications
• Genital tract infections. Bacteria may cause the sac to weaken and cause a premature rupture, which then would lead to a preterm birth
• Chronic maternal illnesses such as pre-gestational diabetes, sickle cell anemia, severe asthma etc.

The following risk factors are related to premature labor and can be controlled by you. Eliminating the ones that apply to you will give your baby the best chances of being carried to term (between 38 and 42 weeks).
• Smoking
• Alcohol use
• Drug abuse
• Inadequate weight gain
• Inadequate nutrition
• Gum infection
• Heavy physical labor
• Infection
• Hormonal imbalance
• Incompetent cervix or premature cervical effacement and dilation
• Uterine irritability
• Placenta previa
• Chronic maternal illness such as high blood pressure, heart, liver, kidney disease, or diabetes
• Extreme emotional illness
• Under age seventeen
• Over age thirty-five
• Low educational or socioeconomic level
• Structural abnormalities of the uterus or large fibroids
• Multiple gestations
• Fetal abnormality
• History of premature deliveries

Preterm labor is a very serious complication of pregnancy. Unfortunately, many women do not understand the signs of preterm labor. Early detection can help prevent premature birth and possibly enable you to carry your pregnancy to term or to give your baby a better chance of survival. If you experience any of the below signs or symptoms, be sure to contact your health care provider immediately:

• An increase of vaginal discharge especially a sudden gush of clear watery fluid from your vagina
• Spotting or bright red blood from your vagina
• Menstrual like cramping or more than 5 contractions in an hour
• Increase in pressure in the pelvic area
• Low back pain or pressure, or a change in the nature of lower backache
• Swelling or puffiness of the face or hands
• Painful urination, signifying urinary tract, bladder or kidney infection
• Acute or continuous vomiting
• Intense pelvic pressure

One of the first things that your practitioner will tell you to do if you are having contractions is staying very well hydrated. What happens with dehydration is that the blood volume decreases, therefore increasing the concentration of oxytocin (hormone that causes uterine contractions) to rise. Hydrating yourself will increase the blood volume. Others things that you can do would be:

• Pay attention to signs and symptoms of infections (bladder, yeast, etc.) because they can also cause infections
• Keeping all of your appointments with your practitioner and calling whenever you have questions or symptoms. A lot of women are afraid of jumping to conclusions but it is much better to be incorrect than to be in preterm labor and not being treated. Also, be sure to follow your practitioner’s recommendations as to limitations on strenuous activity, including sexual intercourse and hours spent on the job
• Getting good dental care
• Avoiding smoking, cocaine, alcohol, and other drugs not prescribed by your doctor
• Get tested for any infections, especially those of the genital tract

The best key is always prevention and early detection. Make sure to ask your practitioner to discuss the signs and symptoms of preterm labor to you and your partner at your next visit.

Related Posts:

1. Acupuncture relieves pelvic pain during pregnancy
2. Preterm Labor – What is Preterm Labor
3. Back Pain During Pregnancy
4. Pelvic Pain During Pregnancy
5. Ectopic Pregnancy Symptoms Information
6. Pregnancy Leg Pain
7. Bleeding During Pregnancy
8. Pelvic Pain Symptoms
9. How To Prevents Pregnancy Back Pain
10. Preterm Labor – Preterm Labor Suspicious Signs