My back went out at 6 months postpartum and it was scary. I’ve had weak lower back for years, which were compounded by a car accident, but I was not ready for the postpartum drama that would come my way because it didn’t happen right away.

Pregnancy can throw off your alignment, and my core felt less stable after giving birth to my daughter, but one morning 6 months after giving birth took me by surprise. I woke up as usual, and when I tried to stand up I felt the worst pain I have ever felt since experiencing contractions. I also could not stand up straight. It was so bad that my husband had to take off from work.

I was familiar with my back going out because it had happened before, but it was years ago that that had happened. Since that first time, I had gotten more active and focused more on building my core, which also stabilizes your back, and I saw improvement in my alignment, posture and back pain, but having a baby tossed all of that in the trash for me.

I got back in bed when I realized I couldn’t walk, relieved that my husband was home with me and the baby. Otherwise, how was I supposed to take care of my infant properly? After about an hour, I tried to stand up again and I did. That is the nature of back injuries, the pain can literally come and go.

I ended up visiting a chiropractor who mentioned that this is common in women who have had babies, but I wish someone had warned me because my OB/GYN didn’t mention this. After a few adjustments, I started to feel much better and I was able to start working out and generally living a better quality of life (chiropractic patients tend to have to go back at some point so this probably isn’t the end for me).

I spoke with my network of moms and this is very common for a lot of women. File this as another one of those things that women just never talk about when it comes to our bodies.

Now that I know, I will be extra diligent about targeting my back during workouts and keeping my posture in check.