What is back labor?

What is back labor?

Back labor refers to the intense lower back pain that many women feel during (and even between) contractions when they're giving birth. It can be very uncomfortable, but it doesn't mean that anything is wrong with your baby.

What causes back labor pain?

This pain is usually attributed to the pressure of your baby's head against your lower back, but other factors may be at work, too.

Other than your baby's position causing back labor, there is also an unproven but interesting theory that the pain is "referred" to your lower back from your uterus. That idea is supported by the fact that some women complain of low back pain when they have menstrual cramps. One study found that women who had back pain during their periods were more likely to have back pain during labor.

What does back labor feel like?

Back labor feels like intense pain in your lower back that continues between contractions. Regular labor pain often feels like strong menstrual cramps that start and stop, and increase in intensity over time. In contrast, moms say that back labor feels like a continuous, strong pain focused on your back. It tends to get stronger during contractions and can become especially uncomfortable at the height of a contraction.

Moms in the BabyCenter Community describe back labor like this:

"It feels like someone is ripping your spine out. The best thing that worked for me was counterpressure. My husband would press as hard as he could against my lower spine and it relieved a lot of the pain."

"It was a constant baseline of pain that would come in intense waves on top of the labor pain."

"My little guy was sunny-side up, and I had my mother-in-law rubbing my back hard the entire time I was in labor. If she stopped for a second, I squealed."

"The pain level went up with each contraction. The birthing ball helped, and while I bounced, my mom had a tennis ball in a sock that she rubbed on my lower back."

Is back labor related to the baby's position?

Back labor has long been thought to be more common when the baby is facing up during labor, with the back of the baby's head pressing on the bony part of your spine.

Is there any way to tell if I'll have back labor?

No, experts don't know of any proven risk factors to give you a heads-up beforehand.

One small study found that women who had back pain during pregnancy and women who were overweight were more prone to have back pain during labor.

What can I do to ease back labor?

You may not be able to prevent low back pain during labor – though attempting to get your baby into an ideal position for delivery could help – but you can try one or more of these tactics to help relieve it:

• A new position. Get up on all fours. This position may relieve back pain by reducing the pressure of your baby's head on your spine. Other positions that may help are the standing forward lean and the exercise ball kneel. (Take a look at our video on positions to ease labor pain.)
• Pelvic tilt exercises. These simple exercises also may help minimize the pressure on your spine.
• Massage. Ask your labor partner to rub your lower back between or during contractions – or both, whatever feels best to you.
• Counterpressure. Many women find that steady counterpressure on the lower back relieves some of the pain. Ask your labor coach to push on this area with his or her fists during contractions or massage it with a tennis ball.
• Hydrotherapy. Take a warm bath or shower (aim the showerhead at your lower back).
• Heat or cold. Apply warm compresses or a hot water bottle to your lower back. Heat may ease the achiness and bring you some comfort. On the other hand, some women find cold packs more soothing or that alternating heat and cold is helpful. You may want to give both a try. Just be sure to use a towel to protect your skin from direct contact with heat or cold.
• Water injections. Sterile water injections have been shown to provide some relief from back pain. This is a procedure in which small amounts of sterile water are injected just beneath the skin in four places on the lower back. The injections are temporarily painful, but afterward, the pain relief lasts for a few hours. No one knows for sure why it works, and it's not available everywhere.

Check out some other natural childbirth techniques that may help you deal with labor pain.

If you don't have your heart set on natural childbirth and nothing is helping you manage your back pain, consider getting an epidural. In most cases, it provides total relief from all kinds of labor pain, including back labor.

Learn more:

Positions your baby might be in during birth

Signs of labor

Pregnancy massage for labor pain