Association of breastfeeding related musculoskeletal pain, sleep quality and physical activity among postpartum women: a literature review

Pooja Mehra; Nitesh Verma; Geetanjali Kaul; Ankit Kumar

doi:10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20242105

Authors

Pooja Mehra Department of Physiotherapy, Maharishi Markandeshwar Medical College and Hospital, Kumarhatti, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India
Nitesh Verma Department of Physiotherapy, Maharishi Markandeshwar Medical College and Hospital, Kumarhatti, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India
Geetanjali Kaul Department of Physiotherapy, Maharishi Markandeshwar Medical College and Hospital, Kumarhatti, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India
Ankit Kumar Department of Physiotherapy, Maharishi Markandeshwar Medical College and Hospital, Kumarhatti, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20242105

Keywords:

Arthralgia, Breastfeeding, Exercise, Sleep deprivation, Postpartum period

Abstract

Women often report musculoskeletal ailments during perinatal period resulting in less sleep hours and decline in physical activity. It has been speculated that physical activity can lower the frequency of muscular pain and enhance good quality sleep among women. Hence, the review aimed to investigate the association of breastfeeding related musculoskeletal pain, sleep quality and physical activity thus refining quality of life among women. Literature search was performed using search strategy on PubMed, Scopus and Pedro databases during 2019-2023. A total 54,037 articles were found via database searching out of which only 16 studies were relevant meeting the inclusion criteria. All the studies found that breastfeeding related musculoskeletal pain, sleep quality and physical activity are associated with each other. To lower the incidence of muscular pain and improve sleep quality, physical activity can be incorporated thus preventing occurrence of future complications. Hence, it has been suggested that physical activity is key solution of emerging musculoskeletal pain and broken sleep quality. Evidence from this literature supports that prenatal education emphasizing necessity of physical activity should be routinely integrated into maternal care in an effort to reduce chances of future complications.

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