Pregnancy & Scoliosis – Frequently Asked Questions & Answers

Pregnancy is the most important and memorable journey for any women. Given its already wild challenging ride, having scoliosis might making you more anxious about the whole journey.

If you are a first-time mother with scoliosis, you might have a lot of questions on your mind that might be even giving you sleepless nights. But don’t worry, we are here to provide you with the answers to your questions that might be creeping up on your mind ever since you have made plans for having a child. We have tried to answer some of the common questions asked by our patients for you here.

So lets’ jump right-in with the most frequently asked question of all time:

Is Scoliosis hereditary and will it affect my child?

Having scoliosis doesn’t necessarily guarantee the same to your child. But Given that the causes of Idiopathic Scoliosis are not yet known, it is possible that scoliosis can be passed on to the offspring. Ongoing research and testing indicate that there is a 29% chance of passing the condition through geneses if it is a girl and only 9% if it is a boy. However, it is also discovered that the scoliosis is a combination of environmental factors and genes and the effect of possible scoliosis can be significantly reduced by Paediatric Orthopaedic spine specialists in UK.

Will the pregnancy increase the progression of the scoliosis curves?

Given the changes a woman goes through during the pregnancy, this is a valid question and answer is mostly no. In the majority of the women, pregnancy does not increase the progression of the curves according to orthopaedic surgeons in UK.

Do the symptoms of scoliosis increase during pregnancy?

Majority of the women experience back pain at some point of time during pregnancy. However, the possibility of this back pain can increase if there is pre-existing back pain before the pregnancy like scoliosis. Similarly, breathlessness is a common symptom of pregnancy due to raising in hormonal levels, having scoliosis might mildly restrict the capacity of lungs, which is common too.

Will scoliosis complicate the labour?

There was a time when pregnant women with scoliosis are automatically scheduled for C-section without further ado but today with an increase in the knowledge of the condition and advancements natural birth is made possible without any complications. However, women weakened by this condition may find it difficult to push the baby and scoliosis can slightly make it difficult to get an epidural in women who had their spinal fusion surgery done.

However, if you are suffering from severe scoliosis, symptoms like back pain, breathlessness can flare-up than normal and the scoliosis curves have to be closely monitored by orthopaedic spinal surgeons. If you are looking an orthopaedic spine specialist in UK who can help you with your scoliosis you can contact Children and Adult Spinal Surgeon, Mr Jwalant S. Mehta here: