What causes coccyx pain in pregnant women?

A pregnant woman can be regarded as a queen-level figure, and the whole family has to revolve around her. Because there is a little life in her belly, a little life that the whole family is looking forward to. However, many people only see the comfort and ease of pregnant women. In fact, after pregnancy, girls will also experience great inconvenience and suffer severe pain caused by some physical changes.

The human pelvis is composed of the sacrum, coccyx and two hip bones (including ilium, pubis and ischium). At the back of the pelvis, the ear-shaped articular surfaces of the hip bones on both sides are connected to the articular surfaces of the sacrum on both sides, forming the sacroiliac joints. In the front, the left and right pubic bones embrace each other to form the front half of the pelvis. The two pubic bones are connected by a fibrous cartilage plate to form the pubic symphysis, which is surrounded by tough ligaments for protection, making the two pubic bones tightly combined together with a very small cavity that is not easy to move. It is estimated that the pubic symphysis is not likely to separate or dislocate even if it is subjected to a traction force of 328 kg.

However, when a woman becomes pregnant, things change. When the pregnancy is 7-10 weeks, the pregnant woman's ovaries secrete a substance called "relaxin", which gradually increases with the increase of pregnancy period. Relaxin can relax the fibrous cartilage and ligaments of the sacroiliac joints and pubic symphysis, and widen the pubic space to accommodate the growing fetus in the uterus. In the late pregnancy, the gap in the middle of the pubic symphysis may even widen to 0.3-0.4 cm to prepare for the smooth delivery of the fetal head during childbirth.

The key to preventing pubic separation in pregnant women is prevention, which should be done as follows: actively participate in physical exercise to enhance muscle and ligament tension; pregnant women should not stay absolutely still during pregnancy, and may do some thigh flexion and extension exercises, but avoid large-scale waist and hip movements and other strenuous exercises; if a pelvic joint suffers from tuberculosis, rheumatism or softening, pregnancy should be resumed after recovery; nutrition during pregnancy should be moderate to prevent the fetus, especially the fetal head, from being too large and aggravating pubic separation during delivery, and chronic cough, constipation and other conditions should be avoided to avoid further increasing abdominal pressure; heavy physical labor should be avoided in the middle and late stages of pregnancy, especially weight-bearing walking; the fetal head mostly enters the pelvis 2 weeks before the expected date of delivery, and the pubic bone may be further separated after entering the pelvis, so pregnant women who have the conditions can take a vacation at home two weeks before delivery.

Once a pregnant woman develops pubic separation, no treatment is required if the condition is mild. When the pain is obvious, you should rest in bed, preferably in the left side lying position. For a small number of people with severe pain, in addition to rest, they also need to use a cloth pelvic strap to tighten the pelvis to relieve pain. If the fetus is not too large and the symptoms are mild, the pregnant woman can give birth smoothly and the impact will not be significant. If the fetus is too large and the symptoms are severe, a caesarean section should be performed to ensure the safety of mother and child. After the baby is delivered, as the level of relaxin decreases, the pubic symphysis closes and returns to its original state, and the pain naturally disappears.

There are also a very small number of pregnant women who, due to factors such as prolonged labor, excessively large fetus, improper force or incorrect posture, and cold in the lumbar region, may suffer from an imbalance in pelvic contraction force during or after delivery, causing dislocation of the sacroiliac joint cartilage surface, and the pubic symphysis cannot return to its normal position, resulting in postpartum pubic separation.

What do you think? Just based on this change, do you still find pregnant women enviable? In fact, after pregnancy, pregnant women will be under a lot of pressure. Not only do they have to face changes in body shape, but they also have to face role changes and adapt to the physical discomfort caused by pregnancy. Therefore, pregnant women are also very hard-working, not only physically but also mentally.