Scoliosis and Pregnancy

Scoliosis is a common disease among adolescent girls. These patients come to have a lot of questions in their mind when they grow up and decide to have a baby.

Is there a risk for patients of scoliosis in getting pregnant?

No. There is no risk for patients of scoliosis in getting pregnant. They will experience a normal pregnancy process.

Does pregnancy cause progress in scoliosis?

The degree of scoliosis in pregnant patients can be high or low. If the degree is high (above 50°), it may progress regardless of the pregnancy. But low degree scoliosis will not progress just because of pregnancy.

Does pregnancy age have an effect on the progression of scoliosis?

Pregnant women are adults that have completed their bone development and tall stature. So there is no basis to think about a correlation between the pregnancy age and the progression of scoliosis.

Does the number of pregnancy have an effect on the progression of scoliosis?

There is no effect of the number of pregnancy on the progression of scoliosis.

Does scoliosis cause any problem during delivery?

There will be no problem during delivery due to scoliosis. The patients’ spine for the delivery is no different than normal women’s.

Should patients of scoliosis choose normal or caesarean delivery?

Pregnant scoliosis patients can choose normal delivery. The curvature in the patient’s spine does not affect the capacity of pelvis. However, patients with high degree scoliosis and have lung or heart diseases and have an unsuitable birth canal are taken into caesarean delivery. The patient needs to be examined by a pulmonologist, a cardiologist and an anesthetist before delivery.

Is there anything you can say about pregnant women that had scoliosis surgery before?

If the operation was successful, there is no reason for a progression of the disease during pregnancy. Pregnancy does not cause any back pain or the scoliosis angle to get bigger in patients that had scoliosis surgery before.

What should be the choice for scoliosis patients concerning anesthesia?

Two types of anesthesia can be chosen: general or regional. Regional anesthesia can be made either epidural or spinal.

Which type of anesthesia is more suitable: general or regional?

General anesthesia is the right choice if the mother has lung or heart diseases or there are technical difficulties for regional anesthesia. Surgical operations realized on the back cause ossification (fusion) that blocks injection to the spine. Regional anesthesia therefore fails and general anesthesia becomes the only choice.