To study the effect of pregnancy on idiopathic scoliosis, ten patients
were followed through nineteen pregnancies. Three patients lost 2, 6, and
18 degrees of correction during their initial pregnancies, but the curves
remained the same or improved with later pregnancies. The curves of the
remaining seven patients, which had stabilized before conception, did not
progress. The stability of the scoliosis was not related to the age of the
patient. Stable scoliotic curves did not progress with pregnancy in
patients in the second decade of life, while unstable scolioses progressed
in patients as old as the third decade. The amount that the curve increased
was not associated with the initial size of the curve. We hope that our
experience will aid orthopaedists in counseling their patients regarding
the effect of pregnancy on the magnitude of scoliosis.