Women's experience of low back and/or pelvic pain (LBPP) during pregnancy

• Pregnancy-related low back and/ or pelvic pain affects women both physically and emotionally.
• Women lacked awareness of pelvic pain during pregnancy.
• Women with back and pelvic pain during pregnancy feared it's impact on birth.
• Women need better advice and support for pregnancy-related low back and pelvic pain.

Objectiveto explore the experiences of women suffering low back and/or pelvic pain during pregnancy.Designa qualitative design using focus groups. Each group was recorded with a digital audio recorder and analysed using the Newell and Burnard framework for thematic analysis.Settingan urban maternity hospital.Participantsa self-selecting sample of 14 women who had taken part in a pilot randomised controlled trial investigating reflexology for pregnancyrelated low back and / or pelvic pain.Measurements and Findingsthe group discussions were guided by a pre-determined schedule of questions designed to investigate women's experiences of pregnancyrelated low back and / or pelvic pain. Three main themes emerged:(1)The physical and emotional impact that pregnancy-related low back and / or pelvic pain had on women's lives(2)Women's attitudes towards, and knowledge about pregnancy-related low back and/or pelvic pain(3)Women's use of treatments to manage their symptoms and levels of dissatisfaction with standard advice and treatment.Key conclusionslow back and/ or pelvic pain affected women physically and emotionally during pregnancy. Their attitudes towards, and knowledge about the conditions differed. Women used a range of self-help strategies for their symptoms and there was a general sense of dissatisfaction with routine advice and treatment, a finding supported by a growing body of research.Implications for practicegiven that pregnancy-related low back and/ pelvic pain occur across the world, and affects the majority of pregnant women, heath care providers need to ensure that standard care provided is meeting women's needs.Health care professionals may require specific training in order to effectively provide individualised and evidence-based advice and support to pregnant women experiencing this pain.