my wife (28) and i (37) were involved in a motor vehicle accident last thanksgiving. we hydroplaned and stuck a concrete highway divider at high speed, ~50 mph. we both suffered compression fractures of L1, my wife also had ligament damage to T12 along with a dislocated and fractured right foot. neither of us had any neurological issues. we were kept in the hospital for 4 days and were both fitted for bivalve braces, which we are currently still wearing. we were both told that spinal surgery would not be necessary, although it took some time for that decision for my wife. our physicians have both told us that we are just about done wearing the braces, and that once we are out of them we can begin physical therapy. we have both been told that we should be able to return to nearly all of our pre-injury activities.

my question is, will my wife’s injuries to her spine cause problems/complications if she becomes pregnant? is there an ideal amount of time we should wait?

Doctor Joshua’s Answer

Sorry to hear about your accident - I’m glad nothing worse happened though. As for your question, such matters can be assessed only on a case-by-case basis. There is no general rule; it depends on your wife’s recovery. I can only say that there is nothing in your description alone that would immediately suggest to me that she should have trouble with pregnancy and labor, once she has fully recovered from this - but please remember that you’ll have to talk to her own doctors to be able to get a specific answer regarding her situation.

Recovery from this type of trauma may take up to a year or more, varying from one individual to another and depending on various factors including the type and location of fracture, ligament damage and so on.

During pregnancy, a woman’s ligaments become looser to allow for the baby to pass through the pelvis. Therefore if the fracture and ligament damage has not fully healed, I imagine there could be some trouble with stability, or at least lower back pain as this is a common complaint in pregnant women anyway.

I’m speaking in general terms, because only her doctors and physical therapists will know the degree of her recovery and the status of her spine, so please do ask them. I’m confident that with proper care and information from her doctors she will be able to become pregnant and give birth without any problems.