Does breastfeeding extend the symptoms of SPD/PGP?

[ilovemyoboe]

I have had SPD (pelvic girdle pain) with both my pregnancies. My second is just over two weeks old. I've been getting mixed messages from the midwives about whether breastfeeding extends the amount of time I would suffer from the pelvic pain or not. Some say it does as the hormones don't return to normal until you stop breastfeeding, but some say SPD/PGP is purely a 'mechanical' problem so breastfeeding has no impact. Would really like a definitive answer on this. Does anyone know about it, or had a good evidence-based explanation from someone?

My SPD stopped at birth ans EBF here still at 16 weeks.

is there anything here which may help?

Same as McBaby here tho, pelvis got better after baby was out, but it wasn't very severe in the first place.

Mine stopped when i had baby. 8 months into ebf and don't feel spd at all

I was advised they aren't linked as they are different hormones or something like that

Am bf dd3 who is 2.2 and pg with severe SPD which improved but didn't go in between. Consultant thought I've something wrong with my hip which exasperated it.

My pelvis got better a few weeks after both DCs born, despite continuing to bf for months after. Sounds like rubbish to me.

AFAIK this is a myth. Call the Pelvic Partnership, they are the experts, there is a lot of misinformation put there about SPD.

It is hard to find the numbers but my NHS physio confirmed that a small percentage who do have PGP after birth find it is due to hormones from breast feeding. This is was what happened to me, the reason it was obvious is that nothing improved significantly until I stopped breast feeding 12 months after birth, and the recovery has been slow but constant since (I had some improvements on dropping feeds earlier, but no big change til I stopped entirely). This is not the case for everyone, but it is not a myth, as a very painful 2 years has taught me. If I had known that a small percentage have this problem I would have stopped breast feeding earlier. In my case things felt better post birth, but then got worse as my son got heavier, around 4-5 months, picking him up or carrying him made my back go into spasm as well as the difficulties with the pelvis - there are relaxing hormones released due to the sucking action from breast feeding, which has caused my problems to continue. The difficulty is it's hard to know if you're the one that is affected by this or not until you drop a feed, which you might not want to do. So many are not related to breast feeding, that for those that are it's hard to get the right information.

I had it after birth and there was a bit of debate about it.

Possibly the bf hormones were a minor factor, but I think physical posture type problems were a big factor (chiropractor helped) and also some nerve damage from the birth (took meds for this from GP)

After about 1yr I stopped bf which meant I could have better painkillers and it seemed to pass, but could have been a coincidence.

I can see why bf might prolong SPD but in my case it didn't. I think in my case it was purely the weight of there baby on the pelvis. As soon as baby was born my spd disappeared though I did then have other pains and other health issues to deal with That affected my mobility.

Congratulations on your new baby.
Imho midwives knew very little about SPD and gave poor advice. MN threads in the past suggest mixed experiences.
I found my SPD improved a lot after both births, especially when combined with careful pilates type exercises prescribed by my osteopath. (You don't say if you are seeing a specialist, if not I would really recommend it if you can afford it). Or just think about whether you can do some gentle strengthening exercises like squeezing a cushion between your knees.
I also had a proper nursing chair with DD2 which was very comfortable and I am sure it aided recovery. What are you sitting on to bf?- make sure it is as ergonomic as possible.
BF was good as it took ages (!) which encouraged rest and sitting down, I am sure that helped too. I dashed around more with DD2 (mixed fed) which was a poor decision in retrospect.
I did find the final SPD twinges got better when I stopped bf but they were not bad (I bf DD2 for 2 years and can assure you I would have packed it in earlier if it had been painful).
- a newborn, a toddler, no sleep and SPD is not fun.

I don't know the science behind it but anecdotally mine disappeared completely after birth and I EBF. I'm 40 weeks pregnant with no 2 now and managed not to get it at all this time round!

First baby it stopped at birth, EBF 9 months.
Second baby it continued for a few weeks but not too bad. EBF 11 months.

Tbh the benefits of bf would have outweighed the spd for me, so I would have bf even if this was true (which I don't believe it to be).

My experience was similar to skynursery, my SPD improved a little after birth, but I didn't really start to recover properly until I stopped bfing - around 7m with DC1 and 12m with DC2. I think for most women it stops at birth though and it wouldn't stop me bfing again, unless it was so bad I needs crutches etc.

Although no spd I had a thyroid issue and skin rashes when pregnant which stuck around till dd started solids and then suddenly improved. Anecdotal I know but I think it does perpetuate some symptoms.

I think they don't warn you as some people would be put off BFIng.