Tailbone Pain After Childbirth: Causes, Treatment and When to Get Help
Tailbone pain after giving birth can make sitting, feeding and getting comfortable surprisingly difficult. Find out what causes postnatal coccydynia and what can help.
Nobody warns you quite how much sitting you’ll do once your baby arrives.
Feeding, cuddling, rocking, changing nappies and trying to get five minutes to yourself can mean spending a surprising amount of time on a chair or sofa. If your tailbone hurts every time you sit down, those hours can become particularly uncomfortable.
Tailbone pain after childbirth is often called coccydynia. It can develop after pregnancy or labour and, while it often improves with time, persistent pain can interfere significantly with everyday life.
At Family Osteopathy Hammersmith, we see women with postnatal coccyx pain as part of our wider osteopathic and Mummy MOT care. The important thing is to understand what may be contributing to your symptoms rather than assuming you simply have to put up with them.
What is the coccyx?
The coccyx, commonly called the tailbone, is the small structure at the bottom of your spine.
It is connected with the sacrum and supported by surrounding ligaments, muscles and connective tissues. Some of the pelvic floor muscles also attach in or around this region.
The coccyx has a small amount of normal movement. During childbirth, movement of the coccyx can contribute to the space available at the back of the pelvis as the baby passes through the birth canal.
That doesn’t mean that every case of postpartum tailbone pain involves the coccyx being “put out” or dislocated.
Pain in this area can arise from several different structures, and identifying the actual pattern of symptoms is more useful than assuming a particular injury has occurred.
Why can your tailbone hurt after giving birth?
There isn’t one single cause of postnatal coccyx pain.
Pressure during labour and delivery
During a vaginal birth, significant forces pass through the pelvis as the baby moves through the birth canal.
The coccyx and surrounding tissues can be subjected to increased pressure, particularly during a difficult or prolonged labour.
In some cases, this can result in bruising or irritation of the coccyx and surrounding tissues.
Instrumental delivery
Forceps or ventouse delivery can be associated with a greater risk of pelvic floor and perineal trauma and may also contribute to increased loading around the coccyx and surrounding structures.
However, tailbone pain can occur after an uncomplicated vaginal birth too.
Pregnancy-related changes
You don’t necessarily have to have injured your coccyx during labour.
Pregnancy changes the way you carry your weight and move, while the growing baby places increasing demands on the pelvis and surrounding muscles. These changes can contribute to pain around the lower back, pelvis and coccyx.
Prolonged sitting after birth
This one is particularly relevant to new mums.
If your coccyx is already irritated, spending long periods sitting down to feed or rest can repeatedly load the painful area.
A chair or sofa that puts pressure directly onto the tailbone can make symptoms considerably worse.
Pelvic floor and surrounding muscle tension
The pelvic floor and other muscles around the pelvis have important attachments and relationships with the coccyx.
After pregnancy and birth, these tissues can become painful, tight, weak or poorly coordinated.
That doesn’t mean that pelvic floor dysfunction is necessarily the cause of your coccyx pain, but it can be part of the overall picture and is worth considering during a postnatal assessment.
What does postnatal coccyx pain feel like?
Coccydynia typically causes pain that is localised around the tailbone.
You might notice:
Pain when sitting down
Pain that becomes worse the longer you sit
Discomfort when getting up from a chair
Tenderness around the tailbone
Pain when leaning backwards while sitting
Pain during bowel movements
Discomfort during sexual intercourse
Pain when changing position in bed
Pain that improves when standing or lying down
Some women describe the sensation as an ache, while others experience sharper or more intense pain.
The exact pattern matters, because not every pain around the bottom of the spine is caused by the coccyx.
Pain from the lower back, sacroiliac region, pelvic floor or surrounding muscles can sometimes feel similar.
Does giving birth damage the coccyx?
It can, but it’s important not to assume that it has.
Coccyx injuries ranging from bruising to fracture or joint injury can occur during childbirth, but most postnatal tailbone pain doesn’t require us to assume that a fracture has occurred.
If pain is severe, persistent or accompanied by other concerning symptoms, medical assessment may be appropriate.
A good assessment starts with your history and symptoms and then considers whether further investigation is actually necessary.
How long does tailbone pain take to settle after birth?
There isn’t one fixed recovery time.
Milder irritation or soft-tissue pain may gradually improve over the first few weeks. More persistent coccydynia can take considerably longer, particularly if the area continues to be aggravated by prolonged sitting.
If your pain is not gradually improving, is getting worse, or is significantly affecting your ability to sit, feed or care for your baby, it’s reasonable to seek professional advice rather than simply waiting indefinitely.
And if you’ve been living with coccyx pain for months or even years after giving birth, it is still worth having it assessed.
What can you do at home?
There are several simple things that may make sitting more comfortable while the area settles.
Reduce prolonged pressure
Try not to spend long uninterrupted periods sitting.
If you’re feeding your baby, changing position or standing up for short periods can give the area a break.
Experiment with your sitting position
A supportive chair can be more comfortable than a soft sofa that allows you to sink backwards.
Some people find sitting slightly forwards reduces direct pressure on the coccyx.
The best position is ultimately the one that reduces your symptoms.
Consider a coccyx cushion
A cushion with a cut-out or appropriate coccyx relief can reduce direct pressure while sitting.
It doesn’t treat the underlying cause, but it can make feeding and everyday sitting much more manageable while you’re recovering.
Keep moving gently
Complete rest isn’t usually necessary.
Gentle walking and gradually returning to normal movement can help you maintain general strength and mobility, provided it doesn’t significantly aggravate your symptoms.
Avoid straining with bowel movements
Constipation and straining can aggravate pain around the pelvic floor and coccyx.
Keeping hydrated, eating enough fibre and addressing constipation can therefore be useful alongside your other recovery measures.
Can osteopathy help with tailbone pain after childbirth?
Sometimes, yes — depending on what’s contributing to your symptoms.
At Family Osteopathy Hammersmith, we don’t assume that every case of tailbone pain requires treatment directly to the coccyx.
Instead, we’ll look at the wider picture.
Your assessment may include:
Your pregnancy and birth history
Exactly where your pain is located
What makes it better or worse
Your lower back and pelvic movement
Hip and surrounding muscle function
Relevant pelvic-floor symptoms
How you’re sitting, walking and moving
How your symptoms are affecting everyday activities
Treatment may include appropriate hands-on osteopathic techniques to surrounding muscles and joints, movement advice and a progressive exercise programme where appropriate.
Direct treatment around the coccyx isn’t automatically necessary, particularly when the area is very sensitive. Treatment should be appropriate to your symptoms, stage of recovery and clinical findings.
What about a Mummy MOT?
If your tailbone pain is part of a wider set of postnatal symptoms, a Mummy MOT can provide a useful broader assessment.
For example, you may also be experiencing:
Pelvic girdle pain
Lower-back pain
Abdominal wall changes
Difficulty returning to exercise
Urinary leakage
Pelvic heaviness
C-section or perineal scar concerns
General weakness or discomfort after pregnancy
Rather than looking at your coccyx in isolation, we can consider how your symptoms fit into your overall postnatal recovery.
Where your symptoms suggest that specialist pelvic-health physiotherapy or medical assessment would be more appropriate, we can recommend referral.
When should you seek medical advice?
Most postnatal coccyx pain is managed conservatively, but some symptoms shouldn’t simply be attributed to childbirth.
Seek medical assessment if you have:
Severe or rapidly worsening pain
Significant swelling or deformity
New numbness or weakness
Loss of bladder or bowel control
Difficulty passing urine or stool
Fever or feeling generally unwell
Pain following significant trauma
Symptoms that aren’t improving as expected
These symptoms may indicate that something other than straightforward mechanical coccyx pain needs to be investigated.
You don’t have to sit through it
Tailbone pain can sound like a relatively minor problem until you’re trying to sit through a 45-minute feeding session with a newborn.
If sitting, feeding, getting in and out of a chair or simply getting comfortable has become painful since giving birth, you don’t have to dismiss it as something you just have to endure.
At Family Osteopathy Hammersmith, we’ll take the time to understand what’s happening, assess the areas that may be contributing to your symptoms and explain your options clearly.
Sometimes that means osteopathic treatment. Sometimes it’s exercise and movement advice. Sometimes another healthcare professional is the right person to involve.
The aim is not simply to treat your tailbone — it’s to help you understand your symptoms and find the most appropriate route back to comfortable movement.
Book postnatal osteopathy or a Mummy MOT in Hammersmith
If you’re experiencing tailbone pain after childbirth, we’d be happy to assess you at Family Osteopathy Hammersmith.
Whether you’re a few weeks postpartum or several years on from your pregnancy, it’s worth getting persistent pain properly assessed.
Family Osteopathy Hammersmith provides postnatal osteopathy and Mummy MOT appointments for mums across Hammersmith and West London.
