Updated 3 October 2026
At a glance
- In a chart review of 156 pregnant patients at a perinatal mental health clinic, 44 (28.2%) reported a chronic pain condition (chart review of 156 pregnant patients).
- Pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain is estimated to affect up to 1 in 5 pregnant women to some degree (NHS pelvic pain page).
- The NHS says it is very common to get back pain during pregnancy, and it lists symptoms that call for same-day contact with your midwife or doctor (NHS back pain page).
- Chronic Pain Journey keeps pain, function, sleep, medicines, and flares on one dated timeline, so every trimester can be compared with your baseline.
Pregnancy changes the body in ways that can overlap with a pain condition you already know. Ligaments loosen, posture shifts, sleep gets harder, and medicines may be under review. The hard part is telling your usual pain from something new, and getting that picture across in a short prenatal visit.
This guide covers what to write down before and during pregnancy: a baseline, new versus usual pain, function by trimester, sleep, medicine questions, changes to report promptly, and visit preparation. It records and prepares. It does not replace your obstetric or pain team.
What to track when chronic pain and pregnancy overlap
A chart review of 156 pregnant patients found that 44 of 156 pregnant patients (28.2%) at a perinatal mood disorder clinic reported a chronic pain condition, most often neck or back pain (34.1%) and headaches (31.8%). The authors describe a retrospective chart review at one specialty clinic, so treat the number as a signal and not a national rate. It does show that pregnancy and ongoing pain meet often, and that both teams benefit from a clear record.
\nStart with a baseline, even if pregnancy is already underway: a typical week of pain before this pregnancy, written from memory and labeled as recalled. Then log the same few items daily.
\n| Field | What to write |
|---|---|
| Pain score and location | 0–10 rating, where it sits, and whether it is your usual spot |
| Function | What you could do: walking, stairs, work hours, lifting |
| Sleep | Hours, wake-ups, and whether pain or something else woke you |
| Medicines | Name, timing, and any as-needed doses you actually used |
| Pregnancy week | The week of pregnancy, so changes line up by trimester |
Your first Daily check-in in Chronic Pain Journey (by Health Journey Labs) can cover pain intensity, fog, activity or pacing, sleep, and medicines in one guided form. The Daily Journal can hold a written or voice note for the baseline and for anything the form leaves out. A few weeks of entries show the pattern against which each trimester can be judged.
How to separate your usual pain from new pregnancy pain
New ache list, by Chronic Pain Journey
The NHS back pain page explains that during pregnancy the ligaments naturally become softer and stretch to prepare for labor, which can strain the joints of the lower back and pelvis. The NHS pelvic pain page describes pelvic girdle pain as pain over the pubic bone, across one or both sides of the lower back, between the vagina and anus, or spreading to the thighs, sometimes with clicking or grinding. It can be worse when walking, on stairs, standing on one leg, turning over in bed, or moving the legs apart to get out of a car.
\nThose details give you a useful log format. For every new ache, write four things:
- where it is
- what movement sets it off
- how it compares with your usual pain
- whether it feels different, such as sharper, deeper or in a new area
Mark entries as usual, new, or changed. A map of three or four spots on a simple body outline is enough.
\nThe same page says pelvic girdle pain can make it hard to get around and that diagnosing it early can help keep pain to a minimum. Call your midwife or doctor when moving around, getting out of a car, turning in bed, or climbing stairs gets hard.
With Chronic Pain Journey, the Flare Tracker lets you mark a day that ran well beyond your normal hard week, with its start time, strength, and a short remark. The Daily Journal holds the movement that set it off and what you had to cancel.
How to log function and pacing as each trimester changes
Pregnancy function checklist, by Chronic Pain Journey
A pain score alone hides most of what matters in pregnancy. Two weeks at “5 out of 10” can mean walking the dog in one and needing help with socks in the next. Function is what a prenatal team can act on, so log it directly:
- ☐ distance or time walked
- ☐ stairs per day
- ☐ hours at work or on your feet
- ☐ tasks you handed off
Add what came before a hard day. Long standing, a heavy bag, a poor night, a missed medicine, a stressful day, or an unusual amount of activity each deserve a short note. The NHS pelvic pain page advises keeping active while avoiding things that make the pain worse, and avoiding long periods of sitting or standing, repeated stair climbing, and lifting heavy objects. Your own log shows which of those apply to you.
\nFrom Chronic Pain Journey, we recommend picking one function measure to repeat each day, such as minutes walked or stairs climbed, and keeping it the same through the pregnancy so trimesters stay comparable.
In Chronic Pain Journey, the Daily check-in records activity or pacing with how the day went, and Weekly Goals carries a single small target, like a 10-minute walk, and whether you met it. The goal and the actual day sit in the same history. That habit shows whether pacing changes help or the aim needs to shrink.
How to log sleep and positioning in pregnancy with chronic pain
Checklist of sleep patterns, by Chronic Pain Journey
Sleep is where pain and pregnancy often meet at 3 a.m. The NHS pelvic pain page lists turning over in bed among the movements that can hurt with pelvic girdle pain, and suggests a pillow between the legs for support in bed. Pain, a growing belly, heartburn, bathroom trips, and an anxious mind all wake people, so the question for the log is which one woke you.
\nAdd the position you slept in and the support you used. Record how the next day went, because a poor night often shapes function and flares afterward. Our guide on sleeping with chronic pain when the night keeps restarting covers the general night-time notes, and pregnancy adds the wake-ups that need a different label (Chronic Pain Journey checklist).
\nBring repeated patterns to a clinician:
- ☐ pain that wakes you every night
- ☐ pain that begins only in one position
- ☐ sleep that has fallen to a few hours for a week
In Chronic Pain Journey, the Daily check-in records sleep in the same entry as pain and fog. The Food Tracker notes what you ate and drank, which can be read with louder pain, energy, and sleep. Together they show the pattern of which evenings come before the worst nights.
Honest medicine records for chronic pain, and questions for your team
The chart review of 156 pregnant patients notes that many women discontinue pharmacological options immediately upon learning of a pregnancy because of fears about harm, and that among a sample of pregnant women with low back pain, only 32% discussed these symptoms with their prenatal care provider. The same article describes a challenging balance between treatment benefits and fetal exposure. It is a decision for you and your clinicians, and a log cannot make it.
\nWhat the log can do is give both teams the facts. Write every medicine, supplement, patch, and over-the-counter product you use, with timing and any as-needed doses you took. If you stopped something, write the date and who advised it, so the pain team can see what changed. Do not stop or restart a medicine on your own; call the prescriber and note the answer. Our guide on tracking chronic pain medicines alongside pain and fog weeks shows the general format.
\nPrenatal medicine table, by Chronic Pain Journey
| Question for the prescriber or pain team | Why it belongs on the list |
|---|---|
| What should I do with this medicine now that I am pregnant or planning to be? | Gets a clear instruction in writing |
| Which as-needed products do you want me to avoid or limit? | Keeps over-the-counter use visible |
| Who coordinates my pain plan with my obstetric team? | Names one point of contact |
In Chronic Pain Journey, My Meds logs every medicine, when you take it, and the dose, with the as-needed amounts you really took. It can be read against pain, sleep, and fog. The dated list gives the team the pattern around every change, which makes a medicine conversation concrete.
How to log mood, fog, and stress alongside pain
Mood signs list, by Chronic Pain Journey
The chart review of 156 pregnant patients reports that chronic pain disorders frequently co-occur with mental illness, and notes that rates of depression in people with chronic pain are twice as high as in people without it. Pregnancy adds its own worries, from medicine choices to how pain will affect the first months with a baby. Naming these in the log keeps them from hiding behind a pain score.
\nRate mood and stress once a day, and add a line when pain, fog, or worry changes what you can do. A word such as “foggy” or “dreading Thursday’s scan” is enough. Record these even when pain is low:
- unusual tiredness
- loss of interest
- sleep that fails
Tell a clinician about mood that stays low or anxious for more than two weeks, or that interferes with eating, sleep, or daily tasks.
If you have thoughts of harming yourself or feel unsafe, call your local emergency number (for example, 911) or a crisis line where you live (for example, 988). The National Institute of Mental Health advises: “If you are suicidal or in emotional distress, consider using the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.” (NIMH)
In Chronic Pain Journey, the Daily check-in records emotional state with pain and fog on the same day. The AI companions start with Clara for general chat and are available when a hard pain day leaves you wanting someone to talk to.
Which pain changes to write down and report promptly
Checklist for a new pain change, by Chronic Pain Journey
Some changes are worth a same-day call, and the log helps you describe them. The NHS back pain page says to contact your midwife or doctor urgently if back pain in the second or third trimester could be a sign of early labor, if back pain comes with fever, vaginal bleeding, or pain when you pee, or if you have pain in one or both sides under your ribs. It lists loss of feeling in one or both legs, the buttocks, or the genitals with back pain as a reason to call the emergency number or go to emergency care.
\nYour job is to notice and write, not to decide. When something new happens, note:
- ☐ the start time
- ☐ the location
- ☐ the feeling compared with your usual pain
- ☐ anything that came with it
Pain that is severe, rapidly worsening, or paired with bleeding, fever, or a change in the baby’s movement deserves a call whatever your pain history says.
\nKeep your team’s after-hours number in the log so you do not search for it in a hard moment.
With Chronic Pain Journey, the Flare Tracker records onset, intensity, and a short note, so the time and description are ready when you call. The Daily Journal accepts a voice note when typing is hard. Later, the pattern shows which events were one-off and which kept returning.
How to prepare for prenatal and pain-team visits
Prenatal visits are short and pain is easy to reduce to a number. The NHS pelvic pain page notes that if pelvic girdle pain is causing considerable distress you should tell your doctor or midwife, and it suggests writing the condition into your birth plan so those supporting you know about it. Our guide on getting ready for a short chronic pain visit gives the general checklist.
\nTable for prenatal and pain-team visits, by Chronic Pain Journey
| Bring | Why |
|---|---|
| Two to four weeks of pain, function, and sleep notes | Shows what pain does, beyond a score |
| Your current medicine list with actual use | Lets the team review it without guessing |
| Usual versus new pain map | Helps separate your condition from pregnancy aches |
| Top three questions in order | Protects the key topic in a short visit |
| Notes for the birth plan | Puts comfort positions and pain needs on record early |
Ask whether your obstetric and pain clinicians talk to each other, and who to call between visits. Write the answers with the date.
In Chronic Pain Journey, the Doctor Report condenses the dates, flares, rest, fog, medicines, and function you logged into a single sheet for the visit. My Care Team holds your clinicians with prep questions, notes taken during the visit, and a review afterward. Looking back at that review, you can see the pattern of which concerns were answered and which need to return to the list.
How Chronic Pain Journey can help
Many people begin with a paper notebook or a notes app, and either can hold a pregnancy pain log. The difficulty is lining up pain, function, sleep, and medicines by pregnancy week so trends are visible. Different tools approach this differently, and they are compared in Best Chronic Pain Apps 2026.
Chronic Pain Journey is a personal chronic pain tracker from Health Journey Labs on the App Store and Google Play. It lets you record pain, function, sleep, mood, and medicines in short daily entries, with space to flag a flare or add a voice note. The timeline then shows how each trimester compares with your baseline, which habits ease hard days, and what to bring to a prenatal or pain-team visit.
- Daily check-in — A guided daily form for pain intensity, fog, activity or pacing, sleep, mood, food, medicines, and how the day went, read with the rest of your history.
- Flare Tracker — Lets you mark a day that went well past your normal hard week, with its start, strength, and a brief note, so a single spike can be told apart from a repeating pattern.
- Daily Journal — Typed or spoken notes on what you canceled, talks with a partner, visit debriefs, leftover guilt, and a meeting cut short, giving your scores some context.
- Weekly Goals — One small aim per week and a record of whether it held, checked against your real entries.
- My Meds — Every medicine with its timing and dose, along with as-needed amounts you really took, viewed with pain, sleep, fog, and your wider history.
- AI companions — Clara for general chat plus specialist companions for knowledge, fitness, nutrition, and relationships, all aware of your history, for visit wording, a calm script for a partner, or support after a high-pain day.
- Doctor Report — A single-sheet export built from your own entries: dates, pain and flares, sleep, fog, medicines, and day-to-day function.
- My Labs — Dates of results such as imaging, blood work, and other tests, read with function and pain.
- Learn — Short education topics on pacing, sleep, flares, visit prep, and fog, matched to your own logged weeks.
- My Assessments — Structured check-ins that go beyond the daily scores, plus onboarding questions about life and social context, read with your ongoing history.
- My Care Team — Your clinicians, with prep questions, notes taken during the visit, and an after-visit review; useful when a visit tends to focus on a 0–10 score alone.
- Food Tracker — Meal and drink lines, read with louder pain, energy, sleep, and symptoms.
- Weight Tracker — Scale or body notes, read with energy, sleep, and pain weeks, for those who choose to follow them.
- Period Tracker — Start and stop dates, flow, and how heavy or light bleeding felt, read with pain, energy, and everything else you log.
Everything you log builds one history, and insights get stronger as it grows. Custom symptoms let you add your own labels.
We make Chronic Pain Journey at Health Journey Labs. This guide is educational and does not replace medical advice. Diagnosis, medication decisions, and urgent care decisions belong with your treating clinicians.
Sources
- Chronic Pain Prevalence and Exposures during Pregnancy. Pain Research and Management / PMC (retrospective chart review, 156 pregnant patients)
- NHS — Pelvic pain in pregnancy
- NHS — Back pain in pregnancy
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).
How common is chronic pain during pregnancy?
Nobody has an exact figure. One chart review of 156 pregnant patients at a perinatal mental health clinic found 44 (28.2%) reported a chronic pain condition, but that clinic is a specialty setting. What matters is that you are far from the only person managing both.
With Chronic Pain Journey, the Daily check-in keeps pain, sleep, and medicines in one history. A few weeks of entries give your obstetric and pain clinicians a specific picture of your own pattern instead of a general statistic.
What should I write down before pregnancy or at the start?
Write a baseline: a typical week of pain, what you could do, how you slept, and the medicines you used. Label it as recalled if you are starting late. This gives every later trimester something to be compared with.
You can type or speak a baseline into the Daily Journal in Chronic Pain Journey, and the Daily check-in then carries the same fields forward. As the history grows, you can see how each trimester differs from where you began.
How can I tell my usual pain from new pregnancy pain?
Compare location, trigger, and quality. Pregnancy often brings back, hip, and pelvic aches, and the NHS notes that softened ligaments can strain the lower back and pelvis. Mark each entry usual, new, or changed, and bring the changed ones to your team.
With Chronic Pain Journey, the Flare Tracker records onset, intensity, and a short note, while the Daily Journal adds the movement that set it off. Over a few weeks the insight is which pains repeat and which were one-offs.
What is pelvic girdle pain and when should I mention it?
The NHS describes it as pain over the pubic bone, across the lower back, or spreading to the thighs, often worse with stairs, turning over in bed, or getting out of a car. Mention it early if it is hard to move around, because earlier diagnosis can keep pain lower.
In Chronic Pain Journey, the Daily check-in records activity or pacing with pain, so you can show which movements are limited. The log gives your midwife or doctor dates and examples, which makes a referral conversation more concrete.
Should I stop my pain medicine because I am pregnant?
Do not decide alone. Contact your prescriber or pain clinician as soon as you know, or before you try to conceive, and ask what to do. Write the answer with the date. Stopping suddenly can bring its own problems, and only your team can weigh them.
The My Meds list in Chronic Pain Journey stores each medicine with timing and dose, including as-needed use. The dated record helps the team see what changed and how pain and sleep responded afterward.
Do I need to log over-the-counter products too?
Yes. Include creams, patches, and supplements as well as tablets. Prenatal teams often ask about these, and people forget them. Write the product, when you took it, and how often, and do not guess on the safety of any of them without asking.
In Chronic Pain Journey, My Meds accepts as-needed doses you actually use, so you can enter an over-the-counter product the day you take it. That habit makes the list accurate when a clinician asks.
Why log function as well as a pain score?
A score changes little while daily life changes a lot. Minutes walked, stairs managed, hours at work, and tasks you handed off show what pain is doing. Prenatal and pain teams can plan around function, such as adjusted duties or physical therapy.
Within Chronic Pain Journey, the Daily check-in asks about pain intensity and activity or pacing in one entry, so score and function are saved together. Over trimesters, the comparison becomes clear without extra effort.
How do I log sleep when pain and pregnancy both wake me?
Write bedtime, wake time, number of wake-ups, and the cause you can name: pain, position, heartburn, the bathroom, or worry. Add the position and support you used. Causes need different answers, so the label matters more than the total hours.
With Chronic Pain Journey, the sleep entry in the Daily check-in sits in the same record as pain and fog, and the Daily Journal can hold a quick voice note. The history shows which nights follow the harder days.
What counts as a flare during pregnancy?
Use the same rule as before pregnancy: a day that went well past your normal hard week. Write when it started, how intense it was, and what preceded it. A flare in pregnancy is not automatically an emergency, but new or severe pain should be reported.
The Flare Tracker in Chronic Pain Journey lets you mark those days with their start, strength, and a brief remark. Your team can see the dates and the pattern, which is more useful than remembering how bad last month felt.
Which pain changes should I report right away?
The NHS lists back pain with fever, vaginal bleeding, or pain when you pee, pain under the ribs on one or both sides, and second or third trimester back pain that may signal early labor. Loss of feeling in the legs or genitals needs emergency care. Call your team or local emergency number.
In Chronic Pain Journey, the Flare Tracker and Daily Journal record the time, place, and description, so you have clear details ready when you call. The log supports your call but never replaces it.
What if pain and pregnancy are making me anxious or low?
That is common enough that your team will want to hear it. Rate mood daily and add a line when worry changes what you do. Tell a clinician if low or anxious mood lasts more than two weeks, and seek urgent help right away if you think about harming yourself.
Emotional state goes into the Daily check-in in Chronic Pain Journey, saved with pain and fog. After several weeks you can see whether mood dips follow pain spikes, bad nights, or neither, which gives your clinician a place to start.
Should my pain condition go in the birth plan?
Many teams find it useful. The NHS suggests writing pelvic girdle pain in your birth plan so those supporting you are aware, and the same logic works for any pain condition. Include comfortable positions, supports you use, and who to contact for your pain plan.
With Chronic Pain Journey, the Daily Journal can collect which positions and supports helped during pregnancy. When you write the plan, those notes are ready, and the Doctor Report can carry the same facts to your appointment.
What should I bring to a prenatal visit about my pain?
Bring two to four weeks of pain, function, and sleep notes, your medicine list, a map of usual versus new pain, and three ranked questions. Mention up front that you have a chronic pain condition so the visit time goes to the right topics.
The Doctor Report in Chronic Pain Journey gathers your logged history on one sheet, and My Care Team keeps your questions and notes from the visit. The visit starts from facts instead of memory.
Is it too late to start a log in my second or third trimester?
No. A log started at any point still shows how things move from then on. Write down what you remember of earlier weeks as a rough baseline, mark it as recalled, and begin the daily fields today.
In Chronic Pain Journey, the history starts on the day of your first entry and builds as you add more. Each week sharpens the picture for your clinicians, and the insights get more useful the longer you keep logging.
Who should see my symptom notes, and what about privacy?
Pain scores, medicine doses and days you missed work are details that an employer, insurer or relative could misread. Protect the log with a screen lock, keep it off shared tablets, and decide line by line what goes into a disability or work form.
Entries you add to Chronic Pain Journey are your own health notes. Check the app's privacy policy for how data is stored and handled. Nothing in this article is medical advice.