What You Should Know About Pregnancy and Scoliosis

 

For women who have scoliosis, it can be a very anxious time going through pregnancy and childbirth. In truth, there are quite a few risks associated with pregnancy, even if you have a perfectly normal spine. However, there are some definite impacts that scoliosis will have from the time of conception right through to childbirth. Here are some of the ways that scoliosis can impact your pregnancy.

Scoliosis and your baby

There is a definite possibility that scoliosis will be transmitted to your baby. Roughly 30% of individuals with scoliosis will also have family members afflicted by the same problem. Oddly enough, about 29% of female offspring develop scoliosis, whereas only about 9% of male babies will develop the disease. The good news from this is that you have about a 70% chance that your unborn baby will never develop scoliosis, and depending on its gender, you might only have a 9% chance of passing on scoliosis to your infant.

Does pregnancy worsen your scoliosis?

In most cases, any woman who has already experienced a stoppage in the progression of spine curvature, will not experience any further curvature during pregnancy. Some scientists believe that this is because a hormone known as relaxin gets released during pregnancy, and this has the effect of relaxing pelvic ligaments as well as the spine. This accommodates the additional stress which might otherwise be exerted on your scoliosis curvature. The bottom line is, as long as your scoliosis curvature is not still advancing, you should not experience any additional curvature because of pregnancy.

Will other scoliosis symptoms worsen during pregnancy?

Women troubled by scoliosis have basically the same symptoms during pregnancy as those women who have no scoliosis at all. Virtually all women will undergo at least mild to moderate back pain at some time during the course of their pregnancy. This means you won't be able to tell whether the pain is due to your scoliosis, or just to the normal symptoms of pregnancy.

That being said, having a pre-existing condition like scoliosis is very likely to increase the probability of developing lower back pain. Most women will have a 50% chance of developing back pain as they reach the ninth month of their pregnancy, but it can actually start as soon as the third month, and can continue for another six months following childbirth.

Is labor more difficult with scoliosis?

In years past, many doctors would automatically arrange for women with scoliosis to have a C-section. However, as more information has become available, it has been discovered that most women can undergo successful vaginal delivery with no complications whatsoever. For the most part, there is no difference in delivery between women with and without scoliosis, although there are a couple differences.

If you happen to have crooked hips, you might experience a lack of progress at various points during labor. Also, any woman who has been weakened by scoliosis may find it more difficult to push during the labor process. It can be more difficult to have an epidural if you also have scoliosis, especially for those women who have previously undergone spinal fusion surgery.

Any woman who has scoliosis should discuss the situation with her doctor prior to childbirth, so that delivery options and pain management options can be considered for maximum comfort. Our Salt Lake City Chiropractor Creekside Chiropractic offers scoliosis treatment and would be more than willing to give you support and relief to your life.

Creekside Chiropractic

Address: 365 NE Greenwood Ave Suite 1, Bend, OR 97701
Phone: +18012566675
URL: https://creeksidechiro.net/