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Arie Brentnall-Compton?s first son, Luke, weighed 20 pounds by the time he was three months old. Since Luke was the kind of baby who wanted to be close to his mom most of the time, Brentnall-Compton soon found she had a constant backache: ?I really think I injured my back trying to carry him all the time in the ring sling I had,? she says.
Even a 10- or 12-pound baby gets pretty heavy after a long day in your arms and when you add in the weight of the diaper bag, car seat and other supplies you may be lugging around, it?s easy to see why your back might be sore.
The majority of new mothers, though, don?t experience much back pain, says Ottawa family physician Monica Brewer. ?Backache is more common during pregnancy, thanks to the hormone relaxin, which relaxes the ligaments and makes the back more susceptible to pain.? For about 90 percent of women, this back pain eases once the baby is born, although it may take two or three months to completely resolve. However, for women who had problems with back pain prior to getting pregnant, or who found their backache especially bad during pregnancy, carrying a baby can make things worse, Brewer explains. Some basic strategies may help:
Lifting lessons

?Using proper mechanics when picking up baby helps prevent injury to your back,? says Brewer. To pick up your baby from a bassinet or car seat, you should bend your knees so you?re squatting, rather than bending from the waist; keep your back straight as you hold ...