In Which I Stray Far from My Knowledge Base

In the mystery I'm currently reading, a "throwaway" incident (i.e. not remarked upon by the characters), but one I know will be realized later to be significant, was that a character fell down the stairs.

Unlike every other mystery I've read, which contains a character falling down the stairs, this person was not killed.  Other than that, it's still a cliche among mysteries.  If people died from falling down stairs in real life as much as they do in mysteries, there'd be a lot more notices (e.g. one) in the news than there are.  (Or, as our monthly safety briefings allege that slips, trips, and falls incur most household or workplace accidents, perhaps they do happen that often but are ignored by news outlets because they usually aren't sensational enough.)  Indeed, if pregnant women fell down the stairs and miscarried as often in real life as they do on soap operas, the world would suddenly move to the ground floor.

My mind started wandering at this point.  What if a woman fell down the stairs and suffered a spinal injury that made her a paraplegic?  Would it affect her ability to conceive, carry to term, and bear children?  If she still could give birth naturally, would she need anaesthesia, or would her spinal condition prevent her from feeling any pain from childbirth?

Inquiring minds... are probably better off not knowing.