# Hip Labor



## Dot-to-Dot

Just wondering if anyone here has experienced "hip labor" during labor and then went on to figure out how to avoid it for their next labor. **Hip Labor: Excruciating, bone crushing pain in hips that overshadows any uterine contraction causing a continuous stream of pain, likely due to poor positioning like baby's head pushing on hip socket as he tries to descend.

I had this with my first baby and have found only a handful of women who understand what I'm talking about. It was like after 6cm, I never felt a contraction again because this hip pain was so bad that contractions were nothing. I thought my bones were breaking and I wanted to use different positions but I was paralyzed with pain. All I could do was lay on my left side, lift my top leg in the air, grab my hips and scream at the top of my lungs (my throat and chest were swollen for a week after I gave birth from 6 hours of screaming). I never got a "break" from the pain because the what I was feeling was continuous with no highs or lows like a contraction would have - just constant immobilzing pain for 6 hours.

Recently, I read something about standing in front of a chair, lifting your leg onto the chair and turning the pelvis toward that leg in order to open your pelvis in a way that gets the baby to quickly twist correctly. My baby was born in the correct position and so she eventually made it...but it took a long time for her to find the right position. I don't know if I'd have been able to do this chair thing if I'd known about it...but it's all I have as I go into my next labor (about 10 weeks from now).

Any advice?


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## Dot-to-Dot

*bump*


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## Magali

I'm wondering if we experienced the same thing. Was your pain on the side of your body? Everything else you wrote sounded so much like what I felt, but my pain was sort of towards the back and on my side at the hip level.


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## Dot-to-Dot

It was definitely on the side of my body - not front like uterine contractions, but also not back labor. Just HIP. Like in my hip sockets. I wanted desperately to rip my pelivs apart. I couldn't lift my knee enough in order to open my pelvis enough....just wanted someone to rip the pelvis open for me.


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## Dot-to-Dot

Judging by the lack of response, I guess it's rare to find other people who went through this same thing and even rarer to find someone who knows what to do about it!  Sigh.


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## weliveintheforest

I think I had what you are talking about! It wasn't the whole time, but it was just one hip, and it hurt quite a lot even between contractions. Time was so hard to track but maybe it lasted an hour?

My pushing stage took a long time (way longer than expected for my second baby) and the birth really hurt my tailbone. I've always wondered if the hip pain had anything to do with either of those but I don't think I'll ever know for sure. The only other person I know who had this, had it with her second child and as far as I know has not had a third.


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## Cutie Patootie

I had excruciating hip pain with my first birth. The last half hour of labor, I screamed about my hips, not the actual labor or baby coming out.

I have chronic hip pain, in general, so I don't think it had anything to do with the position of the baby. Mine seems to parallel with hormones during the month ect. No one has ever been able to tell me what is going on.

It hasn't been this bad during this pregnancy, but it has just started. I can't lay on my sides, some nights. I have to lie on my back, which is not too comfy when this pregnant, but way less excruciating than lying on one side or the other. Some days I can't walk. It's really odd. It is not one side or the other, it switches back and forth.

The pain is deep in my hip sockets and radiates down the side of my leg. It's nauseating and I haven't found anything that relieves it.


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## Magali

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dot-to-Dot*
> 
> It was definitely on the side of my body - not front like uterine contractions, but also not back labor. Just HIP. Like in my hip sockets. I wanted desperately to rip my pelivs apart. I couldn't lift my knee enough in order to open my pelvis enough....just wanted someone to rip the pelvis open for me.


It was crazy pain that didn't stop. I remember clearly when it started. I was having contractions and I got up to move during one and then the hip pain started. I fell onto the bed and couldn't move and started crying. I still felt contractions down low in front but I was able to deal with those cause they would come and go. I wanted to move around more during my labor but there came a point when I could only lie on my side, and eventually that didn't even help. To me it felt like someone was pinching me and twisting my side with a giant wrench. I did not feel this pain with my first birth, hopefully you won't feel it next time. I really hope you get some answers.


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## Monkey Keeper

Magali's description is pretty accurate for me. The low wrapping contraction part was manageable, but the bone-on-bone radiating pain in my right hip (only my right hip) was absolutely excruciating; it wrapped from my pubic bone to my sacrum around the arch of my hip. Mine started even before I was in "active" labor--my ctx were 3 minutes apart for 19 hours--and I eventually caved for an epidural. Through which the hip pain broke, of course. I too ended up on my left side panting/howling through contractions until suddenly the pain was gone, i.e. his head moved out of there.

My hip pain started a few days before labor, though--one night I rolled over, and that stabbing pain woke me up. I could not lay on my left side at. all. and any rolling caused those jolting pains. After 2 nights of that, I was so exhausted (I was trying to sleep half on my side in a recliner to try to mitigate the pain.) that my doula came over to massage my hip, got the baby in a different position, and I slept for 3 hours in the middle of a Sunday afternoon. Even a chiro adjustment and another massage did not keep him out of that hip, though, when I went into labor 2 days later.

He was my third, and #2 was positioned exactly the same way. I never got into a labor pattern with her because my water broke (my BOW dilated me with #3).

Just a few weeks ago, around 5m pp, I had a massage with my LMT who also is a midwife. She says that it seems my hip pain may stem from an injury to a muscle in my pelvic floor (I cannot remember the name right now). Apparently, this muscle often is injured when pushing with an epidural in the lithotomy position--which is how my DD1 was delivered under duress. I did everything *right* with my most recent birth, though--exercise, yoga, massage, chiropractic--and nothing kept him from settling into the same poor position. So I don't have any particularly good advice for avoiding it.


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## Monkey Keeper

PS--My (very seasoned) doula described it as "back labor but in your hip" and said she's rarely if ever dealt with anything like it. Lucky us! And when I described it to my mom (I was born sunny-side up), she said it sounded precisely like what she experienced in her back, but in a different location.


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## Magali

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *PinkBunch*
> 
> She says that it seems my hip pain may stem from an injury to a muscle in my pelvic floor (I cannot remember the name right now). Apparently, this muscle often is injured when pushing with an epidural in the lithotomy position--which is how my DD1 was delivered under duress. I did everything *right* with my most recent birth, though--exercise, yoga, massage, chiropractic--and nothing kept him from settling into the same poor position. So I don't have any particularly good advice for avoiding it.


Hmmm. My first birth was with an epidural. Interesting. Thanks for sharing that.


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## Cathypie

I totally had this! My entire labor with my second was back labor. Then right before I started pushing it was my hips giving me problems. That labor was HARD. If I hadn't been at home I probably would've ended up with a needle in my back. That hip pain was awful. My baby was born with her fist by her face.


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## Dot-to-Dot

Okay, so it's rare, but it DOES happen. Hey midwives and doulas??? Anybody out there know what one should do if they find themselves suffering from hip labor and they want a natural birth? I made it through with my first, but I have to say that I was MAD. Sure I was prepared for pain and endurance...but the way my labor felt was wrong and I felt really irritated that I had to go through an extrodinarily difficult labor. It took me a long time to not be so mad. I would LOVE to have some input from a doula or midwife who knows what to do in if this happens.


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## Monkey Keeper

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Cathypie* [IMG alt="View Post"]https://www.mothering.com/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]
> 
> My baby was born with her fist by her face.


interesting. We suspected my guy had an elbow up there though he came out head alone.


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## Dot-to-Dot

I wish I knew if something like that was going on with my dd (an elbow or a fist). My doctor is a family doctor (though he doesn't specialize in obstetrics, he's amazing and I wouldn't have anyone else manage the medical side of my pregnancy). I don't think he'd have known if something like that was ocurring unless she'd actually come out with the offending appendage. She came out in the right position, head and only head first. I almost wish I coulod have had an ultrasound as she was descending!


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## Dot-to-Dot

A doula recently suggested to me that the baby might have been asynclitic. I had ruled that out early on because I figured the doctor would have told me if she had come out with her head cocked to one side. I didn't understand it well enough to know that A: the head issue might have resolved itself during labor and she came out normally or B: he is a family doctor and possibly just doesn't have the experience to have recognized this if her head was only slightly cocked upon crowning.

The more I understand about asynclitic labors, the more I think this could have been my issue...however...asynclytic is not uncommon and so I would thnk that a LOT more people would chime in about having had hip labor. So then I think, maybe my issue wasn't asynclitic and was something a little more unusual. I still don't know, but I can tell you that I am REALLY trying to learn about what I can do posture-wise this time around. Several sources say it's unlikely that baby #2 will fall into the same position but just as many sources say that baby #2 is highly likely to settle into the same position especially if the reason Baby #1 settled there because of the shape of my pelvis. It is soooooo hard to not have crummy posture sometimes. Sometimes I just really want to chill on the couch however I can possibly get comfortable with this big belly and it's usually NOT a position that is good for fetal positioning. Also, I am often rocking my dd1 and reading to her in her rocking chair...knees above pelvis, sinking back and sitting on sacrum instead of sit bones. Bad news.


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## Monkey Keeper

I think with 'hip labor' babies almost always would be asynclitic, particularly if the pain is focused in one hip only (as mine was).

I had three different people do vag exams (and I really only had 3 exams!) all of whom commented that baby's head was "way off to the side"--that side being the side where I had hip pain. I had a big cervical lip on one side because he was only on the right edge of my cervix. In fact (and this is going to sound like I had the world's most interfered-with labor ever which isn't the case), when they applied the internal monitor, it was above and behind his right ear! If baby is normally applied to the cervix, it would be in the top of the head. So definitely my issue along with maybe an elbow and definitely a nuchal cord or two.


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## Bubblette

I know I'm late commenting but I had HORRIBLE hip labor. DS was slightly asynclitic, my midwife commented his head was just a tiny tiny bit tilted. Both of my hips hurt so so bad that I couldn't concentrate on the contractions. The hip pain would build with the contractions so it was "worse" while i was in the middle of one, but it was always there.

What helped earlier on was counter pressure and firm massage. Being in warm water was very very helpful. Near the end (hour 44 or so of my 48 hour labor) my hips were becoming unbearable and I was, understandably, getting a bit exhausted my husband called my friend who is an acupuncturist. It was a miracle. My friend put on needle in my right hand and my right hip just STOPED hurting. He put one needle in my left hand and it was 80% better, a second needle brought me to about 95% better. He left and we kept the needles in until I wanted my hands in the water and after taking them out the pain came back but very very slowly and was totally bearable until DS was born. I hated pushing :lol but that's a while other issue.

I had never heard of hip labor before mine, it's nice to know I wasn't the only one- not that i'd wish it on anyone!


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## Dot-to-Dot

Wow! That's very interesting! Do you think that what he did was something text book? Like, would most any acupuncurist know where to put the needles based on the symptoms? I'm just wondering if I feel this building in my next labor, if we could just look in the phone book and beg any or all acupuncturist to come do this! I know that sounds desperate and maybe even crazy...but if you ladies experienced what I did, you know exactly how desperate a situation it is.

Heck, even if I'm not experiencing hip labor but I just want something to take the edge off contractions...would acupuncture do it? We live in a smallish, conservative town where alternative medicine isn't really used much so I don't really have many, if any, resources to find out about it. My local doctor can do acupuncture, but I don't know if she's all that experienced or good at it. (She's the only one I know of in our city who does it which is why I chose her as my doctor. She's tied to the local hospital and insurance and so that could possibly interfere with her willingness to offer services...like, how do you report an emergency visit to a laboring mother to the insurance company? I doubt they'd go for it.


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## Bubblette

My acupuncturist friend trained in China for a while, and with Chinese TCM practitioner... He's said he has a much more traditional approach than many others... He said something about using reflected points? We chatted about it before and most western practitioners use points close to the area of concern, where as he used points removed from the area that were reflected (I think that's the term) points.

For future pregnancies, if I were not in the same town as him, I would definitely be finding another that used the same principles well before labor. I think acupuncture could indeed take the edge off!! and I plan on having someone in the ready for every future pregnancy. The way I see it is that it cannot hurt and I KNOW it can help







. Insurance doesn't cover anything here.... well my insurance does not cover anything alternative! You might be surprised to find practitioners near to you but not in the medical field, take a look.

Good luck! I hope none of us have to deal with hip labor ever again!


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## Eresh

I had hip labor -- pain in both hips that built with contractions. My body's natural response to the pain of my bones moving was to tense my butt/hips/thighs to stabilize the joints, which made the whole birth thing harder. I have hip problems in general where I'd be walking along and a hip would just "give out" and I would have excruciating pain. Oh, and I would have pain standing on my left leg and leaning forward (ie. putting on pants). Oh, this was DS1's birth. After the birth my hip pain was much, much better. To the extent I don't think my hip has "given out" since. With DS2, I had horrible pain in my tailbone during labor and some hip pain as he moved down through my pelvis. My MWs think he might have been posterior and then resolved before he presented (he presented anterior). I did have one contraction where I felt him really move and the pain in my tailbone really diminished. Oh, and then he presented anterior and did a full rotation to posterior and then stopped. Both boys were very high with unstable lies before labor. Both were usually LOT but with both of them the MWs couldn't get good heart tones in the same place twice. Oh, and since DS2's birth I do know my pelvis is uneven. I very occasionally will have stabbing pain near my sit bones when I move a particular way and whenever I have a massage I notice I have a lot of lower back tension stabilizing my hips. It's not painful so I don't notice it day to day but the tension is there. I need to find a good chiro but I just haven't gotten around to it .. lol


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## Dot-to-Dot

I'm curious of all you hip laborers...how long were your labors? I feel very confident that my labor was a longish one because of this hip/asynclitic issue. My labor was about 48 from frist contraction to last. But, I'd only consider 18 hrs of that as active labor so I usually tell people it was 18 hours. But I think the first 30 hours were slow going since the baby was in a less optimal position and I'm guessing the pressure on my cervix was inconsistent.

I've had a recent development of a sharp and sudden ache from the inside of my hip/pelvis. Every time the baby stretches, I feel pushes on my left side and then this sharp ache on the exact opposite side. It is reminiscent of the pain I felt in labor last time. (Not NEARLY as bad of course, but there is some similarity that I can't quite put my finger on).

With the way it feels when she stretches out, I feel like she might be transverse (I'm 35 wks and going to the chiro twice a week). I'm really worried I'm going to have this hip labor again despite my efforts. My husband is suggesting that I start accupuncture now, but I'm not convinced it'd matter right now. The pain isn't horrendous right NOW...it's just a very scary symbol that is making me anxious about how the pain might be LATER. I want accupuncture during labor, and not spend money on it now. (But, during labor isn't an option). I'm scared.

I don't see an OB so I don't know how to tell what position baby is in. Spinningbabies is lost on me. My family doctor who managaes the pregnancy isn't skilled at palpating.


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## Magali

My labor was about 26 hours. I think it was so long because of whatever was causing the pain, and also because the pain made me unable to move around. I totally understand how you are scared to feel it again. I ended up getting an epidural about 25 hours into labor...dd was born an hour later! I was worried the epi wouldn't stop the hip pain because it was so high up, but interestingly enough, it stopped me feeling that pain, and did nothing for the contractions, and I was up and walking around right after the birth. Not suggesting you get an epidural of course, just sharing my experience.


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## Monkey Keeper

My labor was about 32 hours from first contraction till birth, 19 hours of contractions 3 minutes apart. Once he got out of my hip, it was fast though--6cm to baby in an hour. He definitely was not at all well applied to my cervix until very shortly before he was born.

Dot--are you seeing a chiropractor? If Webster certified, the chiro should be able to palpate for you. Mine always knew exactly where baby was. The easiest thing for me was to find a hard, round thing and push on it. If it jiggled, it was a head. If the whole baby moved, it was a butt. Not an exact science, I know. Also, if you can find a long, hard stretch, it's likely baby's back so you can follow that to either end. Or follow a foot up the leg to the bottom. Lie flat on your back and really, really relax your abs and poke around in there.

I will say that I started to feel what you're talking about a few days before DS was born, the hip zingers. It sucks. Hopefully your little one moves again.


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## Dot-to-Dot

Yes, I'm seeing a chiro and he is Webster certified, but he does not know how to palpate. He was just certified last year...so you think that was in his training? I even mentioned how I wish someone could help me palpate and figure out the position of baby and he quickly started to feel around and just said, "Yeah, that's just not something I really know how to do." He's great otherwise.

The advice about feeling for a hard lump (either a jiggly one or one that moves the whole body) was the advice that most made sense to me from spinningbabies and I've tried it...however, my whole tummy feels pretty hard...I can't discern any round lumps. IF and only IF a foot happens to kick me, I feel pretty positive that it's a foot. But, I can't dig in deep enough to follow a leg. And then, sometimes a very similar kick happens on the opposite side and I get really confused. I thought I was pretty sure I knew the difference between a tickly light grazing of a hand in motion versus a foot pushing with more gusto, but still things seem to be all over the place.

I passed out on my back while at the chiro...laying on my back for more than 30 seconds is just awful for me. I have very, very low blood pressure. Sometimes as low as 80/40 and I think I just get to that point a lot faster than most preggos. So he's been trying to do the round ligament release portion of the technique while I am laying on either side. I have tried to lay on my back for palpating, for psoas release exercises, etc, and it's just miserable and I feel the blackout coming on. So I just can't spend much time on my back trying to feel for baby, unfortunately. I'm actually a little nervous about my GBS exam next week...but he usually props me up a bit knowing it'll take awhile.


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## Monkey Keeper

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Dot-to-Dot*
> 
> Yes, I'm seeing a chiro and he is Webster certified, but he does not know how to palpate. He was just certified last year...so you think that was in his training? I even mentioned how I wish someone could help me palpate and figure out the position of baby and he quickly started to feel around and just said, "Yeah, that's just not something I really know how to do." He's great otherwise.


That would make me nervous as a patient. I went to 2 Webster-certified chiros when pg with DS, and the first one never palpated. In fact, she never knew my DS was even breech, even though I was seeing her 2x a week! When I told my new chiro (who is amazing and also a doula and trained with a MW), she was horrified and said that a Webster chiro always should know the position of the baby before an adjustment. I definitely was much more comfortable with her when dealing with trying to get DS to go/stay head down because I knew she knew where he was.

That stinks about lying on your back. That's the only way I could figure out where he was.


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## Dot-to-Dot

Okay, so I'd heard about another chiro in my area that was Webster certified (she wasn't listed on the national site when I'd done my original search). I called them talked to the chiro personally. She seemed MUCH more experience with prenatal stuff but admitted that she doesn't see many pregnant patients and that palpating would be....difficult...I'm not sure how she said it exactly but she said the best way for her to know what's going on would be for her to see me and feel around. Then she went on to say that she could definitely tell me some things about baby's position. I don't mean to make her sound like she's inconsistent. She was very knowledgeable and confident and well, they had an opening this evening and so I booked the appt!

Oh and she was concerned that the first guy was doing Webster's when baby wasn't breech. She did not think that was necessary at all. But I've read it's good for posterior positioned baby's too, or for pelvises that tend to hold baby's in a posterior position more than anterior). All I know is that if the hip labor happens again, I'm going with the epidural. It was too traumatic for me last time and I want this child to have the best possible chance to come down easily.


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## Monkey Keeper

Good luck tonight!!!


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## Eresh

I always say DS1 was 23 hrs but I had consistent labor patterns off and on for a few days before that. DS2 was a little less than 8 hrs start to finish tho the first few hrs were intense but not painful. Good luck tonight


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## frugalmum

I have had hip labor and leg labor (when you feel crushing contractions in your upper legs, and as they increase, a bit past your knees). It started on my third baby. I figured it was a one time thing, but for my fourth I did everything "right--" home waterbirth, highly recommended midwife, etc. Well, I had hip and leg labor even worse that time. We tried every position, massage, etc.. My midwife could offer no explanation other than "some women just have that." The pain was not something I can put into words. So I had epidurals after that for my subsequent births-- I just could not risk going through it again. The epidurals went fine and I was able to get them put in just as the hip/ leg labor started up (around 5-6 cm).


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## Dot-to-Dot

Well, this chiro was great! She asked a lot of questions and listened really well. She felt like what I described was a nerve thing. Like the baby may have been resting on my sacrum (and an nerve I guess) in a way that affected the nerves that branch out to the hips. She asked if I had a tipped uterus because that would exacerbate the scenario. I've never been told that my uterus is tipped, but I will be sure to ask my doctor next week at the vaginal exam.

She thought my hips were aligned nicely and that my SI joint and hips moved around really well. My piriformis is tight and she suggested that if we can keep that in good shape (with muscle work) that I should be fine. So I am scheduled to have muscle work done at the end of the week and then she'll check my hips at the end of each session. She also felt strongly about adjusting the upper middle back - I told her that sitting on the ball is painful because as my hips wobble I have to really use my upper back and shoulders to keep me stabilized. She said she always adjusts the upper middle back in pregnant women for that very reason (loose hips that cause us to compensate by tensing our shoulders).

She felt my uterus and said that she couldn't say with 100% certainty, but that she was pretty darn sure that the baby was head down and on my right...now I'm not sure how to tell if that ROA or ROP. But, I am relieved that she felt so certain she was at least head down.

Although I'm still pretty confused about what caused the hip labor and whether or not it will happen again....posterior? asynclitic? nerve issue? I would give anything to be able to understand and prevent my hip labor.


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## x0xmaybeex0x

I gave birth to my first on the 12 of sept... and i thought my legs were goug to fall off. the pain in my hips radiated through my body, and i couldnt do anything. every postion put pressure on it making it worse. i wish i knew how to prevnt it. id like just contractions pover that again!!


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## mtn.mama

Ah, I see this discussion has been going on for a long time. My daughter was born in 2007 via Cesarean. My labor went 46 hours at home before the surgeon cut her out. She was posterior, I took a long time to dilate, the back labor was intense... but the hip labor, OMG. My right hip was on fire and locked up in contracture. I could barely walk because I couldn't lift up my leg to take a step. The midwives had me changing position all the time... they really wanted me on my side with my leg in the air but I couldn't handle the pain in that position and I told them in no uncertain terms that there was no way in hell I was doing that again.


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## Monkey Keeper

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mtn.mama*
> ... they really wanted me on my side with my leg in the air but I couldn't handle the pain in that position and I told them in no uncertain terms that there was no way in hell I was doing that again.


That pain was horrible--and I had an epidural by that time!! It only ended once he moved down past my hip. Oh, did it HURT.


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## mtn.mama

I pushed her crowning for 8 hours and she wouldn't budge, even with lots and lots of position changes and help from gravity. I'm just hoping that this next baby can get lined up better due to lots of rolfing/chiro care, and acupuncture on demand. Both my rolfer and acupuncturist have volunteered to attend this birth... baby is due in February. So far this pregnancy my hips/pubis are ALOT more comfortable... so I'm hoping!


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## leafylady

I dug up this old post by googling extreme hip pain/hip labor. I'm at 38 weeks, so it's probably wishful thinking to be in labor, but wow my hips are kiling me today. The baby is rockin' and rollin', corkscrewing down in my pelvic area and I can barely walk.


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## 1babysmom

Well...I can certainly relate. With my first labor, I referred to the feeling as "frankenhips"...it was like I had two GIANT screws in my hips and they were being bashed with a sludge hammer, and THOSE were my contractions. It was awful. I couldn't move, either. I always think back and wonder if it would have HELPED if I forced myself to move, but it was too horrid, I stayed in the same position for hours because it hurt so bad to even think about budging.

That said, I haven't experienced one bit of that since then, with my 2 other labors. It was a very different environment, though (I was at home, unassisted, did exactly what my body wanted/needed, etc). I also labored almost exclusively on my exercise ball with my knees pressed against the cabinets (I labor at the bathroom vanity each time) to spread my legs apart as far as they go, so I have that extra open pelvis from the ball and that position.

My son was likely asynclictic for about 6 hours after reaching complete dilation (3 hours in), and it didn't cause the same hip trouble I had with DD1.


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## JudiAU

Have you visited a prenatal chiro? Mine can loosen the ligaments in your pelvis and buttocks and it really helped me in my second labor. I was pretty maladjusted (10cm with no descent for five full hours) with my first. Both were posterior labors with rotating babies but it was a hell of a lot easier on us both when things were loose.


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## BabySmurf

Holy cow, I just stumbled across this thread and I'm so glad I did! When I had my first, the nurses and MW thought I was crazy because I kept moaning over the bone crushing pain I felt in my hips...they totally didn't get it when I told them it didn't really come and go with contractions. That was seriously awful. I did have an epidural, and it that pain didn't start until I laid down after being poked. It was horrible pain, and everyone just thought it was my contractions. The epidural was spotty, and it was just that spot that I could feel on my right hip. My labor was really long and it took me almost 5 hours to push my little guy out. I remember hearing an loud "POP!" noise at one point (which ended up being my tailbone), and it was only at that point did DS really start descending down the birth canal. Wow, so glad to know that I'm not alone in this, and that it's a rare thing! Although i'm now worried since I read a little further up about the tipped uterus maybe contributing...I do have a tipped uterus. I am definitely going to try the things mentioned above to avoid that scenario again!


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## cadybh

Just stumbled on this via Google... I had the hip and uppe leg pain/tenson you're all describing, and both intensified with contractions such that my hips' pain was unbearable without STRONG counter-pressure from each side. My poor DH and doula worked hard for me for hours! It seemed to disappear with transition for me, and by the time I was pushing I felt no pain whatsoever (till ring of fire).

I have a needle phobia, but it sounds like I ought to get re-acquainted wih my chiro. I've never heard of webster, will have to look that up. Induced last time with Pitocin which required fetal monitoring, which only worked if I layed still in bed (!) and we're planning a home birth to avoid interventions this time, so hopefully positions and a tub and gravity will provide some relief if I'm faced with similar discomfort this go-round. Thanks for all the tips, ladies!


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## CountryMommy

I had horrible, crippling hip pain during the end of my active labour/beginning pushing stage with my first baby. The pain was unbelievable and nothing seemed to help, my husband tried squeezing my hips together, rubbing my legs, etc and it just hurt so much. My baby was born normal presentation.

During labour with my second baby, I was TERRIFIED waiting for the hip labour to start. My second baby was posterior through the entire labour and ended up being born sunny side up (possibly because I had anterior placenta) I experienced back labour during that labour but the back labour pain was much more tolerable the the hip labour I experienced with my first.

I am pregnant again and am going to stalk this thread. I really do not want to experience that again if I can help it.


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## sarahlein

I am so glad I found this thread. I had the exact pain you described on my right hip in my labor with my daughter 2 years ago. I have a high pain tolerance, and handled the contractions fine, but I began having mild hip pain about 15 hours into my 30 hour labor. It became severe to the point where I could not feel the contractions. Got the epidural at 6 for the hip pain, not the contractions. It helped for a while until pushing, and then it came back full force and the epidural couldn't cut it. I ended up with a c-section because my daughter got stuck in my pelvis, around 0 to +1 station, even after 4 hours of pushing. I really think from reading this thread she was either turned the wrong way or asynclintic.

Hoping for a VBAC with this next baby, and hoping the hip pain doesn't happen again. It was a nightmare, I felt like I was losing my mind from the pain.

I hope it was just a fluke, but the repeat stories do have me worried about possible defect in my structure that points my babies that way. I do have scoliosis and some hip uneveness.

So grateful to see I am not alone and not crazy though.


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## Magali

No not alone and not crazy! It was very frustrating during my labor when I knew the nurses and Dr. thought the pain was just contractions. But the contractions were hard and hurt, but they came and went. The hip pain stayed for hours at a time and I remember not being able to escape it. The contractions, I could ride them out but the hip pain controlled me. I've noticed quite a few posters on this thread saying how the pushing phase took a long time.I was lucky and I only needed to push a few times.


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## LATaylor31

Im so glad I found this! my daughter is almost a year old and I am still not over my labor experience. I pushed for 4 hours in the most extreme pain I have ever felt. All in the left hip.. The epidural worked great and it would have just been a long labor but the pain in my hip was unbearable. I am terrified it will happen again if we have another baby. I have tried to look up info on hip labor and can't find much info.


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## BabySmurf

Good to feel that you aren't crazy, huh? FWIW I just had my second child a few months ago. Nearly had her in the car because I didn't think I was in labor yet, since it didn't hurt very much. No hip pain, no back pain; she was in a great position, came out in three pushes. I tried to be more aware of my posture this time around, and I would say it worked wonders. So unless you have a problem with your bones (which happens), you are not destined to have horrible labors forever. Yay!


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## Dot-to-Dot

Just wanted to update:

Baby number two was posterior but NO HIP LABOR at all! I think it had to do with my consistent chiro adjustments and releasing tight tendons in abdomen, but, who knows. In fact, as contractions came harder and faster, I kept putting off going to hospital because labor didn't feel hard enough yet. It never did get hard! (challenging, yes, but totally manageable.) Baby was almost born in the car because I couldn't control the urge to push. Once we checked they confirmed that I was indeed 10 cm dilated and baby came out about 15 minutes after we had arrived.

SO! Hip labor once, doesn't necessarily mean your pelvis or uterus is messed up and cause hip labor the next time. And even though my child was posterior, I didn't have back labor at all. My tips to any mom wanting to avoid it is to focus a LOT on baby's fetal position. Try hard to get them into the right position and have your abdomen palpated to check. Practice lots of squats and get yourself to the chiropractor, preferably one who can do a little myofascial release on your uterus.


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## sparrow2779

I had this terrible pain. Towards the end. Last hour. My son was born posterior so I don't know if this had anything to do with it? It came and went but it was the worst pain I have ever experienced. I thought my hip was broken. The only thing that helped was a nurse dug her fist into my hip and it helped some. This blog is a help. Thanks ladies for sharing. My son is 16 months old and I am still not sure if I want to do labor again. Bad 1st go at it. The hip pain was only a bit of the problems I had. We'll see.


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## Nillarilla

Oh gosh I sincerely hope that I'm not going to experience this again. I had this with my first and ended in an emergency c-section but I attributed it to the cord being too short and wrapped around his neck 3 times so he was essentially stuck. That was the worst. pain. ever. I have a doula and midwife who are trained in rebozo so I am hoping if I experience that they could shift her. My last mw was trained in acupuncture but not this one so that won't be an option.


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## LoriRP

*Hip labour*

I gave birth to our daughter 3 weeks ago. I just read this post to my husband and he thought that I wrote it! I had the EXACT everything as written! The pain was unbelievable. I had an epidural also, but it did nothing for the hip pain. I felt as though my hips were literally being broken. The part I couldn't believe was that we found the same position that somewhat took away a little of the pain. I was laying on my side, lifting my other leg in the air also! My doctors said it's very rare that hip pain, but they had seen it before. I've tried explaining it to people and no one gets it. They assume I mean back labour (which I also had) but couldn't feel it once the hip pain started. So nice to know I'm not alone!!!! For those who "think" they had this......you would know!


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