Musculo-skeletal problems associated with pregnancy in women with osteogenesis imperfecta

Having seen a number of women with osteogenesis imperfecta who developed severe back pain during or just after pregnancy, we wished to determine the likelihood of this and other musculoskeletal problems in pregnancy. We interviewed by telephone 100 women with osteogenesis imperfects who had, between them, 213 pregnancies between 1957 and 1998. For each pregnancy we recorded the Sillence type for the osteogenesis imperfecta, the mode of delivery and the musculo-skeletal complications. The most common problem was back pain, which was severe in or after 28 pregnancies (13·1%). There was no identifiable relationship to the type of osteogenesis imperfecta or to the mode of delivery. In many cases the back pain could be related to crush fractures of vertebrae. Other problems identified included spinal deformity, non-vertebral fractures, disc problems and ligament problems. We suggest that it may be appropriate to advise the avoidance of long periods of breast feeding in women with OI, particularly in those who have vertebral fractures.