What is bed rest and why is it prescribed?

Bed rest as it is called is prescribed to a pregnant woman  by medical experts owing to certain health complications. The pregnancy state usually makes a woman anxious and the anxiety only gets heightened when the woman is forced to stay off normal activities and live the life of a hermit. 

The state of pregnancy requires adequate amount of iron for the well being of the mother and the  proper development of the baby. Most women enter the state of pregnancy with their iron stores near depletion, thereby setting the stage for anemia. There are other reasons anemia may develop in pregnant women for example deficiency of folic acid. 

Types of Bed Rest

There would be a number of instructions that would be handed over to you by your doctor and you just have to pay attention to all of them. When your doctor says bed rest, you need to find out how much of your rest must be in the bed as you can not lie on the bed for the rest of the period of your pregnancy. Your bed rest could mean that you would have to abstain from hard work and spend only a limited time on your feet or it may require you to spend as much of your time in bed. 

Partial or Modified Bed Rest

When this type of bed rest is prescribed by your doctor, you are expected to spend some of your time resting on the bed. Some women are allowed to work for some few hours each day but this is totally at the discretion of the medical doctor. There may be other restrictions on activities such as sexual intercourse, lifting or exercise.

House Arrest

This may not be much of a bed rest as you will only be confined to the safe comfort of your home. Pregnant women are allowed to rest totally in this type of arrangement but there would be certain restrictions too even in the home.

Hospital or Complete Bed Rest

This is a very strict arrangement where the pregnant woman is more likely to be hospitalized. This is particular so because the state of pregnancy has been observed to be threatened and so requires close monitoring. There are times special positioning may be required in which case the pregnant woman can not sit or sleep as she pleases but all these would have to be dictated to her.

THINGS YOU NEED TO DO

Keep your basic things handy

Having an area prepared where you would be able to spend most of your time and where you would be able to have all that you may need just at an arm’s length would be a good idea. Things like a mini-fridge in which you can keep some healthy snacks and a large bottle of water, a cordless phone and your doctor’s phone number and just about anything you would need to be comfortable.

Keep yourself busy while resting

You have been asked to slow things down for very good reasons but you can use this period to the best of your advantage. There is no doubt that a pregnant woman confined to bed rest would feel isolated but you can still be creative and helpful. You can clean laundry, fold clothes, or chop the veggies. More importantly you can really have that quality time you have always wanted to spend with your family.