# hip pain in labor



## Therese's Mommy (Jan 15, 2005)

I just gave birth to our second child. I was induced with both. The first because of bp issues (bogus imo) and with this one because I was 42wks. Ok, with both labors I felt all my pain in my hips. It was really intense and no one knew what to do for me. We tried all different positions, massaging the hips, putting pressure on them, nothing helped. My mom had the same thing with her first labor which was also induced. I am wondering if this is a product of the induction or something with my body.

Has anyone else ever had this? Have you found a way to relieve the pain at all? Thanks!

Beth


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## MomaKat (Jul 15, 2004)

Oh the hip pain... I was not induced, had my daughter at home and the pain in my hips was horrible, I am 26 weeks pregnant now, and have been on the search for new ideas in case the hip pain comes back. Putting pressure in my hip creases did help me however.

I have talked to many other women about this, and I know of 2 other hip pain suffer-ers. One told me that during her second labor, she sat in cobblers pose (bottoms of her feet together, near her groin), and that really helped. I have yet to try it. The thing that really bummed me out, was it really limited my movement. All I wanted to do was lean back on the couch, certainly not walk around.

Sorry you had to feel it too.


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## majormajor (Nov 3, 2006)

i had this too (and i was induced.) i had mostly back labor, but there was about an hour where i had this horrible feeling that my hips were being shattered. just when i thought it couldn't get worse! 
i thought it was a nerve thing, maybe related to my back labor. i couldn't try different positions to see if anything could relieve it because DD's HR was not good, and i had to stay in whatever position kept it up at that moment.
i didn't think it might happen again! oh dear... oh i hope not!


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## oregongirlie (Mar 14, 2006)

I had it. It was so bad -- 10 times worse than the contractions. It made me very restless. I had to jump up for every contraction. I also couldn't go to the bathroom very well. It was horrible. My labor ended up really ineffective (just a few cm after days). The hip pain felt "wrong" to me. I don't know if there is a problem with my hips. Had a c-section.


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## kim_nz (Jun 11, 2004)

I had it with my 2nd and 3rd birth (1st was c-section) and it was horrible. I wasnt induced. With my 2nd i had an epidural which wore off and i was made to lay flat on my back when made it that much worse. It was terrible. With my 3rd i had it right at the end, which makes me thing it was when DS was moving down into my pelvis and we tried boiling hot wheat packs which were lovely and pressure. In the end i found laying on my left side made it bearable. After i had DS my midwife said to me that was the only time during the labour that she was unsure about and had considered transferring to the hospital as it was a homebirth.
While pregnant with my 2nd i went to a chiropractor who told me i had a twisted pelvis and i thought the pain in labour would have been something to do with that.


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## jocelyndale (Aug 28, 2006)

Could it be sciatic nerve pain? I developed it in my first trimester, most of the pain stayed in my hips.

During labor, however, I had sciatic pain coursing to my toes with each contraction. I had no interventions with labor.

Postpartum, I've had some treatments from my doc that have helped. The hip pain has dulled considerably, but it comes back after lots of babywearing/walking.

My mother also has sciatica and her primarily complaint was hip pain for 12 years. She finally saw a doc who gave her a proper diagnosis (sciatica, not fibromyalgia) and got PT and other treatments for it.


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## mikayla's mama (May 22, 2005)

I had that with my first, induced and back labor birth. I also had severe sciatica throughout pregnancy. It felt like my hips were being torn apart like a wishbone, it was so bad I was vomiting.

With my second pregnancy I started seeing a Chiropractor and the adjustments really helped the sciatic nerve pain. Then when I labored I didn't have the horrible hip pain but I was not induced and did not have back labor. So anyways, I'm not sure what helped, chiro, properly positioned baby or spontaneous labor or if it was a combination of things.


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## Therese's Mommy (Jan 15, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jocelyndale* 
Could it be sciatic nerve pain? I developed it in my first trimester, most of the pain stayed in my hips.

During labor, however, I had sciatic pain coursing to my toes with each contraction. I had no interventions with labor.

Postpartum, I've had some treatments from my doc that have helped. The hip pain has dulled considerably, but it comes back after lots of babywearing/walking.

My mother also has sciatica and her primarily complaint was hip pain for 12 years. She finally saw a doc who gave her a proper diagnosis (sciatica, not fibromyalgia) and got PT and other treatments for it.


No, this isn't sciatica, although I had that on and off during pregnancy. This hip pain during labor is best describe as a feeling that my hips are literally going to explode. I really should look into a chiro as my neck is killing me as well from sleeping awkwardly near the end of the pregnancy. Thanks for the insights, no one except my mom knew what I was talking about when I would describe this pain. One of the nurses I had in labor said that she only had 1 other woman in 27yrs who had it. It stinks being different


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## BetsyS (Nov 8, 2004)

I had this, too. I have only had 1 other friend tell me she had it. She said she screamed through her labor, "my bones are breaking." And, that's exactly how it felt. When I was in labor, I kept telling my dh, "Barb was right, but her bones didn't break, mine really are going to break."


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## cristeen (Jan 20, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mikayla's mama* 
I had that with my first, induced and back labor birth. I also had severe sciatica throughout pregnancy. It felt like my hips were being torn apart like a wishbone, it was so bad I was vomiting.









:

The first 12 hours or so of labor I didn't have it, but I fell asleep on that horrid hospital bed the first night and when I woke up the next morning that's where the labor was. The doctors totally didn't believe me when I said that it felt like I had a belt around my hipbones and it felt like they were being crushed. The only relief I got was lying on my side and having major counter-pressure in the small of my back during each contraction. I had morphine, but it barely touched the pain. By the time he was born, my back was a mass of bruises from the counter-pressure.

I also had a very difficult time peeing with it. It was so painful that letting go of my bladder was very difficult.

I had assumed it was because of the induction, but I guess not. Maybe chiro care would be a good idea before I get too far into my next pregnancy.


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## jocelyndale (Aug 28, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *cristeen* 
The doctors totally didn't believe me when I said that it felt like I had a belt around my hipbones and it felt like they were being crushed. The only relief I got was lying on my side and having major counter-pressure in the small of my back during each contraction.

That's *exactly* what the hip pain portion of my sciatica felt like. And it's what it still feels like when it flares. When it's mild, it feels like an ice pick in the hip, but during labor and immediately post-partum, that's what it felt like.

I didn't ask for pain relief because I know from experience that nothing touches that kind of nerve pain for me. I just screamed . . . like a banshee.









Therese's Mommy, good luck figuring out what's going on with your situation!


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## wannabe (Jul 4, 2005)

Thanks for asking this Q, I really want an answer/suggestions, too. I am horrified that some of you have had it more than once.

No-one could help with mine, either - felt like the two sides of my hips were being twisted away from each other, left side forwards, right side backwards. Sciatica feels like a knife like pain for me, this was like a twisting, breaking feeling. I thought I had some terrible connective tissue problem in my pelvis and my bones were breaking instead of coming apart where they're supposed to. I was leaning on the edge of the bed between contractions and leaping up and dancing on my toes to try and get out of my skin during them.

So, several people have said side lying helped. And one said cobbler's pose.

Did anyone try water? I tried the shower and didn't like the sound of the bath


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## ecoteat (Mar 3, 2006)

My labor started spontaneously with hip pain. I never really felt contractions in my uterus; it was all in my hips. It definitely helped to get in the birthing pool, although my experience wasn't nearly as painful as some of yours apparently was.


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## majormajor (Nov 3, 2006)

as far as pain relief, i got an epidural and got 100% pain relief. i'm told i got a REALLY good anesthesiologist







:

the epidural was an easy choice in DD's labor--it was that in place, or general anesthesia for the emergency section (we all knew it was coming, but were waiting until we had to just in case we didn't have to).
if it happens again... i dunno. the pain was _so_ bad, and my epidural experience was so perfect. i guess i'll cross that bridge if i get there. just wanted to let you all know that the epidural worked for that pain for me.


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## Therese's Mommy (Jan 15, 2005)

I had an epidural with my first, and yes, it took care of the hip pain completely. I hated having the epi though. This time I wasn't going to have the epi but the dr was pushing for a section because he said I wasn't progressing fast enough







: So I agreed to the epi so that he would let me labor longer. The anesthesiologist had gone home for the night so we had to wait for him to come back. While waiting I dialated the other 5cms very quickly and gave birth before he got there. So, I am looking for a way to fight the pain next time without having the epi. But like I said above, I really need to find a good chiro.


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## Altair (May 1, 2005)

did you try hip squeezes? A few mothers I worked with in labor got hip relief from them-- that's when someone uses the heel of their hands to push your hips towards each other-- placing then hands on either side of your spine on the small of your back.. Done right, it actually moves the hips a little and eases some pressure.


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## Ornery (May 21, 2007)

I had horrible hip pain throughout both of my last two labors and none in my first labor. Regular contractions were NOTHING compared to the hip pain. I truly thought my hips were breaking. With my second baby, it was a homebirth and we ended up transferring after pushing for 5 hours, she was born via vacuum extraction. My third baby was born via c/s because after 3 days of laboring with the hip pain and vomiting every half hour or so, I was so dehydrated I could do nothing. All I wanted to do was die. I'm sorry to see that other mamas have had to deal with it, but it makes me feel a little less alone.

Hip squeezes did little to nothing for me unfortunately, except for wear out my entire birth team, including two midwives, two support women and my dh. I've heard the only way to combat this type of pain is to see a very good chiro throughout your pregnancy, so that your hips are in alignment or something like that. I'm scared to death that this time will be the same so I've made my first appointment for 20 weeks. I'm hoping that if I go twice a month until 34 weeks and then once a week for the rest of the pg, I'll never have to experience this pain again. I'm afraid that if I feel it with this labor, I will end up insisting on a c/s (which is what I really really do not want).

By the way, I too had sciatica pain during my last pregnancy, and while that was horrible, for me it was very different from the hip pain I experienced during labor.


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