No two cases of scoliosis are the same, just as no two pregnancies are the same. While scoliosis isn’t associated with pregnancy or labor complications, pregnancy can affect how a patient experiences the scoliosis, and vice versa.
If you are pregnant with scoliosis, what you need to know is that pregnancy and labor are perfectly safe for the majority of scoliosis patients. Current research suggests that scoliosis doesn’t make it harder to get pregnant, nor does it overly complicate the pregnancy and/or labor.
Scoliosis is a progressive spinal condition, so its effects can change over time; treatment is necessary.
Understanding Scoliosis
Being diagnosed with scoliosis means the spine has an unnatural lateral curvature that also rotates; scoliosis is 3-dimensional.
In addition, scoliosis is progressive, so effects a patient is experiencing, or not experiencing, at the time of diagnosis aren’t likely to remain that way, particularly in young patients still growing.
While most cases of scoliosis are idiopathic and we don’t know what triggers their initial onset, we do understand what triggers progression: growth spurts.
And in older adults, natural age-related spinal degeneration can cause the progression and onset of scoliosis.
The primary effects of childhood scoliosis are postural changes such as uneven shoulders and hips, and the main scoliosis symptom in adults is pain.
Scoliosis pain is more severe in adult scoliosis because scoliosis becomes compressive once skeletal maturity is reached, and scoliosis pain can involve the back, muscles, and nerves.
It’s most often radiating pain that leads an adult in for assessment and diagnosis, whereas asymmetrical posture is what leads to most diagnoses of childhood scoliosis.
Understanding scoliosis means understanding the importance of treatment, and while there are no guaranteed treatment outcomes, early detection is an outcome-shaping factor.
Scoliosis can affect the body in a number of ways, given the many important functions of the spine, and a common concern of female patients is whether the condition will interfere with a healthy pregnancy.
Getting Pregnant with Scoliosis
While some studies show slightly higher levels of infertility in scoliosis patients, the same studies acknowledge their limitations and that more definitive research is needed.
Based on my experience with female patients, infertility is not a common complaint or occurrence. Scoliosis patients can get pregnant and have healthy pregnancies.
The patients most likely to experience increasing symptoms during pregnancy are those with severe scoliosis, atypical scoliosis, and/or scoliosis that’s been left untreated for years.
Cases of mild and moderate scoliosis don’t carry a notable risk of infertility.
Pregnancy and Scoliosis
A patient’s overall health and fitness are factors that shape their pregnancy experience, along with scoliosis treatment responsiveness.
Just as patients who enter into a pregnancy with a healthy weight, activity level, and diet are better equipped to deal with the challenges of pregnancy and labor, scoliosis treatment is also more likely to be successful in patients with good overall health.
Pain management is always a concern for pregnant women, and it can also be a focus of treatment for adult scoliosis patients.
Back pain caused by scoliosis can be severe due to the spine’s unnatural curve and rotation causing a shift in the spine’s alignment, balance, and stability, and pregnancy pain often involves the back, muscles, and supportive ligaments being strained due to the pull of the growing uterus.
If the scoliosis is severe, pregnancy is more likely to have noticeable effects, but the same can be said of a difficult pregnancy exacerbating scoliosis.
In general, scoliosis patients experiencing back pain prior to getting pregnant are the most likely to experience increasing back pain, but it can be difficult to determine if the pregnancy or the scoliosis is causing increasing back pain.
Labor and Scoliosis
Scoliosis isn’t associated with fertility issues or the inability to carry a baby to term, and when it comes to labor and delivery, scoliosis patients can have safe vaginal deliveries.
Scoliosis isn’t associated with birth defects or labor complications, but for patients wanting an epidural, it’s important that a current X-ray of the patient’s spine is provided to ensure precise administration.
In patients who have treated their unnatural spinal curvature with spinal fusion surgery, epidurals can be slightly more challenging to administer, but an experienced anesthesiologist minimizes the risks.
Most scoliosis patients have healthy babies after typical labors and pregnancies, although some struggle with pain management due to increasing back pain.
Postpartum Recovery and Scoliosis
Women with scoliosis need to heal from labor and delivery just like all women, and when it comes to the postpartum recovery process, there are few significant differences.
Curve progression can, however, temporarily increase in the postpartum period due to hormone changes: high levels of relaxation flowing through the body to relax muscles and ligaments in preparation for delivery. Once hormone levels stabilize following delivery, the risk of temporary increases in curve progression abates.
Proper support while feeding and carrying a baby is essential to minimize discomfort, progression, and maintain healthy posture.
If it’s been deemed appropriate to stop or modify scoliosis treatment during pregnancy, the sooner treatment is started following labor and recovery, the better.
Conclusion
Scoliosis patients may experience increasing back pain during pregnancy, but scoliosis isn’t closely associated with fertility issues, pregnancy, and/or labor complications.
The postpartum recovery period may carry a higher risk of temporary curve progression due to increased levels of relaxin in the body, but hormone levels will stabilize, and monitoring and treatment can limit the risk.
Here at the Scoliosis Reduction Center®, the treatment approach is conservative and nonsurgical, and pregnant patients benefit from more natural and less-invasive treatment options administered during and/or after pregnancy.
