Protect Yourself from Injury When Caring for Your Baby

Is Your Baby a Pain in the Neck (Literally)?

By Melanie Norall

At 4:30 a.m. one fall morning, mother of four Heidi Pilawski felt a jolting pain in her lower back as she rushed to lift her crying toddler out of her crib.

“I knew right away that I had thrown out my back,” says Pilawski, who has suffered from chronic back pain since she became a mom. Because of the injury, both Heidi and her husband, who stayed home to take care of the kids while Heidi recovered, missed two days of work.

Everyday parenting tasks – getting a baby or toddler in and out of a car seat or crib, pushing a stroller, changing a diaper, dressing and feeding, and even just playing together – can take an enormous toll on the body and lead to injuries.

“I see new parents all the time with injuries such as back, neck and shoulder pain,” says physical therapist Lance Westcott. “It’s not just the moms, either. I also see many new dads with old injuries that have been exacerbated due to parenting responsibilities.”

Health experts say parents often suffer from repetitive-stress injuries that result from using poor posture to perform everyday tasks. Improper lifting and carrying of children, for instance, can injure ligaments, muscles, joints, tendons and spinal discs.

“Posture and body mechanics, followed by overall physical condition prior to parenthood, are the key factors in determining whether someone might be at risk of injury,” Westcott says.

And, although older parents are more likely to have prior injuries that worsen with parenting, age is not typically the main reason for injury.

Where We Make Mistakes

Car Seats – Car seats are always a problem area for parents. Either we’re running late and rushing to get our kids strapped in, or we’re wrestling with a squirming baby or toddler.

• Risky: What often happens is that parents twist their bodies and stretch across the car seat to get a child into the car. That action is hard on just about everything – knees, back, wrists, elbows, neck and shoulders.

• Safer: Place one foot in the car and face the car seat as you’re putting your baby or child in the seat. If you have a middle car seat, climb all the way into the car so that you are still facing the seat as you strap in your child.