# postpartum bowel pain (sorry -- might be tmi)



## aprildawn (Apr 1, 2004)

i'm wondering what's in the range of normal for postpartum bowel tenderness and pain when passing gas or during a bowel movement.

my baby is 8 days old. and the tenderness just started yesterday.

i'm not constipated at all. going to the bathroom 2x day and have been since we came home from the hospital which was last thursday.

the only connnection i can make is that i caught a cold from dh and have been coughing. i have what i'd describe as discomfort and pain when i cough in my rectum and bowels. it's definitely not my uterus. i don't have any tenderness when i urinate.

i'm just wondering if maybe the coughing is putting pressure down there that my body can't deal with right now and it's causing some tenderness? should i call my doctor? there's no bleeding or anything else unusual or weird going on at all. so i feel sorta silly even posting about it.


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## georgia (Jan 12, 2003)

could it be an internal hemorrhoid (sp?) that might be swelling? does it hurt mostly after you've been standing for awhile??


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## aprildawn (Apr 1, 2004)

actually, i think i hurt my tailbone and that's making everything in that region feel tender. can the baby's head screw up your tailbone? i imagine it's quite likely. and before she was born she was veeeery low for quite some time. i was feeling a lot of rectal pressure for several days.

the tenderness got worse last night after sitting in my glider. while i love the glider for nursing, it starts to make my bottom sore, right in the tailbone area, if i sit in it too long.


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## laurata (Feb 6, 2002)

Erm, yah. BTDT.

No idea the exact cause. Had a few tiny rectal fissures, I think, plus a bruised tailbone, plus I did have an infection shortly PP, and we never did determine if it was "just" mastitis or that and a vaginal infection as well.


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## ericaz (Jun 10, 2003)

aprildawn,

i definitely hurt my tailbone from pushing out my babe - and i only pushed for about 45 minutes. i couldn't walk right for nearly a month after she was born, although no doubt my hemorrhoids made matters SO much worse.
i recall my midwife telling me that another mama who she helped birth a babe actually sprained her pelvis from pushing (!!) and had to walk with a walker afterwards!

weirdly, my pain wasn't in my rectum, but i had this really odd tightening sensation in my clitoris for ages after giving birth. i have no idea what it was from but every time i peed it got all tight feeling - sorta painful but not excruciating.

sorry...that wasn't much help - but just thought i'd share that yes, hurting your tailbone CAN happen.


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## aprildawn (Apr 1, 2004)

thanks for the responses! glad to know it's probably not anything serious. just annoying. esp with this cough.


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