Chronic Pain After Birth: Back, Pelvic and Joint Pain Notes

Updated 3 October 2026

Pain after birth can start in pregnancy, follow a cesarean delivery or continue from before pregnancy. Postpartum clinicians and pain clinicians each see a different part of the picture. Without dates, each part is hard to place on the timeline.

This guide covers the three periods to separate, how to log scar, back, pelvic and joint pain, which baby-care tasks to record, how to keep a medicine list for two teams and which signs call for urgent help before any note is written.

Chronic pain from before pregnancy to 3 months after birth

In a Canadian cohort of 133 first-time mothers, 38% had a chronic pain condition or pain before pregnancy and 55% reported pain in pregnancy. Pain was present in 43% at 2 weeks after birth and in 25% at 3 months. Women with pre-existing pain were more likely to have pain at 2 weeks, and women with pain at 2 weeks were more likely to have pain at 3 months (PubMed). The study followed only non-genital, non-pelvic pain, so it describes one part of the picture.

These numbers show why a clinician asks when each pain began. Divide your history into three periods and write the dates:

1. Before pregnancy: any pain you already tracked or treated.
2. During pregnancy: the week each pain began and where it was.
3. After birth: the day it started or changed, and how it compares with the earlier periods.

A pain that began in pregnancy and continues is a different fact from a new pain after delivery. Both belong in the record, labeled by period.

Chronic Pain Journey (by Health Journey Labs) lets you place all three periods in one history. The Daily check-in records pain intensity, fog, activity or pacing and how the day went, along with physical symptoms, so each new entry has the same fields as the earlier ones. The Flare Tracker flags a day clearly worse than a usual week, with onset and a short note, which marks the change after birth.

Scar and incision pain after cesarean delivery at 3, 6 and 12 months

A prospective study of 527 women found chronic pain after cesarean delivery in 18.3% at 3 months, 11.3% at 6 months and 6.8% at 12 months. Most had mild pain at rest. Moderate and severe pain on movement was more common at 3 months than later, and the pain affected activities of daily living (PubMed).

Because pain on movement mattered most in that study, log it separately from pain at rest. For each entry, write:

Steps to log scar pain, by Chronic Pain Journey

1. The place: along the scar, deeper in the lower abdomen or elsewhere.
2. The movement: standing up, lifting, coughing, turning in bed or walking.
3. The intensity at rest and during the movement.
4. What you stopped or changed because of it.

Ask the clinician who did the surgery or follows the recovery which findings they want to see. Do not interpret the pain in the entry. Record where, when and how much.

The Daily check-in in Chronic Pain Journey keeps pain intensity in the same form as activity or pacing, so pain at rest and pain with movement can be separate lines for one day. A line in the Daily Journal, typed or spoken, names the movement and what you canceled, which gives the clinician a concrete example for each month.

Pelvic girdle, low back and joint pain that continues past the first months

Pelvic girdle pain can persist. In a 12-year follow-up of women with persistent pelvic girdle pain after delivery, 40.3% of respondents still reported pain to some degree. Widespread pain was common, 21.8% of those with pain had been on sick leave in the past 12 months, and persistence of pain was among the strongest predictors of a poor long-term outcome (PubMed).

Three facts help a clinician sort these pains: where it is, how long it lasts each time and what it limits. For back, pelvic and joint pain, write:

Steps for spreading pelvic and back pain

Chronic Pain Journey uses plain words for each body area.

1. The body area, using plain words (low back, one side of the pelvis, wrist, hip).
2. Whether it stays in one area or spreads.
3. How long each episode lasts.
4. Whether it follows a task, a position or the end of the day.

Record time off work or reduced hours as dated facts, since they show the effect on function.

The Flare Tracker in Chronic Pain Journey records onset, intensity and a short note for a day clearly worse than usual, and Custom symptoms let you add your own labels, such as one-sided pelvic pain or wrist pain. Over several weeks, the weekly and monthly views color the days by intensity, so the clinician sees whether the pain is spreading or staying put.

Lifting, carrying, feeding and night-waking tasks that bring on pain

A pain score alone does not show what the pain stops. Baby-care tasks make good measures because they repeat every day. Pick four or five tasks and use the same wording daily:

Table of baby-care tasks and pain, by Chronic Pain Journey

Write only what happened. A clinician can use the counts to see which movements overlap with the pain and whether the number of tasks done with pain is rising or falling.

Add who did the task if someone else took over, since that is a function fact too.

In Chronic Pain Journey, the Daily check-in holds activity or pacing, and the Daily Journal takes a free-text or voice note on what you canceled or handed over. The Weekly Goals entry records one small aim and whether it held, which suits a single task you want to track across weeks.

Fog, tiredness and mood entries to date together with pain

Three-line entry checklist, by Chronic Pain Journey

Chronic pain can occur anywhere in the body and may cause other symptoms such as fatigue, mood changes or difficulty sleeping. Mood and stress can make chronic pain worse (MedlinePlus). After birth, these symptoms overlap with the demands of a new baby, so a clinician needs dates to tell them apart.

Add three short lines to each pain entry:

• ☐ tiredness
• ☐ fog
• ☐ mood

Use the same words every day, for example "tired, clear, steady" or "very tired, foggy, low". Do not explain the cause. The pattern across weeks is what the clinician reads.

The urgent maternal warning list also names overwhelming tiredness, with no energy to get through the day, and feeling sad after having a baby (CDC). If your lines move that way, tell a clinician early and bring the dates. Mood and tiredness entries are visit facts, and the postpartum team and the pain team each use them.

The Daily check-in in Chronic Pain Journey records emotional state, sleep and fog in the same form as pain intensity, so one entry shows all four. Insights and correlations strengthen as the shared history grows, and the Daily Journal adds a free-text or voice line when a number needs context.

Medicine entries to share across the postpartum team and the pain team

Medicine fact checklist, by Chronic Pain Journey

Two kinds of clinicians may each prescribe or review medicines. A single list keeps them from working with different information. Write each medicine as a dated fact:

• ☐ the name
• ☐ the date it appears in your record
• ☐ the clinician who prescribed it

Include as-needed medicines you actually use, with the date of each entry, and any over-the-counter product.

Add pain notes under the dates when a change in pain followed a new entry. Keep the wording factual: "started on this date; low back pain rated lower on days 3 to 5". Leave decisions to the prescriber.

For the visit, use one question form: "Is it worth reviewing my current medicines together with my pain notes?" Tell each clinician how you are feeding the baby, since that is part of what they review with your list. Our guide to preparing for a short chronic pain visit covers what else to bring when time is limited.

My Meds in Chronic Pain Journey records medicine names and entries, including as-needed medicines you actually use, read against pain, sleep, fog and the rest of the tracked history. My Labs holds result dates for imaging, blood work and other tests, read against function and pain, so both clinicians see the same results.

One page for two visits: what the postpartum check and the pain clinic each need

A postpartum visit tends to focus on recovery, bleeding, mood and feeding. A pain visit tends to focus on location, intensity and function. Each clinician benefits from the other's information, and neither sees it unless you bring it.

Build one page with five blocks:

Steps for a postpartum summary page, by Chronic Pain Journey

1. Timeline: the three periods, with dates.
2. Pain list: area, movement trigger and intensity at rest and on movement.
3. Function: baby-care tasks done, done with pain or not done.
4. Medicines: names and dates, with the prescriber for each.
5. Questions: written in the form "Is it worth reviewing this item together?"

Keep each block to a few lines. If one clinician has already recorded an assessment, ask for the date and the wording and add them to the page, so the second team can read the first team's findings.

The Doctor Report in Chronic Pain Journey is a one-page summary exported from the logged history, with dates, pain and flares, sleep, fog, meds and how you functioned. My Care Team keeps clinicians and short visit notes, with room for what to ask and bring, notes during the visit and review afterward, so each team's wording is recorded.

Chronic pain: get help for chest pain, severe headache, leg swelling, bleeding or self-harm

Urgent maternal warning signs can appear during pregnancy and in the year after delivery. One public health list includes a headache that will not go away or gets worse, chest pain or a fast heartbeat, trouble breathing, a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, and severe belly pain that does not go away. It also names swelling, pain or redness in one leg or arm, heavy bleeding that soaks through one or more pads in an hour, and clots bigger than an egg (CDC). The list says to seek medical care immediately for these signs.

The same list includes thoughts of harming yourself or your baby. If you have those thoughts, call your local emergency number first (911 in the United States, for example). Then reach a crisis line where you live (988 in the United States, for example), and tell a person near you.

For pain that is new, changes quickly or causes worry, contact a clinician. Write the log entry after you have been seen.

When you are ready to record it, Chronic Pain Journey lets the Flare Tracker mark the day as clearly worse than usual, and the Daily Journal holds a typed or spoken note about what you noticed and what the clinician said, so the next visit starts from dates.

How Chronic Pain Journey can help

A notebook can hold a timeline and a pain list for one visit. When two teams are involved over months, a record in date order is easier to carry. Our guide to starting a chronic pain log covers the first week, our guide to getting through a flare day without losing notes covers same-day entries, and the best chronic pain apps 2026 comparison lists the options.

Chronic Pain Journey is a personal chronic pain tracker from Health Journey Labs on the App Store and Google Play. Journey lets you keep one pain history that covers the periods before pregnancy, during pregnancy and after birth, with the tasks the pain limits. Over time, the history shows how each pain changed between visits, so both clinicians start from the same dated facts. Below is what you can use and how each part helps.

• Daily check-in — A guided daily form on pain intensity, fog, activity or pacing and how the day went, along with sleep, meds and external factors.
• Flare Tracker — Marks a day clearly worse than a usual week, with onset, intensity and a short note.
• Daily Journal — Typed or spoken notes on what you canceled, talks with a partner and visit debriefs.
• Weekly Goals — One small aim per week and whether it held.
• My Meds — Medicine names and entries, including as-needed medicines you use, read against pain, sleep and fog.
• AI companions — Clara for general chat and specialist companions that see your logged history, useful for wording a visit.
• Doctor Report — A one-page summary exported from the logged history: dates, pain and flares, sleep, fog, meds and function.
• My Labs — Result dates for imaging, blood work and other tests, read against function and pain.
• Learn — Short topics on pacing, sleep, flares, visit preparation and fog.
• My Assessments — Structured check-ins beyond the daily scores, plus life and social context from onboarding.
• My Care Team — Clinician names and short visit notes, for preparing questions, noting the visit and reviewing it afterward.
• Food Tracker — Meal and drink lines, read against pain, energy and sleep.
• Weight Tracker — Scale or body notes, read against energy, sleep and pain weeks.
• Period Tracker — Start and stop dates, flow and how heavy or light bleeding felt, read against pain and energy.

Everything you log builds one history, and insights get stronger as it grows. Custom symptoms let you add your own labels.

Sources

• MedlinePlus — Chronic Pain
• PubMed — Prevalence and predictors of chronic pain in pregnancy and postpartum (J Obstet Gynaecol Can, 2017)
• PubMed — Chronic pain following cesarean section: a prospective study (BMC Anesthesiol, 2016)
• PubMed — Persistent pelvic girdle pain 12 years postpartum (BMC Musculoskelet Disord, 2017)
• CDC — Urgent Maternal Warning Signs and Symptoms

FAQ

The answers below draw on the sources cited in this guide, and the app they mention is Chronic Pain Journey (by Health Journey Labs).