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Back Labor

Symptoms and Causes of Back Pain in Labor

Jan 2, 2008 Brenda Lane

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.

The copyright of the article Back Labor in Pregnancy & Childbirth is owned by Brenda Lane. Permission to republish Back Labor in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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18 Comments

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.
Aug 26, 2009 4:26 PM
Guest :
I had back labor with my first child. I'm not sure why because I was not told that she was in an incorrect position or anything like that. My labor was only three hours from start to finish. I am now pregnant with my fifth child. Each labor keeps getting shorter so I am down to about 45 minutes on average start to finish now! But I mainly wanted to tell those of you that are concerned about having a second child because you had back labor, do not be scared. I have had all mine without any pain reliever or epidural or anything and I'm happy to report that I have never had back labor since the first. So, just because you've had it once doesn't mean it will happen again. I definitely would say that the back labor was the most painful out of all my labors, but that could have also been a combination of it being the first child plus the back labor on top of that.
Sep 9, 2009 8:07 AM
Guest :
i'm having back labor since friday so 5 days now they are 3 minutes apart but im not dialated! it hurts sooooo bad!
Oct 9, 2009 11:34 AM
Guest :
I had back Labour with my now 4 year old son. I was 35 weeks pregnant and from 6am one morning started with severe lower back pain but no other symptoms, it got to 11pm that night and I couldn't take the pain anymore so went to the hospital and was told I was 5cm dialated, I gave birth to my son at 6am. I had a 24 hour labour. I didn't have a single stomach pain and had very few, and irregular contractions. The back labour was much worse then the "normal" labour I had with my first son.
I am 27 weeks pregnant now and just preying this labour isn't going to be like the last!
Oct 15, 2009 10:48 AM
Guest :
i was in back labor for 3 days had no contractions in my stomach but when i was fully dilated it only took 30 min to have her
Dec 26, 2009 4:45 PM
Guest :
I had back labor with all four of my children. I could not tell you what a contraction feels like as I have never had one. All four babies were text book deliveries with no complications, each child was a different birth weight, and all were in different positions. I have always dealt with slight lower back pain before and after my first child. However, after children the pain increased gradually over time...I thought it was due to having 4 children and the chores, and lugging around them as well as all of the stuff that goes with them. I was told years later by a Chiropractor (whom I visited as a last resort when the pain became unbearable) that I have an extra vertebrate in my lower back that feels squished in there. He also said that the back labor I experienced with all of my children was due to this extra vertabrate. Has anyone else ever heard of or experienced this?
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