What to do for neck and shoulder pain from carrying baby

New parents often get neck and shoulder pain from carrying baby and it becomes severe day by day. In this section, we look at why that happens and give you some stretches and techniques to help with that discomfort.

What can cause neck and shoulder pain from carrying baby

• Breastfeeding in the non-ergonomically optimal position. Looking to your new-born baby for hours and rubbing their adorable fuzzy little head, during breastfeeding at the non-ergonomically optimal posture.
• Carrying a baby in a front pack/sling for a long time. Especially when the front-pack or sling isn’t fitted adequately as a result of slapdash. Generally, it happens when you rush to find the crying infant in the sling and calm.
• Rocking a baby to sleep. Many times. Many, many occasions. Frequently in the middle of the night time or while trying to execute another task simultaneously.
• Lifting a sleeping baby upstairs once they’ve fallen sleep in the car and continue to doing so every day despite a sore or weak back. This is also a significant reason to have pain in your neck and shoulder.
• Carrying a pushchair out and inside of the car often put excessive pressure on your shoulder. We often find yourself in a situation when the baby is overtired and actually requires the vehicle to start quickly on being strapped in their seat, and the wheels of the pushchair have locked and will not fold.
• And this period of despair strikes after each meal since you have all of the other tiny individuals to clean up afterward.
• Lunging to hold a toddler that choose to step into oncoming traffic, or simply step away in the incorrect path, or throw themselves into the ground and ignore to step out anyway.

Here are seven simple exercises to get rid of neck and shoulder pain from carrying baby. So do those exercise and become a super healthy and happy parent.

Read More: How To Keep Baby Warm In Car Seat

1. Backward shoulder rolls

• Do this in the shower every morning at least 10 times. A hot shower will also stretch your muscles
• Do this exercise 10 times once you’ve finished feeding.
• Utilize the time in the car

2. Shoulder blade squeeze

• Do it at least 10 times in the shower and car!
• Again after feeding your baby do this 10 times.

3. Pec, arm and neck stretch

• Clasp your both hands behind your back and pull over your shoulder blades together. Looking down will add more pressure and stretches your neck.
• Do until you pick up your child from the cot.

4. Pram posture

• Try to Keep shoulders back when you push the pram
• Consider maintaining a long neck and stretch your shoulders while pushing the pram. Don’t try hunched pram look.
• Use this opportunity to perform ten shoulder squeezes and also ten backward shoulder rolls.

5. Utilize a baby carrier using postural support

• Baby carrier with lower and upper back support will disperse a load of your baby through your entire body and lessen pressure in your neck and shoulders.

6. Hot pack around the neck

• Consider to Purchasing a hot neck pack which you can use during moving around.
• The heat will reduce the pressure of the muscle and enhance tissue health.

7. Go to a physio

• Physios love children. So take your kid with you when you go to the physio. Your physio can’t just provide guidance on standard treatment. He can also give you advice on your position while feeding your child. He will give you proper instruction on which carrier you should use.

Help Your Posture While Picking Up Baby

• It is a fantastic idea to anchor your shoulders. It means you are utilizing your back and your front when picking your baby.
• During lifting you, shouldS draw your shoulder blades down and towards one another. It will activate your lower and mid traps. In case you want to put your shoulders together, up and down you should use different muscles. It is a soft contraction, something like you is sticking your shoulder blades into your back.
• When you pick up your baby, try to maintain a position where you can move your arms more than your shoulders. If you can get in a position like this, you will feel much comfortable than before. But if you feel difficulties in moving your shoulder blades in any way, then you have to be mindful of your shoulder blades being mounted in your back rather than rolling around to either side of your rib cage.

Read: Pelvic Pain After Running During Pregnancy – 4 reasons why

You can also follow these tips mentioned below on your daily actions to Decrease neck and shoulder pain from carrying baby. 

Lifting Baby from the Crib:

Do not try to stretch and carry your baby at arm’s length since this puts an enormous amount of stress on the back. Slightly, lower the crib rail into the lowest setting. After that place, your feet shoulder-width aside and bring your baby near your body before lifting.

Lifting Your Child in the Floor:

This technique is known as the “half-kneel lift” for optimum position. To apply this you have to stand near your children,  then step ahead with one foot and lower yourself to one knee. Keep child near your body, and grab your baby with your both. Reverse these actions when placing the baby to the ground.

Carrying Your Toddler:

Never try to hold the child with one arm or balance him/her on your hip. This may hurt your back and the ligaments on one side of your body. Instead, hold her or him near to your ribs, legs wrapped around your abdomen, balanced at the middle of the body.

This can put unnecessary strain on the trunk, shoulder, and your arm.

Don’t carry a car seat on one side of your body like you are lifting a purse or handbag. This can put unnecessary pressure on your arms, back, and shoulder. If you want to avoid this, then try to carry the car seat by the handle with both hands. And also hold it in front of your body.