Your post-pregnancy body: easing breastfeeding back pain

by team January 29, 2024

When you become a mum, your body changes. You have just given birth, one of the most amazing, emotional, physically challenging, and rewarding experiences of your life – it’s okay if your body feels some strain after welcoming your little one into the world.

Your post-pregnancy body may feel slightly different, and you may experience some common physical complaints, such as back pain, related to your pregnancy or birth, or related to your new routine such as lifting, carrying, or breastfeeding your baby.

A new mum’s back is put under a lot of strain every day, but there are lots of things you can do to help yourself.

Breastfeeding & back pain explained

Breastfeeding is a skill. Many women put themselves under enormous pressure trying to master it instantly. If you do choose to try and breastfeed, it is important to be kind to yourself and allow time for you and your baby to learn, and to seek advice from health professionals whenever you need it. NHS guidance reminds mums that there are many different breastfeeding positions, such as the cradle hold and the rugby hold, and it is good to try out different ones to work out what is best.

However, your back pain could be due to your own posture during a feed, and this can be eased with some posture correction.

Top tips: breastfeeding & posture

The number one tip to avoid back pain when breastfeeding is to keep your back straight. Always remember to bring your baby to your breast, rather than bending over baby to breastfeed.

Before a feed, make sure you are in a comfortable position, with relaxed arms and shoulders. Use a cushion to help support your lower back, and to keep your back straight. If the cradle hold is a breastfeeding position that works for you and baby, sit in a comfortable chair with good back support and arm rests, or on a bed with cushions or pillows around you. If you are sitting on a chair, try resting your feet on a stool or small table – this will stop you from leaning forward which can make your back ache.

Working on your posture when breastfeeding may help with back pain, but you may still experience backaches from your new daily routine with baby.

Ways to relieve your aching back

Your body is still recovering in the weeks and months after pregnancy and childbirth, and your back pain will improve over time. However, there are practical ways to ease the pain:

Try not to bend your back. When lifting your baby, make sure you keep your back straight and bend at your knees, not your waist. This means you are lifting with your legs, not your back.
If possible, try kneeling in front of your baby when putting them into the car seat, instead of bending your back.
Remember to avoid twisting your body when you are holding your baby and try not to carry your baby on your hip, as this can put strain on your back muscles.
When picking toys up off the floor or bathing your baby, try kneeling or squatting instead of bending your back.
Keep your back straight when you push your pram or buggy.
Try carrying your baby in a well-fitting sling which will help hold your baby’s weight up and into your body and allow you to stand straight and relieve your back. Check out our blog on the benefits of babywearing. Here at Mumie we love the Ergobaby Omni 360 sling – comfortable yet secure and supportive for both you and baby.
Change nappies on a raised surface. You could try kneeling on the floor next to a sofa or bed.
Speak to your GP about whether your body is ready for some gentle exercise, like Pilates or yoga. This can help strengthen your back muscles and improve posture and flexibility. Returning to exercise? Have a read of our blog on how to do this safely after having your baby.

Bring it up at your postnatal check

If a physical problem like back pain is worrying you, you can always ask your GP or a health visitor for help at any time. Your postnatal check at around 6 to 8 weeks is a good chance to talk to your GP about how you are doing since the birth. You can find lots of information on how you can prepare for your postnatal check on the Mumie app.

Although post-pregnancy back pain is common, it is also important to listen to your body, be gentle with yourself and rest up whenever you can. If you are breastfeeding and you have an aching back, or your back is hurting from your new mum routine, remember that what your body has achieved and continues to achieve every day is powerful and should be celebrated.

Karen McCusker is a Copywriter from Ireland, with a passion for creating meaningful connections with others through language. Her goal is to amplify women’s voices and experiences through her writing. She describes herself as a storyteller at heart, and the ultimate “Swiftie”

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Privacy Policy

Updated: 18th May 2023 This privacy policy explains how Mumie ("we" or "us") collects, uses, and shares information about you when you access or use our website or web application ("App") collectively our "Services". Mumie is committed to complying with data protection and privacy law. We take your privacy seriously and are committed to protecting your personal information. Please read this policy carefully to understand our practices regarding your personal data.

Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of information when you use our Services:

Personal Information: We may collect personal information, such as your name, email address, baby's date of birth and contact information when you create an account.
Health Information: We may collect health information such as your demographics and aspects of your medical history to provide you with personalised health recommendations and to help you track your progress
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Website usage: Website users do not create accounts, however, may still be subject to certain passive data collection. Such passive data collection may include cookies (please refer to separate Cookie Policy), IP address information, location information, and certain browser data, such as history and/or session information.

Mumie is intended to be used by women who have recently given birth. It is not intended to be used by children.

How We Use Your Information

We may use the information we collect for the following purposes:

To Provide Services: We use the information to provide you with the services offered by the App, including personalised health recommendations, and to improve the quality of those services.
To Communicate: We may use your contact information to communicate with you about our Services, including updates, promotions, and other news.
To Improve the App: We use the information to understand how users interact with the App and to improve its design, content and functionality.
To Comply with Legal Obligations: We may use your information to comply with legal obligations, such as responding to court orders or complying with applicable laws.

We will store this information within our App so that you can have access to it for as long as you are our registered user. We may also use it for statistical and research purposes, but only in an aggregated and anonymised format (i.e., in a format that does not allow us to identify who this information relates to). The information you provide will be processed on one or more of the following lawful bases:

The consent you provide to us at the point of collection of your personal information, including explicit consent for processing special personal data to include health data
The performance of the contract we have with you
The compliance of a legal obligation to which we are subject
The performance of scientific research, preparation of statistics or public health activities
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How We Share Your Information

We may share your information with the following types of entities:

Service Providers: We may share your information with service providers that help us operate the App or provide the services offered through the App.
Business Partners: We may share your information with business partners, such as insurers or healthcare providers, to provide you with more personalised health recommendations.
Legal Authorities: We may share your information with legal authorities, such as law enforcement agencies or courts, to comply with legal obligations or in response to a legal request.

We may share your information with other parties with your consent. Your information will not be transferred out of the UK.

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The App and/or website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy notices and practices. When you leave the Web App or Website, we encourage you to read the privacy policy of every website or app you visit. In the event of acquisition of Mumie, your data may be shared with the new owners.

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We may use your contact details to provide you with information about our work, events, services and/or activities which we consider may be of interest to you. Where we do this via email, SMS, or telephone, we will not do so without your prior consent. You are free to opt out from receiving marketing communications by following the "unsubscribe" link in our email, or by contacting us directly. We will get your express opt-in consent before we share your personal data with any third party for marketing purposes.

Security of Your Information

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered, or disclosed. Your data will be stored on a secure web server, with the app hosted on a trusted host provider with regular security update enhancements. Your personal data can only be accessed by those within Mumie who have a genuine need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instruction, and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality. We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so. While we will use all reasonable efforts to safeguard your personal data, you acknowledge that the use of the internet is not entirely secure and for this reason, we cannot guarantee the security or integrity of any personal data that are transferred via the internet. We can not be held responsible for unauthorised access or use of your information that is beyond our control.

Data retention

We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for. We may retain your personal data for a longer period in the event of a complaint or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation in respect to our relationship with you. Typically, we will not keep your personal data for longer than 5 years after you have closed your account on our App or stopped using it, after which point personal data will be destroyed. We may anonymise your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

Your Rights

You have the right to access and control your personal information, including the right to be informed about what data we hold, the right to access this data, the right to rectify inaccurate data, the right to erase your data, the right to restrict or object to your information being used, and the right to move your data to another business. If you have any questions about your rights or would like to exercise your rights, please contact us using the information provided at the end of this policy. When signing up to our app you will be asked to provide your consent to share your information. You have the right to withdraw this consent at any time and may do so by contacting us. You have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK supervisory authority for data protection issues (ico.org.uk) We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. If we make changes, we will notify you by revising the date at the top of the policy and, in some cases, we may provide you with additional notice (such as adding a statement to our website homepage or sending you a notification). We encourage you to review the Privacy Policy whenever you access the Services or otherwise interact with us to stay informed about our information practices and the choices available to you. Your continued use of our services after the effective date of the updated policy will constitute your acceptance of the revised policy.

Contact Us

The Party responsible for the processing of your personal data is Mama Health Ltd. The Data Protection Officer (DPO) is Dr Laura Davies. The Data Protection Officer may be contacted using the contact us page on the website. If you have any questions or concerns about our privacy policy, please contact us using the contact page on our website or by emailing us at hello@mumie.health

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