Postnatal Back and Pelvic Pain: What New Mums Should Know

If you've had a baby recently and your back or pelvis aches when you stand up, walk, roll over in bed, or lift the car seat, you are far from alone. A significant number of new mothers experience back or pelvic pain in the months after birth, yet it's often dismissed as something to simply wait out. It isn't. With the right understanding and the right support, this pain usually responds well to treatment — and you don't need to just get on with it until it fades on its own.

Why This Happens

Pregnancy and birth place enormous demands on your body, and the effects don't switch off the moment your baby arrives. During pregnancy, the hormone relaxin softens the ligaments around your pelvis and spine to allow for birth, and it can take months for that tissue to regain its usual stiffness and support. At the same time, your abdominal muscles — particularly the deep core muscles that stabilise your spine and pelvis — have been stretched and often separated (a condition called diastasis recti), and your pelvic floor has been through significant strain, whether you delivered vaginally or by caesarean.

Add in the physical reality of new motherhood — broken sleep, hours spent hunched over feeding, constantly lifting and carrying a growing baby, and very little time for yourself — and it's easy to see why so many women develop pain in the lower back, pelvis, hips, or across the pubic bone (a condition often called pelvic girdle pain, or PGP). This isn't a sign that something is fundamentally wrong or "broken." It's a sign that your body needs a structured, gradual path back to strength.

The Difference Between Normal Adjustment and a Problem Worth Treating

Some tenderness and fatigue in the early weeks is expected. But certain signs suggest it's worth seeking help sooner rather than later: pain that's sharp or worsening rather than settling, pain that stops you lifting your baby or walking normally, a visible or palpable gap down the middle of your abdomen, leaking urine when you cough, sneeze or exercise, a heavy or dragging sensation in the pelvis, or pain during intercourse. None of these are things you need to accept as "just part of having a baby." They're all things a physio can properly assess and, in most cases, meaningfully improve.

What Actually Helps

Recovery isn't about diving back into pre-pregnancy exercise, nor is it about resting indefinitely — both extremes tend to backfire. What works is a graded, individualised approach.

This typically starts with restoring basic control of your deep core and pelvic floor — not necessarily "crunches," but learning to properly engage and coordinate these muscles again during everyday movements like getting out of bed, bending to lift the cot, or standing from a chair. From there, a physio will guide you through progressive strength and conditioning work that rebuilds capacity in your hips, glutes, and back in a way that matches what your body is actually being asked to do each day — carrying a baby, pushing a pram, climbing stairs.

Hands-on treatment can also play a useful role where joints or muscles are particularly stiff or sore, and manual therapy alongside targeted exercise is often the quickest route to feeling more comfortable day to day — something covered under general pain relief for back, neck and joint pain. Simple practical adjustments matter too: feeding in a supported position rather than hunched forward, using a proper technique to lift your baby from the cot (bend at the hips and knees rather than the waist), and building in short breaks to change position rather than staying static for long periods.

Getting Back to Exercise and Running

Many new mums are keen to get back to running, the gym, or other sport, and this is absolutely achievable — but timing and sequencing matter. Returning to impact activity like running before your core and pelvic floor can properly manage the load is one of the most common reasons pain persists or returns. A physio can assess whether you're ready, identify any gaps in strength or control, and build a realistic, staged return to fitness. If running is your goal, our guidance on marathon and running preparation covers the kind of structured, progressive approach that also applies well to postnatal return-to-running, just adapted to a slower, more supported timeline.

When to Get Assessed

Postnatal back and pelvic pain that lasts beyond the first few weeks, or that's affecting your ability to care for your baby and yourself, deserves proper assessment rather than guesswork. A thorough physiotherapy assessment can identify exactly what's driving your pain — whether that's core and pelvic floor weakness, joint stiffness, posture habits from feeding, or a combination — and give you a clear, realistic plan to resolve it.

If your pain has settled into something more persistent, it's worth coming in for an assessment at our Vauxhall clinic, where we can take the time to understand your specific situation and build a recovery plan around it.