If you have a new baby and a sore, aching wrist on the thumb side, you are not imagining it, and you are far from alone. This is so common in new parents it has earned the nickname mother’s thumb, though its medical name is De Quervain’s tenosynovitis. The truth is reassuring: it is a well-understood, very treatable condition, and you do not have to just push through it.
In this guide we explain what it is, why lifting your baby causes the wrist pain, how to ease it, and how physiotherapy helps you keep caring for your little one comfortably.
What Is Mother’s Thumb?
Mother’s thumb, also called mummy thumb, is the everyday name for De Quervain’s tenosynovitis when it shows up in new parents. It is irritation of the tendons on the thumb side of the wrist, the ones that move your thumb. When they become inflamed, moving the thumb and wrist hurts. The name simply reflects how often it strikes parents of babies and toddlers.
Why New Parents Get Mother’s Thumb
Here is the truth behind the nickname: it is a classic overuse injury of new parenthood. Repeatedly scooping up a baby with your thumbs out to the side, dozens of times a day, loads exactly the tendons that De Quervain’s affects. Add feeding positions, holding, and often disrupted sleep and hormonal changes after pregnancy, and it is no wonder the wrist protests. It is not something you did wrong, just a lot of repetitive load.
Signs of Mother’s Thumb
The hallmark is pain on the thumb side of the wrist, which can spread into the forearm or thumb. It typically flares when you lift your baby, grip, pinch or twist, and the area is often tender. You might notice weakness or a catching feeling. If this sounds like your wrist pain, it is a very likely culprit.
How to Ease Mother’s Thumb
The good news is there is plenty you can do. Reducing the aggravating load where you can, using a thumb splint to rest the tendons, and applying ice can all help settle symptoms. As things calm down, gentle exercises rebuild tolerance. The single most useful change, though, is adjusting how you pick up and hold your baby, which we will come to next.
Changing How You Lift Your Baby
This is the key one for parents. Instead of scooping your baby with your thumbs out and wrists bent, try lifting with flat hands and forearms under their body, keeping your wrists more neutral and using your bigger arm muscles. Small changes like this, repeated across a day, dramatically reduce the load on the sore tendons and often make a real difference to the wrist pain.
When to See a Physiotherapist
If your wrist pain is not settling, is getting in the way of caring for your baby, or is severe, it is well worth seeing a physiotherapist. They can confirm the diagnosis, rule out other causes, and set up a simple plan of splinting, technique changes and exercises around your busy days. You do not need to just live with it.
Common Questions About Mother’s Thumb
What is mother’s thumb?
It is the common name for De Quervain’s tenosynovitis in new parents, an irritation of the thumb-side wrist tendons that causes pain when lifting a baby, gripping or using the thumb.
Will it go away once I stop lifting so much?
It often improves as the load eases and your baby needs less carrying, but changing your lifting technique, resting the tendons and doing exercises usually helps it settle faster and stops it dragging on.
Can I still care for my baby?
Yes. With adjusted lifting technique, a supportive splint and treatment, most parents manage their symptoms while continuing to care for their little one comfortably.
Does it need surgery?
Rarely. Most cases settle with splinting, technique changes and physiotherapy. Injections or surgery are reserved for stubborn cases and decided with a doctor.
How can physiotherapy help?
Physiotherapy confirms the diagnosis and gives you a practical plan of splinting, baby-handling technique and exercises to ease the wrist pain and keep you comfortable.
How BeFit Can Help
At BeFit Training Physiotherapy, we help new parents settle it and get back to enjoying their baby without the wrist pain. Our general physiotherapy and sports physiotherapy teams confirm what is going on, ease your symptoms, and build a simple, parent-friendly plan of splinting, technique changes and exercises. Initial consultations run for 45 minutes, one-on-one.
Our team at Edgecliff and Coogee would be glad to help. No referral is required, and HICAPS is available on-site for immediate health fund claiming.
Book an appointment at BeFit Training Physiotherapy — no referral needed.
Edgecliff: (02) 9327 7749 | Coogee: (02) 7205 2805 | befittrainingphysio.com/book-now
Related Services at BeFit
Learn more about how our team can help:
General Physiotherapy
Sports Physiotherapy
Mobility Assessment
Further Reading
How to Fix De Quervain’s Wrist and Thumb Pain
How to Know if You Have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
References
Goel R, Abzug JM. de Quervain’s tenosynovitis: a review of the rehabilitative options. Hand (N Y). 2015.
Anderson SE, et al. De Quervain tenosynovitis. StatPearls. 2023.
Australian Physiotherapy Association. Clinical guidelines. physiotherapy.asn.au.
