bedrest not needed? and bedrest exercise

[alexmommy]

So I'm on bedrest and all I can do is surf the web... Here are two interesting articles. I'd like your thoughts on these.

This one questions the usefulness of bedrest.
http://www.latimes.com/health/ct-met...,7593859.story

This one emphasizes the need for exercise on bedrest. I called my doctor to ask what exercises I could do (triage nurse answered) she said she didn't know, but liked the question, no one had asked it before, and she'd get back to me. That was 5 days ago...
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007...est_Study.html

[RunnerDuck]

I think it does tend to be over-prescribed - which includes over-self-prescribed... I think the biggest thing about it is miscarriage/pre-term labor can be so mysterious, no one knows how to prevent it, and women want to at least feel that they are doing all they can.

It's really hard to say if it helps.

I do know that this pregnancy I was told "take it easy" when I had to go to the ER at 14 weeks with heavy (as in, hit the floor in a puddle) bleeding - I had a large subchorionic hematoma. You can read all sorts of scary things about these but in MOST cases they turn out OK. It all depends on where it is in relation to the placenta, it seems. So long as it doesn't start to mess with the placenta... you're OK. Mine was not in a bad location, it was just very large. So I felt like on the one hand - either it would be OK or it wouldn't, and what I did had little to do with it. On the the other hand, there is that feeling of "I want to do everything I can." So for 2 days I tried to take the doctor's advice... no heavy lifting (didn't work - I could get DH to lift laundry baskets but I couldn't get through to 2 2yos why mommy can't pick them up) ... I quit my daily walks... I laid on the couch for 2 days - which really, I think didn't help AT ALL, as I was constantly defending myself from the girls jumping on me. I later concluded I was better off upright and doing normal stuff - but I was still worried that going for long walks might be "too much."

Consequently I fell into a lazy rut and have gained more weight and feel more disgusting this pregnancy than any other pregnancy... and I really don't know that it made any difference.

Around 18 weeks we went to Niagra Falls and I walked a lot that day and had heavy bleeding again that night - not as heavy, but a good bit - dunno if it was conincidence or what. I'm 30 weeks now, as far as I know the bleed is still in there, it just isn't coming out. You can have an internal bleed without external signs.

Anyway - I do think bedrest can hurt.

But if we're talking later on and ie the cervix is opening... I dunno, logically it seems gravity would make a difference, and taking the weight off would help, but I don't know.

But I agree it is often prescribed with no real justification and in many cases the outcome would be the same regardless.

Here's the kicker - when my bleeding episode happened my dad's response was - are you gonna take it easy now and stop playing Bob the Builder? DH and I were staining our deck when it happened. STAINING THE DECK. Not building a deck, merely painting one. He says that was too much work. That is how whacko people can get about what is too much for a pregnant woman. Now if I were mopping floors or doing laundry - you know thaty's WOMEN'S work, that would have been OK. Really painting is no harder. But somehow my dad says it was too much.

[luckytwenty]

I went to L & D at 36 weeks with regular contractions, and I really wanted my son to stay in there at least two weeks longer, preferrably 3. My oldest was a 37 weeker and while technically term, he had a tougher infancy than my daughter, who arrived later. So I asked them to do everything they could to stop labor. I got three shots, which stopped contractions, and my OB put me on bedrest (modified.)

Whenever I did get up and walk around more than I was supposed to, I immediately got painful contractions that would increase in frequency. So, I really did stay off my feet till the end, and my son arrived on his scheduled date.

Just my personal experience with it.

[ged]

"The risks of placing a woman on bed rest outweigh the current evidence it improves outcomes," said Anthony Sciscione, director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at Delaware's Christiana Hospital, who is awaiting funding to conduct a randomized study of activity restriction in women at risk for pre-term birth."

I don't think there are many studies re bedrest, so of course, there will be little evidence.

That being said, yes, it is probably over-prescribed. And yes, it is not R-E-S-T and it is very challenging, and more "work' than a regular pregnancy. I had a "normal" pregnancy with my first, then 5 months of bedrest (1 month in the hospital) with my second daugther. I don't regret going on bedrest, but also, I have let it color my experiences, and will most likely not have another child. There is no way I can pay that same price again. However, I know others moms who have been on bedrest multiple times. Everyone is different.

Regarding exercise, I would not do too much. I would do leg/feet stretches, and that's about it. When in the hospital, I had compression stockings on. However,I was not on total bedrest, so I did get up to go to the bathroom. If I were on total bedrest, I may look into exercise options.

And yes, the recovery period was really challenging, as my stamina was very very poor. It made having a newborn that much more difficult.

Ultimately, in my case, it was all worth it.