Scoliosis surgery and pregnancy

[Lund88]

Hello, I am new to this forum and I apologise for my english in advance.

I am 26 years old and have scoliosis. My curve is 60 degrees at the moment.
Therefore I have been offered the surgery, because it is 10 degrees worse than 5 years ago. I also have started having more pain and having breathing problems.
I was going to say yes to the surgery.

But now I am not sure. The problem is. My husband and I have talked about having a baby, and we would like to start planning this process.
So - would it be best to have the surgery first or have the baby first?

On one hand, if I have the baby first I dont have to wait for the surgery (6-12 months) and then even longer before we can start trying.
On the other hand, my back might get worse and I would need to have the surgery later, when I also have the baby to take care of.
My husband works a lot and I would be a stay-at-home mom to make it work - so it is important that I am able to lift and do things by myself.

If I have the surgery first, I am afraid that it might be a long time, before we can start trying.


What are your experiences - both the ones who have had a baby before surgery and the ones who have had a baby afterwards?
What would you choose if you were in my situation?

[Lizardacres]

Of course, you have to go with your gut on this one. But if it was me, and I was ready to get pregnant, I would have children first. The choice for surgery will always be there and the technology will likely improve with time. Also, you are young so your bones will be in good shape for a long time to come. And they do a lot of xrays before and during the surgery. I would prefer for my eggs to have less radiation before getting pregnant. Also, post surgery, it will be much harder for you to be down on the floor to play with your child. Moms of young children need to be able to get down for all sorts of reasons (like tying their shoes or picking them up off the floor when they fall asleep or throw a tantrum).

Carrying a child around with untreated scoliosis will likely make your back pain worse, but if it gets to be too much, there is surgery. I had a lot more back pain in the first several months post partum, but it did get better when my children were walking and I didn't carry them so much.

[Jamie1955]

Just to let you know, I had the surgery first. I had my baby 6 years later no problems what so ever with lifting a baby and so forth. I did have a c section however the reason was the baby was breach. Maybe you could discuss with both your ortho and obgyn and see what they suggest. I wouldn't rely on a forum for a medical decision. You have to be careful as these are just peers speaking opinions. Rely on your doctor's advice.

[Lund88]

Hi, thank you both for your replies its nice to hear different experiences.
I am going to talk to my surgeon about this, but so far I've waited three months and heard nothing .. So I'm getting a little impatient waiting for the answers, and doing a lot of online searching online instead ..