NECK STRETCHES
All three of the neck muscles involved in breastfeeding – the levator scapulae, the upper traps and the sternocleidomastoid – start on your shoulder girdle and end on the cervical vertebrae of your neck. They are the main muscles responsible for headaches and neck pain. To combat this, each of the muscles gets its own stretch.
UPPER TRAPS STRETCH
✓ Sit on a chair with your right hand under your right buttock with your palm flat against your bum.
✓ Keep your nose pointing straight ahead, tuck your chin in slightly and gently tilt your head to the left.
✓ Once you feel the stretch in your neck and shoulder, stop and hold for 10 seconds.
✓ After the hold, lift your shoulder to the ceiling as if you are doing a shoulder shrug and drop it. Repeat 10 times. This shoulder movement is designed to help with flexibility of the neural structures of the neck.
✓ Swap and do the other side.
LEVATOR SCAPULAE STRETCH
✓ Assume the same position as with the upper trap stretch, but this time turn your nose, so that it is pointing to the armpit of the opposite arm.
✓ Tuck your chin in as much as you can within pain limits, and pull your shoulder down away from your ear.
✓ Once you feel the stretch in your neck and shoulder, stop and hold for 10 seconds.
✓ After the hold, lift your shoulder to the ceiling as if you are doing a shoulder shrug. You should feel a different area of your shoulder and neck stretch, especially as you lower your shoulder again after the shrug. Do the shrug 10 times.
✓ Swap and do the other side.
STERNOCLEIDOMASTOID STRETCH
✓ Assume the same position as the traps stretch but turn your cheek so that it is pointing to the ceiling.
✓ Tuck your chin in as much as you can within pain limits, and pull your shoulder down, away from your ear.
✓ Once you feel the stretch in the front of your neck, stop and hold for 10 seconds.
✓ After the hold, lift your shoulder to the ceiling again as if you were to do a shrug. Do the shrug 10 times.
✓ Swap and do the other side.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
It’s always a good idea to use a lumbar cushion (or even a rolled-up hand towel) just above your belt line to support your lower back and assist in positioning your pelvis into the neutral position, whether you’re breastfeeding or sitting at a desk the whole day. The next most important thing to remember is that the baby needs to come to your breast, and not the other way around. For this to happen, you would need to support the baby and the arm, holding her sufficiently with pillows to prevent your shoulders from hiking up or pulling forward. Your elbow should be resting in a near 90° bent angle, while your shoulder is totally relaxed. Get this right to prevent neck spasms. Prevention is always better than cure. Achieving the perfect breastfeeding posture is 80 percent of the battle against your neck pain won, but there are also stretches and strength exercises that you can include just to keep the muscles you are contracting supple and the neural structures flexible. These stretches do not have to be done in a particular order and are therefore convenient to do at any time of day, provided you have a gap. Go ahead and space them out through your day if you like.