Pins + needles in back from breastfeeding?

[caif90]

Hiya

I'm now almost 4 months pp and EBFing. I've been experiencing pins and needles / tingling sensation in my back (round my scapula, shoulder blades, neck - it's mainly upper/middle back).

Is this normal?

I imagine it's to do with poor posture while feeding (I already suffer from AxSpa - a chronic arthritic condition) but it's not always possible to have good posture (feeding at a table in the kitchen for instance).

My body feels broken and I'm in so much pain. Trying to do chest opening stretches when baby goes down at night just for a little relief but it's the pins and needles that are bothering me as I've never had that before.

TIA!

Any advice would be welcome!

Anything I can do? Should I see someone for massage / osteopathy etc?

Yes I got this but in my legs - it seemed to be due to inactivity and baby sleeping on me and cutting off circulation a bit. Once I got more active and was feeding less the problem has pretty much resolved. I'd try and be as active as possible and get out for walks with the pram etc. hot baths can help too! Try to hand baby over to someone and do some self care stuff - tricky tho!!!! Hope it improves.

Also can you experiment more with feeding positions and get feeding stations set up where you know you'll be comfortable?

Thank you! I'm pretty active – around 12k-15k steps a day after I've taken the dog out for walks and run around the house sorting things out 😂 I'm also going to the gym or doing home workouts 4 times a week as well as pelvic floor exercises.

Interesting you got it too but in your legs. I try to migrate to the sofa for feeding if I can but the table chairs in our kitchen are so uncomfortable for feeding in.

I keep trying to persuade a husband we need an armchair / comfortable chair in my daughters bedroom for when she starts sleeping in there in a few months time, but we're trying to save money atm and it's just not a priority. I don't think being perched on the guest bed next door to feed before bed etc is going to help my back though!! I never thought a feeding / nursing chair was an essential nursery purchase but now I'm thinking otherwise.

I also do koala feeding but again - it's better when you have back support. I've not tried lying down to feed though, maybe that's a winner??

Are you taking enough vit D? With DD1, I had terrible trouble in my joints and it turned out my vit D had been decimated whilst bfing. The GP advised a mega high supplement and it sorted everything out. I had been taking pregnacare breastfeeding but it clearly wasn't enough.

DD1 is now 3 and we still use a chair every bedtime in her room for cuddles and story time, just in case that helps you to convince DH 🙃 It was an £80 ikea poang and although the arms are a bit low for feeding, i just used loads of pillows around me to prop everything up.

Oo this is a good point! I was taking the vitabiotics ultra 1000iU tablets throughout pregnancy and just after birth but then moved onto some wild nutrition supplements (breastfeeding one, new mother multi and energy) because I had a voucher and someone recommended however believe these are combined vitamin supplements.

My joints are also SO sore - like my ankles KILL every night and I can hardly walk when I get out of bed at night. Maybe I need to get some bloods done and start up the specific vit D supps again! Thank you.

As for the chair, I do think we'll need one for story time etc too and although she won't be in there for the next two months, I think it's important to start "reading" to them as early as possible! Thanks for the help... wish me luck with the convincing ;-)

Another vote for vitamin D. My joints basically collapse on me without sufficient levels. I use 4000 iu. Never got a blood test just feel the difference after two days of taking it compared to not.

And yes I too used to get the weird pins and needles / numbing feeling in my back out of nowhere usually on the skin side i feed on. But this was only up until the 7 months mark when feeding frequency decreased.