Pregnancy & Scoliosis

[Chayil]

Hi everyone, i have a couple questions, is there anyone in this forum that has scoliosis and went throught a safe pregnancy? or is there anyone who had the surgery and get pregnant after? if so how was the whole process, I am 24 and seriously thinking about surgery but i dont i want a family as well and i dont know if i should have a baby before i get this operation i am so confussed, i dont want to have surgery and then it is impossible or rather complicated to have a baby if anyone have any info about this please let me know my email address is christelynrodgers@hotmail.com. Thanks in advance.

[LindaRacine]

Hi Chayil...

In addition to any responses you get to this thread, you may want to do a search (see Search link above). There have been quite a few discussions ono the topic.

--Linda

[trice54]

Hey Chayil,
I have scoliosis and have had 2 children. I wore a brace in middle school and high school and was fine after that. I had my first child at 27 with no complications. However, my second pregnancy was a little more uncomfortable and after I had my second child I started to have a lot of lower back pain. This pain persisted for a year and I finally decided to see a specialist to see if my back had gotten worse. Sure enough it had. Probably not as a result from the pregnancies but just over time. The pregnancies probably helped to aggravate it though. When I went to the surgeon, he recommended surgery but said that I didn't have to rush it. So I am going to wait a few more years (as long as my pain doesn't get worse) so that I can have one more child before I have the surgery. And then I will probably wait until the baby is 2 or 3 so that the baby isn't quite so dependent on me.
So I really didn't think that scoliosis had an effect on my pregnancies. Everything went fine and I really didn't have any pain. At least until after my second child was born. Good luck with your decision!
Tara
Thoracic curve-57 degrees
Lumbar curve-60 degrees

[JoAnn5]

I have scoliosis and have had 5 children ...including a set of large twins...lol... The dr. had a problem giving me an epidural because of the curves, but no problem with the pregnancies at all,.... obviously....

Unless your discs are degenerating or causing you lots of pain, i'd have my family first then surgery when the children are older. One dr. even told me that pregancy probably helped prevent my curves worsening due to the extra production of calcium or something like that.... But i'm no doctor, so who knows...lol.. that's just what happened with me.

[cwhite]

Hi -

I'm 28 and like you wanted to start my family very soon. There never is a good time to have surgery and its easy to always put it off for later. I spoke with my surgeon and decided it is better to have the surgery while I was still young and before I had kids as the extra burden of lifting children would complicate my recovery. Today, I am just under 8 weeks post op and feeling really well. I've been able to focus on myself and my recovery and not have any other distractions of others to look after. For me this was the right decision and I'm glad I had the surgery. Its a personal decision that I'm afraid only you can make.

[lelc2002@yahoo]

Hi Chayil,
I have 2 boys & same as Joanne, I was ok on both delivery's except there was trouble getting the epidural needle in on the second one..It took a long time but they finally got it.. I'm so glad I had my kids & they're old enough now for me to have this surgery. When I was your age my curves balanced themselves & I never had any problems until about 40. Just keep checking them yearly(something I was'nt good at doing in my 20's& 30's) -lynne

surgery this Aug.. http://lynnebackattack.blogspot.com

[Heathmoose]

pregnancy and scoliosis

Hi Chayil. I was in a similar predicament as you. I was married and my scoliosis was getting worse. I was also in a lot of discomfort. I decided to have the surgery before starting a family. I figured I really had to take care of myself first before I could take care of someone else. My scoliosis was progressing quite rapidly and I couldn't imagine having a baby.
I was worried about my "timeclock" because I knew I would not recover and try for a baby until I was nearly 35.

As it turns out, I am now 7 months pregnant, and almost 2 years post op. So far I have not had much back trouble at all. I did, however, meet with an anesthesiologist at the hospital where I will be delivering and he mentioned that an epidural could be possible (even though my fusion is mostly in the lumbar spine) he said I'd most likely have scattered pain relief, and a 50% chance of getting a spinal headache (which can last weeks to months) I am aiming to deliver as naturally as possible...the thought of a spinal headache does not appeal to me!


Good luck with your decision...what helped me decide to do the surgery before the baby was the fact that I was in a lot of discomfort before my surgery and my curve was progressing fast.

Heather

[SpineWhine]

Hi there - I am takling the same approach as cwhite. Surgery first, children second. I am currently 31 years old, and am now 3 months post op (today!). I talked with a high-risk ob/gyn and my surgeon prior to my making my decision (which comes first, surgery or kids.) I chose surgery, because I felt if I had kids first, I would have to wait at least 10 years before the kids were old enough to handle themselves before I could be laid up. I didn't want ten more years of curve progression and increasing pain. I was told that my post-surgery back should not cause any more problems than "normal" backs pose during pregnancy, and may actually make childbearing easier. (More room for a baby if I straightened up and opened some space in there!) That made me feel much more confident in having the surgery before having children. So, we'll see how it goes... we'll be trying in about a year and a half to do the baby thing.

[trice54]

Surgery first

I have to agree with everyone that is saying to have the surgery before kids. My back didn't start giving me trouble until after I had kids so that wasn't an option for me. Kids are your #1 priority so it will be very difficult to focus on yourself for recovery. I wish I would have known I needed surgery before I had kids. Now, it makes my decision to have surgery that much more difficult.
Tara

[Chayil]

Hi guys, thanks for all your info , it was really helpful, i am feeling a lot more confident about what i have to do now. I dont want to have children and then be dependent on someone else to take care of him. I am feeling a lot more confident in myself knowing that i am not alone in living with scoliosis, thanks again for your help.