Every woman who has ever been pregnant understands pregnancy pains. Your body stretches to unrealistic size; you feel pains in places you never knew existed and your back feels like you’ve been carrying 50-pound bags of flour around day in and day out, but those pains all disappear after birth – right? Some women quickly realize that pregnancy pains last longer than they expected – some for years after childbirth. 
Your Back May Never Be the Same
Back pains are worst in the latter weeks of pregnancy. Ligaments are loose and baby weighs what feels like a ton. You are walking crooked and your back pain is a constant reminder that you have a growing baby in your belly. You expected the pain to dissipate after birth and if you’re lucky it did, but some women fight that back pain for years to come.
There is not one specific reason all women feel back pain long after child birth, but it is a pain that tends to stick around for some women. Believe it or not, much of the back pain people feel is associated with abdominal weakness. If the abdominal muscles are not strong enough to balance your core, back muscles have to make up for the difference. Core training exercises like leg lifts and crunches are perfect for strengthening the abdominal muscles – taking pressure off back muscles.
Leaking Bladders – Embarrassing and Long-Lasting
The one side effect of pregnancy – three C-sections – and two abdominal surgeries that I never managed to get control of after becoming a mother was my leaking bladder. Pregnant women learn rather quickly that laughing, coughing and sneezing will inevitably lead to a little leak now and then. After pregnancy and childbirth, that leaky bladder may be a side effect you have to live with for life. I’ve learned to wear protective pads on a daily basis for protection from wetness and odor. It sometimes feels like I’m losing control, but it is just a side effect I’ve learned to live with.
Not all pregnancy pains will stick around after childbirth, but some may take a little longer to resolve than others. Be patient, adopt a healthy diet and take your time during the healing process. It took your body 40 weeks to prepare for childbirth; it can take that long or longer to recover from pregnancy.