Background: Restriction of the chest wall in pregnancy prevents adaptive physiologic hyperventilation. This in turn might gradually promote respiratory insufficiency.
Case: Two consecutive pregnancies occurred in a woman with severe kyphoscoliosis due to juvenile muscular dystrophy. The patient died postpartum.
Conclusion: Pregnancies with restrictive lung diseases, including severe scoliosis and kyphoscoliosis, should be considered high risk and thus should be monitored and managed carefully.