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Back labor can result in more pain and longer labors. In some cases, it might mean that the baby needs to rotate to face the mother's back.
Mothers who have experienced back labor generally use expressions like "horrible" or "no break" from the pain when thinking back to the memory of their birth. Back labor is often the kind of labor that no one wants, not only due to the increased pain in the mother's back, but because it can cause labor to be long and grueling.
In many cases, the back labor is caused by the position of the baby's head on the mother's back. However, in some cases, the mother can feel back pain and the baby's position is actually favorable, known as anterior. In other cases, the baby may be positioned "sunny side up", which is known as posterior, yet the mother does not experience back pain. What do we know about back labor?
What is Back Labor?
Back labor is a type of labor in which the mother feels most if not all of her contraction pain in her lower back. Often the back pain not only occurs during the labor contractions, but also in between contractions so that the mother often feel continuous pain in her back throughout labor.
What causes Back Labor?
The size of the baby can cause the mother to feel discomfort in her back. If the labor progresses and the baby's head moves down, even a baby in an anterior position can cause back pain. It is likely however that the biggest cause of back labor comes from the baby being in a posterior position, where the back of the baby's head is toward the mother's back. This position forces the heaviest part of the baby's head to rest more heavily on the mother's lower back.
The exact medical term for a baby in this position is called occiput posterior since the occiputal bone in the back of the baby's skull aligns itself with the posterior section of the mother's pelvis. A baby who has rotated around to face the mother's back (which is typically a much more favorable position) is said to be in the occiput anterior position.
What are other symptoms of Back Labor?
In addition to back pain, mothers who experience back labor (especially when related to a baby in the occuput posterior position) often have the following signs and symptoms that occur with back labor:
- Slowed progress of labor - it is not unusual to have slowed progress or even a long break in progress during labor with back labor.
- Going into labor after your due date - it is not uncommon to be "late" with a posterior baby.
- No contractions after your water breaks - sometimes posterior babies/back labor causes your labor to start with water breaking but labor contractions do not begin on their own for quite awhile.
- Irregular labor contraction pattern - another symptom of a posterior baby/back labor is a contraction pattern that is not regular, for example labor contractions that "couple" with two together and longer spaces between them.
- Longer time pushing - it is not unusual for a posterior baby to take longer to push out since the diameter of the baby's head in the posterior postiion is larger as it descends.
Keep in mind that you may not have any of these symptoms if your baby is posterior. Every woman's body acts differently and there is no reason to assume that you will definitely have a longer labor just because your baby is posterior.
What are Ways to Prevent Back Labor?
While there are no guarantees to prevent back labor or a posterior baby with every mother, there are some ways to learn about your baby's position during pregnancy as well as techniques to rotate an occiput posterior baby to occiput anterior.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of the series on Back Labor for ways to prevent back labor.
Comments
Feb 5, 2009 2:50 AM
Guest
:
i had my little girl, 3 months ago now, and had not one contraction in my
stomach so i wasnnt quite sure if i was in labour, the pain in my
pain was continuous, there was nothing i could do to ease the pain! my
labour was 17hours and worse thann i cud imagine, even though my baby
was facing the right way, so why did i have back labour, the thought
of having this with my second baby terrifies me!
Feb 13, 2009 6:39 PM
Guest
:
I can relate to what you are saying, the continous back pain exhausted me
and in the end it was not a positive experience for me. She was anterior
too, like you. From what I have read, women can have very different
experiences with each baby. I would hate to think my next labour being like
the first, but second babys are nearly always easier to give birth to
people say.
Feb 19, 2009 6:43 PM
Guest
:
I gave birth to my son in December of 1997. When the labor pains started
they were in my back - and never stopped. I had one great bit giant 18
hour contraction. Two epidurals weren't even effective. After delivery we
came to discover that my pelvis had totally separated. The ligaments had
shredded out of the right pelvic bone and the SI joints had separated. The
distance of separation in the pubic symthesis was almost 4 sonimeters. Two
major surgeries and 11 1/2 years later I still live with unbearable chronic
pain,and an unstable, disconnected pelvis. Has there ever been anything
else like this? No one has ever been able to explain or identify what
happened? My son was sunny side up.
Feb 28, 2009 10:20 AM
Guest
:
I got delivered to baby girl on Dec 7th 2008 through back labour.I didnt
had contractions, so I was not sure i was in labour I had terrible pain
with 15 min gap in back and pelvic area for the first 2 nights and
continuous pain in the 3rd night that is not tolerable at last I went to
hospital , they said am fully dillated and the labour took 3 hrs and I had
back labour.whenever i remember my labour ,back pain am afraid to think of
my second baby.
Feb 28, 2009 10:11 PM
Guest
:
i had only back pain labour, no belly pain,, and discovered the benefits of
"water injectons". They are just sterile water injected into the
skin in your back,, very painful, like a wasp sting,, but geezzz what
relief. I couldnt have gone any longer without drugs and its such a relief
knowing i only had to do it with water injections! I know for sure next
time if it happens, ill have water injections a lot sooner!
Mar 10, 2009 5:27 PM
Guest
:
I've had 3 babies and am pregnant with my 4th. All three labors were
entirely in my back (I've never felt a uterine contraction). I'm still
trying to discover the reason for it and haven't found anything useful on
the web yet. All my babies were early and small and in the correct birthing
position. I'd be curious to hear if anyone knows anymore about what causes
it?
Mar 14, 2009 6:34 AM
Guest
:
I was in labor for 20 hours with contractions in my stomach and had the
epidural. Unfortunatly it didn't work and when it came time to push, i
started feeling this pain in my back that was so unbearable that it felt
like an elephant was pushing on my lower back. I thought that i was going
to break my back. I pushed for 2 hours, until the dr realised that my
baby's head was side ways and that's why I was having a hard time. They
ended up using forceps to deliver her. All I have to say is that the
epidural didn't even work during the pushing. I felt EVERYTHING. Even the
forceps...
Mar 17, 2009 9:38 AM
Guest
:
Hi everyone, I will be 38 weeks in one more day and the other night I was
having contractions in my back I tried everything to realive it because I
didnt know that could happen, but when I went to the hospital they sent me
home because the contractions didnt have a pattern and they wasnt dilating
me now today my back is still hurting so bad I cant get any rest at night.
I am so tired and miserbale, did any of you experience anything like this?
Am i going to have back labor?
Mar 18, 2009 4:41 PM
Guest
:
I had a membrane sweep 5 days ago, i am now 40+4 days. The past 3 days i
have had back labour. All the contractions are in my lower back and my
hubby has to hold my hand while i try and gasp for breath as the pain is
agony. I dont know if im in labour, or whats happening. The contractions
are so irregular, coming ever 20 mins, then maybe have 2 whoppers ones in
the space of 10 mins. Had a false alarm 4 nights ago and ended up in
hospital.They told me i wasnt in labour, but i was almost 2cm dilated and
sent me home with painkillers (which arent helping at all). So now i dont
know if im in labour or what. Dont want to go to the hospital again to be
sent home. How will i know when im in labour? So frustrating!!
Mar 24, 2009 5:07 PM
Guest
:
I am 36 weeks pregnant with my first and started having lower back pain
yesterday. I went to the hospital last night and I was sent home at only
one centimeter dilated. I'm hoping this will be over soon so the back pain
will go away. Could anyone tell me possibly how much longer I will have to
go with this disturbing pain?
May 21, 2009 7:06 PM
Guest
:
My last baby was born sunny-side up a couple of years ago, and it was
hellishly painful, but what made it worse is how the hospital handled it.
I had just about every symptom listed above, but the doctors weren't sure
how to handle themselves. They refused to let me stay in the hot shower
that helped so well to reduce the back pain, they forced me to lie down for
both monitoring and delivery, etc. I have since learned (from midwives,
doulas, and other natural birthing coaches) that the best two strategies to
handle back labor (other than "spinning" before labor or early
on) are to A) stay in water--shower or bath--as long as possible, and B)
try to deliver on hands and knees, or at least relatively upright,
especially if the baby is big (mine was over 9 pounds). Pain meds can make
these options impossible, but I think I actually would have been in less
pain for less time if the hospital staff had cooperated when I had listened
to how my body was reacted and made these requests. It was their lack of
support that actually resulted in me finally requesting an epidural at 9
1/2 centimeters. I hope to deliver in a hospital with more midwives and
with a doula this time around! I hope other people will read this and
benefit.
Jun 20, 2009 10:53 PM
Guest
:
i am 36 weeks and 6 days and i am known for fast and arly labor with no
contractions. i am not haveing contractions right now but my back hurts so
bad that i can barley stand up and walk could this bee back labor oh yeah i
am also dialated 1 centmeter and half as of last tuseday.
Jun 28, 2009 8:45 PM
Guest
:
I've had two children, one weighing 8lbs.1oz., the second was 8 lbs.12 oz.
With both girls, I had extreme back labour and never felt a
"contraction". I was told when to push. The pain never let up
until the babies were born. Luckily, mby first child's labour was 5 hours
and the second was only 2 hours, of which one hour I spent pushing. I was
told they were both facing the "wrong" way which is why I had the
back labour. The pain was excruciating, and neither prenatal classes or my
doctor ever mentioned anything about "back labour" before my
first child was born.
13 Comments
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