10 Breastfeeding Stretches To Ease Back & Neck Pain (With Video)

These breastfeeding stretches are a sure-fire way to help relieve back pain. They're low-impact stretches that help open up the chest and reduce discomfort through the back neck and shoulders.

As a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and mom of three, these breastfeeding stretches have helped countless women ease the tension in their upper backs from sitting hunched over feeding all day. Aim to do them multiple times per day if only for a few minutes to help scale back the discomfort.

What Causes Back Pain While Breastfeeding?

As a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, I can tell you that neck and shoulder pain while breastfeeding is common. This is because new moms spend so much time in a hunched-over position from:

• Feeding
• Carrying/rocking
• Laying on the couch

All of the above creates tension in the upper back as it rounds forward. Likewise, new moms are often exhausted and not up to making use of the “best positions” each day.

Breastfeeding For Stretches Back Pain

Below are the best stretches to ease back and neck pain from breastfeeding (and here are the best postpartum back pain exercises).

All of the stretches are:

• Low impact
• Safe for new moms
• Require equipment you have around the house (chair, wall, etc)

When it comes to stretching, make sure you warm up your muscles slightly (if you plan on deep stretching). Even a few arm circles will help.

You want to hold the stretches for 60-90s each making sure to breathe throughout the movement. This is different than performing things like thoracic spine exercises in which you're moving through the drill.

Lastly, keep the focus on keeping your ribcage tucked down and not flared. This makes it so you gain movement through the upper back and shoulders versus the low back. This is crucial for both alleviating back and neck pain and also starting the process of healing diastasis recti.

Scroll down for a brief description of each stretch.

1. Puppy dog stretch
2. Thread the needle
3. Crescent child’s pose
4. Weighted pullover
5. Thoracic openers
6. Elevated triceps stretch.
7. Assisted neck stretch.
8. Sideways reach
9. Assisted lat stretch
10. Eagle arm stretch
11. Inverted cat stretch

1. Puppy Dog Stretch

1. Come into a position on all fours.
2. Keeping your hips elevated off your legs, walk your hands forward and keep your arms straight.
3. Press your chest to the floor and open up the upper back.

Think of bringing your belly button up and holding a neutral to posterior pelvic tilt. This ensures you stretch in the underarms and not the low back.

Hold for 90 seconds.

2. Thread The Needle

1. Come into a table top position on your hands and knees.
2. Take your right arm and thread it through the gap between your legs and left arm.
3. Place the right shoulder on the floor and look to the left.
4. Twist from your upper back and not your lower back so that you feel the stretch in the back of your right shoulder.

Use the floor as resistance to twist from the upper back while keeping the hips squared so that the low back is not twisting.

Hold for 90 seconds per side.

3. Weighted Pull Over

1. Lay on your back with your knees bent or straight (bent is easier and better for beginners).
2. Tuck your ribs down toward your hips and raise your arms straight out from your shoulders.
3. Grab a yoga block and slowly bring the arms toward the ground behind your head.
4. Take care not to flare your ribs or upper back.

Start with a yoga block and progress to small weights.

Keeping the knees bent makes this easier. Really focus on engaging the internal core muscles. Use a yoga block as “weight” to start and slowly scale up. Also, REALLY ensure the rib cage stays down. If it comes up, you’ve gone too far.

You can turn this into a dynamic stretch (move down then return to the starting position and repeat) for a total of fifteen reps, or a static stretch (just hold the stretch) for 90 seconds.

4. Crescent Childs Pose

1. Come into a child pose position with your bum on your heels and arms straight out in front of you.
2. Walk your arms to the right side while maintaining the position until you feel a stretch in the left side.
3. Hold and repeat on the other side.

This stretch is also great for relaxing the pelvic floor. The goal is to get breath into the side body and ribs.

Hold for 60 seconds each side.

5. Thoracic Openers

1. Lay on your right side with your knees bent at hip level.
2. Place your arms together straight out from your shoulders on the floor.
3. Place a pillow or yoga block between your knees.
4. Without moving your hips (keep them squared and facing forward), open your left arm toward the opposite floor.
5. Twist from the upper back, not the lower back.
6. Bring the arm back to the other and repeat.

Mobility drill that helps get movement in the shoulders and upper back. Make sure the knees stay stacked and hips face forward to ensure movement in the upper and not lower back.

Perform for 30 seconds on each side.

6. Elevated Triceps Stretch

1. With your knees on the floor place your elbows on a bench or couch and bring your hands together.
2. Keeping the elbows on the bench, push your chest toward the floor, opening up the arm pits.
3. Hold.

Open up the underarms to get the upper back into extension. Make sure the belly is pulled to the spine so there’s no arch in the lower back.

Hold for 60 seconds.

7. Assisted Neck Stretch

1. Sit on a chair with feet planted and place your left hand under your bum (palm flat down). Alternatively, you can sit on your knees with your hand on the floor away from your hips.
2. Use your right arm to grab the side of your hear and gently pull it toward the right.
3. Hold for 30 seconds and then look down toward the floor while still holding the head and hold another thirty seconds.
4. Release and repeat on the other side.

Use your own strength the stretch out your neck. Remember to work WITH your breath and move gently.

8. Sideways Reach

1. Come into a kneeling position with your bum on your heels.
2. Place your right hand on the floor and walk it away from your hips by 3-4 inches.
3. Raise your left arm over your head and side bend to the right.
4. Hold and repeat on the other side.

Keep the chest open and breathe air into the ribs. Likewise, if it hurts to look up, keep the neck in a neutral or downward position.

Hold for 60 seconds on each side.

9. Assisted Lat Stretch

1. Find a doorway and hold into the side of it with your right hand.
2. walk your feet back and drop your chest toward the floor to open up the armpit.
3. Stagger your feet so that the right foot is back and the left is forward.
4. Bring your left shoulder toward your left knee and open up your right side.
5. Hold and repeat on the other side.

Use this position to move to what feels good. Sink your body back but don’t feel you need to stay in one spot. Shift weight to experiment with where you feel the best stretch.

Hold for 60 seconds each side.

10. Eagle Arms

1. Come into a kneeling position with your heels on your bum.
2. Sit up tall.
3. Take your left arm and wrap it under the right elbow and bring your palms together.
4. Slowly move your elbows up and down above and below shoulder level.

Can be done statically (not moving) or as a dynamic stretch where you move the arms up and down,

Repeat for 30 seconds each side or hold for 45 seconds each side.

11. Inverted Cat Stretch

You do need a swiss ball for this exercise but in a pinch elevated cushions and a couch work too!

1. Sit upright on a swiss ball
2. Slowly move the hips foward and get your head and upper back ont the ball.
3. Lift your bum up with your glutes and hook your arms on a couch, bench or chair with arms straight.
4. Slowly drop your bum to the floor and pull yourself away from the chair/bench to stretch the chest and upper back.

Can Your Back Hurt While Breastfeeding?

So, both your upper and low back can hurt from/during breastfeeding. Similarly, they’re interconnected.

Both areas of your back can (and will) hurt from poor posture and the everyday demands of a new baby. Breastfeeding especially will cause a lot of tension.

Likewise, once your upper back begins to hurt and round forward from the demands, it causes tension in the low back.

Furthermore, another cause of low back pain comes from carrying your baby with a tucked under bum (posterior pelvic tilt). Instead of using the muscles, we should be using to carry a baby, most moms compensate by leaning back, tucking the bum under, and “balancing” the baby.

You can learn more about low back pain and how to fix it here.

What Are The Symptoms Of Nursing Mother's Neck?

Nursing mother's neck refers to the stiffness and often pain through the next and upper back from breastfeeding. This can feel like discomfort, tingling, or burning in the area and down the shoulders.

What Helps Back Pain While Breastfeeding?

In order to help alleviate back, neck, and shoulder pain while breastfeeding, you need to take a multi-faceted approach.

A combination of strengthening the upper back and posterior chain muscles. The muscles of the posterior chain are essentially your “posture” muscles. They target the back of the body.

Thus, keeping them strong is one aspect of alleviating back pain.

How To Strengthen The Upper Back Muscles

Check out this YouTube workout video to give you an idea of how to target the upper body muscles postpartum (and learn more about the best back exercises you can do at home)

Along with strengthening, stretching the muscles of the chest, shoulders, and back will help as well.

However, there is such a thing as the power of repetition. Meaning, given new moms, spend most of their time feeding or carrying, you need to be consistent in your efforts to alleviate discomfort.

Furthermore, know that it takes day-to-day work to help manage the symptoms and that there is no “perfect” fix given that the amount of time holding, and feeding will always outweigh the time stretching.

And of course, make sure to fuel up on the best breastfeeding snacks to boost milk supply!

More Breastfeeding Tips For New Moms

• Dairy-free breastfeeding diet
• Crucial postpartum exercises
• Self testing for diastasis recti
• How to heal diastasis recti
• 30 breastfeeding snacks
• Pelvic floor health
• Exercises to AVOID as a new mom
• 10 Minute diastasis recti workout
• Homeamde nipple cream for breastfeeding moms

Ps: if you're super nervous about breastfeeding or pumping, check out this online breastfeeding class. It's video-based and goes over everything you need to know to put your mind at ease.

Don’t forget to pin these stretches for breastfeeding back and neck pain!

Wrap Up

These breastfeeding stretches are meant to reduce back, neck, and shoulder pain caused by the everyday posture of a new mom.

The stretches are light, low-impact, and effective. Likewise, in conjunction with strengthening the upper back can help alleviate tension for breastfeeding moms!