Pregnancy

[LEELEE85]

Hi,

Has anyone had severe scoliosis and have been pregnant at the same time.
If so what did they feel? Was it hard for them to cope?

I have a 50 degree curve in my upper spine and 50 degree in lower spine.

Thanks

[Cakedec]

Mine was pretty normal

Hi LeeLee and welcome,

I had a similar double curve, pretty well balanced, like yours with my 3 pregnancies. It went pretty normally, actually. Had morning sickness the first few months(runs in my family). I felt pretty good through most of the pregnancy, was very healthy. I did everything I had before, swam, rode my bicycle, walked, etc.

Towards the end of the pregnancy, when the baby was large, it did cause a few muscle spasms in my back and around my hips. Usually they would go away if I changed position or rubbed the area. The movement of the baby when it was awake would start them up at times, but women without scoliosis also have this

I also continued to go to my family chiropractor as they are able to do adjustments even when you are expecting; they just do them a little differently to avoid pressure on the abdomen.

I did not have epidurals; all three were born naturally without drugs in the hospital, but you can have an epidural if you have not been surgically fused in the lower spine.

If you are considering pregnancy, get a check-up with both your primary doctor and your scoliosis orthopedic doctor and discuss it with them. If you are healthy and not haviing surgery in the near future, it should be fine. It was one of the highpoints of my life and I wish we could have had a dozen if we could have afforded them (and a nanny)!!

There are also some other threads on this forum discussing pregnancy and childbirth if you search which may be interesting for you to read.

Deb

[lelc2002@yahoo]

Leelee,
I was fine on the first pegnancy at 36. I'm convinced at 39 for the second, it definitely added to movement of my spine.. both boys were 8 lbs. that's when my neighbor noticed I went down in height, so she says....
I have to also say that at the time I was a sales rep that carried a very large suit-case type briefcase & sure that did'nt help either....
Maybe even without the births, I would have kept increasing in curve size-I'll never know... LYnne

surg this august.....

[dawney]

I have a beautiful son who will be 11 this August. He was almost 9 pounds. I didn't really have any trouble except occasional discomfort. I did not have an epidural because I was afraid with the scoliosis. I did not monitor my curve at the time during my pregnancy.

[slprncess]

I have not had any children yet but we are planning on starting a family next year. I am having another surgery in august that i will be fused down to my sacrum. I have asked my dr about pregnancy and he says i will be fine. But i was wondering I know i wont be able to have an epidural, i just dont see how that would be possible because i am fused completly so i was wondering what others had if they are fused down to the sacrum. I have a feeling that they will do a c-section (scheduled) which would be fine with me! That means no labor and i would be happy with that!! lol... I know that it could be possible to have a natural birth with drugs too. I would just like to know what they would do ahead of time before i get pregnant so there wont be any surprises. Also, did anyone have problems with the weight of the baby and your back? I was wondering if my dr would put me on bed rest during my pregnancy because of my back and also i am very tiny, 5'3 105 lbs so i dont know if my back could carry the weight?

If anyone has gone through this I would really appreciate your feedback.

Sarah

[sonya]

hi there,

i have had two beautiful boys and have kyphoscoliosis of 67 degrees. i found that my back did not have any extra pain while pregnant. i was induced with my first and the hardest part was laying on the bed for 15 hours, the pain was terrible, but the birth itself was fine. If your problem is in the lower back as mine is you might find it a little tender when your uterus starts to contract during the days after the birth. overall being pregnant wasnt too bad and i cant wait to do it all again. I had a c-section with my second and thought epidural was out of the quetion, but my aneathetist said the fusion doesnt actually factor into it and i am so glad i was awake to hear my boy arrive into the world. I too am small i am 5'6 and weigh 43 kilos. i put on about eight kilos with each pregnancy and had small babies (5lb9 and 5lb11) but both were healthy and had no trouble gaining weight once delivered. i too was worried if my back could take extra weight but i actually felt better whilst pregnant.