09 September is PAO Awareness Day
Fear, Anxiety & Uncertainty
Fear of the Unknown
Fear is a common experience, particularly before receiving a formal PAO diagnosis. Women have spoken about how frightening it is to experience debilitating pain without knowing the cause.
Medical Anxiety
Accessing appropriate healthcare and support can negatively impact mental health, as it too frequently involves experiences of delayed diagnosis and medical gaslighting.
Caregiving Anxiety
Women with PAO can worry about their ability to look after their babies, which can lead to guilt, stress, and a sense of inadequacy.
Hypervigilance & Re-Fracture Worry
Women share concerns about their health, including the risk of continuing to fracture or fracturing again during a future pregnancy. This ongoing worry often leads to hypervigilance around new physical pain.
Future & Financial Uncertainty
Mothers voice uncertainty regarding their long-term mobility, ability to return to work, and often, future financial stability. Whilst experiences vary, many women in our community regain significant function over time, returning to independent parenting and their jobs.
While most past research has focused strictly on physical fractures, recent UK studies have begun looking at the emotional wellbeing and quality-of-life impacts of Pregnancy-Associated Osteoporosis (PAO) on mothers and families.
While every woman’s journey is unique, many women in our community share a range of mental health experiences, which we summarize Here.
Impact on Mood & Relationships
Living with Chronic Pain
Fracture pain can be debilitating and last anywhere from months to years. Whilst every woman’s recovery journey is different and many report gradual improvement over time, managing persistent pain directly impacts mood.
Grief and Loss
Early motherhood for women with PAO fractures often looks very different from their expectations. Many describe grieving anticipated experiences—like carrying their baby, attending baby groups, or walking with a pram—when fractures make these impossible in the early weeks or months. Sudden physical changes, like loss of height or spinal curvature, can also impact body image and create a sense of loss for their pre-PAO body.
Loss of Function & Identity
Physical limitations of fractures—like reduced spinal mobility—can make everyday tasks like walking, self-care, or lifting a baby difficult or impossible. Women share that losing independence during early motherhood can profoundly impact their self-esteem, mood, and developing maternal identity.
Partner & Caregiver Dynamics
Women have often highlighted how PAO can alter relationships, as partners often need to take on primary caregiving roles for both the baby and the recovering mother. This may be a difficult adjustment for both the PAO woman and her partner. Women have emphasized the value of open communication about the disease and its impacts on them and their partners when navigating this sudden adjustment together.
Social Isolation
Pain or physical limitations from PAO injuries can mean leaving the house becomes difficult. This makes it harder to attend baby groups or stay connected with friends and family, heightening the risk of loneliness.
Getting Support
If a PAO patient is struggling with their mental and emotional wellbeing at any point, it’s very important that they reach out for help.
Peer Support
Peer support has been shown to be helpful. Women who have connected with others who have PAO report feeling less alone, more understood and better equipped to manage the emotional challenges of PAO.
Global PAO Facebook Group
A peer-to-peer support group, run in English, open to women globally with a PAO diagnosis
To join: Watch the group joining instructions.
UK PAO Peer-to-Peer WhatsApp Group
A peer-to-peer support group on WhatsApp for women in the UK with a PAO diagnosis.
To join: Email info@pao.org.uk to request the group link.
Please note: These groups are volunteer-led and self-organized by PAO-diagnosed women. Peer advice should not replace that of a registered medical professional.
Professional Support
Women with PAO can talk to their GP about local mental health support, or in some NHS trusts, self-refer directly to their local NHS Talking Therapies service.
Looking for additional perinatal or specialist mental health resources?
Download our curated list of trusted UK support services.
Please note: External resources are provided for informational and emotional support. PAO UK accepts no responsibility or liability for third-party content.
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Social Isolation
Pain or physical limitations from PAO injuries can mean leaving the house becomes difficult. This makes it harder to attend baby groups or stay connected with friends and family, heightening the risk of loneliness.