The "Nursing Throne"

When rebuilding the core, The Tummy Team focuses on all the aspects of your life.  What you do throughout the day and how you do it matters tremendously.   Since we work with so many new moms it is crucial that we address their nursing (baby feeding) position.

Mothers of newborns are in the nursing position for 11-14 hours a day! If you are doing anything for that amount of time you deserve a throne! A throne is great with nursing or bottle feeding. Posture tends to be a big issue when positioning to nurse but can still be an issue with bottle feeding.  We are going to refer to nursing moms mostly but this will apply even with bottle feeding parents.  Posture overall can be easier to correct with bottle feeding but when we use a bottle, we don't switch sides as often and tend to use just our dominant side to hold the baby.  When this happens one side tends to get very tight, try to alternate the baby side to side even if you are bottle feeding.

The cool thing about nursing is you can theoretically nurse anywhere. The reality is we sit in the same place about 90% of the time.

Couches tend to be terrible for your posture. Too deep, too soft, too much of a pull to slump. Boppy pillows are often too low and Breast Friends sometimes make it so you can't get good back support.

Side-lying postures can be great, but it usually doesn't work for everyone and is not always practical if you have other kiddos you need to watch in the middle of the day.



As with all of our instruction, we want to help you get into and maintain a neutral and balanced alignment.  Preferably with your pelvis and rib cage aligned and your core able to elongate and activate as needed to hold you up. Our basic instruction in "active sitting" looks similar to this...

Obviously there is more involved when you consider the baby, and baby to breast position, etc.  But first we look at sitting on your "sit" bones with lumbar support and back support and having your feet be able to touch the floor or a small stool.

How to create a nursing throne. 

First, your throne needs to be where you want to sit most of the time, typically in the main family room/living room. Locate the best chair in your house to help you have an active sitting alignment.  Look for a fairly firm seat, upright back and preferably a high back (all the way to support your head if possible).  If you have a rocking chair or glider or even dining room chair that works best move it to where you want your throne to be. You may need to create this spot if you have nothing that seems to immediately work. If you are short or your surfaces are deep have a pillow (or 2) behind you. The corner of the couch sitting cross legged may work if you can get on your sit bones. A lumbar support or squishy pillow can help for your low back. Keep in mind if you have a great spot but it is in the nursery and you never nurse in there, then you need to consider moving the "throne" to where you will use it 90% of the time.

Then you need to prop baby up, most people need a pillow or 2 under a boppy, even when baby is bigger. You naturally flex forward for the latch but then you want to be able to sit back and up with baby's weight fully supported by the pillows not your arms.

Next add a side table with all your stuff- nipple cream, burp cloths, water, phone, paci, extra supplementing bottle etc so you have what you need right there with you.

Keep this "throne" set up so it is there when you need it and you are never left in a lurch. The nursing throne is the perfect place to do your Tummy Team rehab exercises so this set up is beneficial in many ways. Play around (not when baby is crying and starving) with different chairs you may have in your house. Even something you think would not be comfortable, if you set it up correctly, you will quickly see the benefit of this throne.

Here are a few visual examples...

A glider can be good, but some moms will need a pillow in the back to keep them from slumping or a lumbar support to help you stay on your sit bones.  Note how the extra pillow, boppy and side table are all set up so you have what you need when you need it.  I also like the neck pillow, especially for night feeding to support your neck so you can rest and drift in and out of sleep without your neck killing you.

Sitting in the nursing throne (no baby), notice how high the pillow would prop the baby up so the weight of the baby would be supported by the pillow not your arms.  Also, try to keep your elbow close to your sides to help you stay upright and not round excessively in the holding posture.

An alternate chair option.  This is an inexpensive chair from IKEA with our lumbar support on it.  This is a good option for a throne or for a night time alternate throne in your bedroom.  Propping up in bed will kill your back very quickly.  If you can side-lie to nurse in bed- that is your best bed nursing alignment- otherwise it is often better to just get out of bed and sit up to nurse.  Getting up to nurse often can help you have a beginning and end to the feeding time as well  more than the nursing, snacking, sleeping, snacking pattern that happens in bed.  It is up to you and your sleep training/ parenting choices.

I just found a random nursing picture to compare to. Even though this mamma looks reclined and comfortable, her body is in a collapsed position, tail tucked and it is impossible to activate the core in this posture.  11-14 hours a day of this or similar collapsed postures can create chronic low back pain, mid back (bra strap pain) and a slow to heal core with increasing pressure out and down on the pelvic floor and the intestinal track.

 

 

Why do you need to think about your nursing posture?

Motherhood is very physically demanding and especially difficult after a long labor with a deflated and inactive core.  The chronic mothering positions of baby holding, flexing and rounding for nursing, carrying babies, reaching in and out of cribs, carrying infant carriers, lifting strollers, lugging baby bags and continuing to care for the rest of the family is exhausting.  Not to mention the lack of sleep, birth recovery, and literally having most of your nutrition sucked out of you. 


We work with hundreds of clients who have chronic pain and feel depressed and overwhelmed by these demands as well as the emotional demands of motherhood.  There is so much joy to be had in this time but when your body is hurting, you can miss it.  We want you to have a beautiful mothering experience.


Any way we can make this time easier and help mothers feel more successful and eliminate pain, we want to do that.  What ever you do the most wins.  If you are sitting in a slumped and collapsed posture 11-14 hours a day it is difficult to undo that amount of neglect but if you do set yourself up for success you can start feeling better immediately.


The Tummy Team can also help you systematically rebuild your core, eliminate pain from muscle imbalance, heal diastasis recti and regain your pre baby self.  Let us help you.  Find out more about what we do at www.thetummyteam.com.