I’ve had a hip problem since birth called congenital hip dysplasia. The hip socket was not formed completely, and my hip slips in and out of the joint. This causes a lot of pain and affects my walking. My doctor is advising me to have the hip replaced, but I’m only 26 years old. If I have a hip replacement, should I not get pregnant?

Improved materials and technology have made it possible for younger women to have hip joints replaced. In 1996, 138,000 total hip replacements were done in the United States. Three thousand of them were in women under 45 years of age.

It appears safe to have one or more pregnancies after a hip replacement. In the small group of women studied, no damage to the replaced hip was observed after pregnancy.