Backache is very common in pregnancy, affecting one in every two women, especially in the later stages. There are two main causes.

First, as your baby grows, the increasing weight of your abdomen tends to pull your lower spine forwards, so that it is curved. This puts a strain on your lower back muscles. As your lower spine is pulled forward, so your shoulders tend to be pulled back to compensate, and this puts a strain on the muscles in your upper back.

Secondly, pregnancy hormones have the effect of softening and stretching your ligaments, especially those around your pelvis (to allow your pelvis to open up when your baby passes through it). This can make the joints in and around your pelvis ache.

Towards the end of pregnancy, you may get backache if your baby has moved into your pelvis so that its back is lying against your back.

• Be careful about your posture. Try not to let your abdomen tip too far forward. You can correct this by tilting your pelvis forward instead (as if you were pressing your lower back into a wall). Open out your shoulders so that they are not pressed together and lift your rib cage
• Be careful when lifting - squat down to pick up anything heavy; never bend forward from the waist. Better still, get someone else to do it
• Wear flattish comfortable shoes, not high heels
• Put a cushion behind your lower back when you are sitting
• Put something hot (like a hot water bottle) or cold (like a bag of frozen peas) against your lower back
• Get someone to give you a back massage
• Sleep on a firm mattress
• Talk to your midwife about using a special maternity girdle if the problem is severe. She can supply one and show you how to use it
• See an osteopath or chiropractor
• If your backache is due to the position your baby is in, try kneeling down on all fours. This moves the weight of the baby off your back and can give fast relief