Scoliosis and Pregnancy – Can Scoliosis Affect Pregnancy?

According to recent reports, most women can handle scoliosis and pregnancy together and there are no major pregnancy-related complications either.

Scoliosis is a disease of a curved spinal cord that is relatively more common in women.

However, when the time comes to decide how to handle scoliosis with pregnancy, it can be a difficult decision to make.

Is it difficult to handle scoliosis and pregnancy together? Can pregnancy and scoliosis raise problems for both mother and baby? Let us have a look.

Scoliosis and Pregnancy

Note: Under any condition, a deformity such as scoliosis should not stop you from getting pregnant.

That’s right! Like all the other women, it’s your right to get pregnant if you want. And by discussing the matter with a health practitioner, you should handle pregnancy and scoliosis together.

Studies report that scoliosis causes no problem in conceiving. It has no link with fertility at all. Isn’t that great news? We’ll see if it’s true or not!

According to the doctors, various women with uneven shoulders and hips give birth to children through Simple Vaginal Delivery as well as C-section.

Even after the birth of the baby, no complications are seen and most women choose to have another child later on.

However, only in very few cases, there is evidence of curve progression if the curve hadn’t stopped worsening at the right time.

Problems in Pregnancy with Scoliosis

Scoliosis and pregnancy do not necessarily mean that your child will be born with scoliosis. This is because there is little evidence that scoliosis is hereditary.

However, people with rich scoliosis family history carry a certain chance of having it. Note that once a woman is pregnant with scoliosis, the problem only arises if the disease is in its severe stage.

Pregnancy and scoliosis in severe cases can cause immense back pain and breathing difficulties mostly in the last trimester when the fetus starts to gain weight.

Another problem can arise when dealing with scoliosis and epidural in these cases. Since the spine is difficult to access, it often becomes a problem for an anesthesiologist to choose the point for injection. 

All in all, we can say that pregnancy with scoliosis is safe. However, it is mostly safe for women who get pregnant for the first time.

Now the question arises, is there any risk with back-to-back pregnancies if a woman has scoliosis?

Well, multiple pregnancies do not affect the mother nor the baby. However, after the first baby, if scoliosis has progressed and reached a critical end, back pain and breathing problems may become difficult to handle.

For this reason, both the baby and the curve need to be constantly monitored during pregnancy.

Advanced Back Pain due to Scoliosis During Pregnancy

Back pain is a clinical symptom of all people with scoliosis. But some pregnant women with scoliosis complain of severe back pain. But why is that?

This is because pregnancy and scoliosis, both are associated with back pain. And the two conditions coupled up together mean intense back pain. As a result, the woman with scoliosis feels discomfort during pregnancy with scoliosis.

Back pain starts from the end of the first trimester and can sometimes extend to six months after the postnatal period.

Horrible back pain during pregnancy is seen in many scoliosis pregnancies. Moreover, severe scoliosis and pregnancy reach intolerable pain levels that need constant management.

Besides, patients with degenerative disc disease go through severe back pain as well. And the pain worsens as the weight of the fetus increases over the abdomen.

However, proper pain management, exercises, and nutrition help resolve it.

Note: We recommend you take a warm bath and try to stay off the floor as much as possible.

Getting an Epidural with Scoliosis

Epidurals are used as meds to relieve pain during labor. It is important to access the risk with epidural and scoliosis as it’s injected into the lower spine.

Remember that pain management has no negative impact on scoliosis. Epidural is also a type of pain management and is given to decrease the pain levels of labor. Therefore, it is safe to have an epidural with scoliosis.

However, the problem can arise when the surgical hardware is placed too low in the spine. Plus, if an epidural is placed at the wrong spot, it can often lead to paralysis.

Note: Carry a current X-ray before getting anesthesia in such a situation. This will help your doctor to make the right decision.

Scoliosis Surgery and Pregnancy

All in all, surgery for scoliosis does not affect fertility. And it has little to no additional risk for any complication during or after pregnancy, according to the University of Maryland Medical Centre.

However, pregnancy after back surgery can raise a little concern in those who patients had put up a rod to straighten their curve. In this case, it gets difficult to find a point for epidural injection.

Moreover, if the needle disturbs surgical hardware in the body, other complications may arise. Therefore, an anesthesiologist needs to be cautious with women who have scoliosis surgery and are pregnant.

Women who have spinal fusion surgery should wait for six months to one year before conceiving a baby. Once it’s just you and corrected scoliosis, inform your doctor and look forward to having a child.

Precautions and Tips to Follow

Here are a handful of tips for scoliosis and pregnancy.

• Always discuss the idea of pregnancy and scoliosis with your doctor. He/she knows how good or bad your spine is.
• Before getting an epidural with scoliosis, hand over an X-ray scan to the anesthesiologist. He/she knows where to pierce your spine.
• To avoid back pain, use back rubs, take hot shower baths, and keep your feet off the ground.
• Take a nutritious diet. Make a suitable diet plan. This helps reduce back pain as well as provide nutrition.
• Daily chiropractic adjustments can help align your back curve.
• Stretches are a remarkable way to relieve back pain and improve the baby’s positioning.

FAQs

Conclusion

With that said, it’s safe to conclude that scoliosis and pregnancy can be managed together. Scoliosis doesn’t create complications for pregnant women except for the usual symptoms every pregnant woman goes through.

However, in severe cases of scoliosis where the progression of the curve is still active, refer to your doctor before having a baby.