The Bed Rest Blues

When I was pregnant with twins, I secretly hoped my doctor would put me on bed rest. I could hardly cope with my active 3-year-old, constant nausea and everyday household tasks. But after talking with friends confined to bed, I realized my life was easy. Staying in bed is hard work.

"Bed rest wasn't bad at first. I wanted to do what was best for my triplets," says Tracy Pierce from Salt Lake City, Utah, who was hospitalized in her 5th month of pregnancy. Pierce watched movies and visited with friends, but after several weeks of lying in her hospital bed she felt claustrophobic from inactivity and boredom. "Get me out of here!" she begged one friend. Pierce found the willpower to stay in bed until 31 1/2 weeks thanks to friends, who cheered her up with frequent visits. "Reach out and ask friends and relatives for help when you need it," says Pierce.

Moms like Pierce, who have survived bed rest, can help others cope if they're stuck in bed, or they can advise people on helping a stir-crazy friend. Below, moms from the trenches talk candidly about what they did to ease the bed rest blues.

"Even when you're seemingly doing nothing, rest assured you're actually doing everything you can to ensure the arrival of a healthy baby – each new day you carry your little one inside is an achievement to be celebrated, and each week is a tribute to your strength and love. Moms are giving and selfless, and you are a mom. Take pride in that."
– Alisa Ikeda, Marin County, Calif.

"Pace yourself. If you do everything you have to do at once, you will quickly run out of things to do, and the fact that you are on bed rest will hit you like a ton of bricks. To keep occupied, plan visits with family members, make a certain number of phone calls each day and only do two crossword puzzles instead of four. Take it slow and easy. Also, if you plan ahead for anything that could and would happen, it will keep you from needing someone to get things for you and remind you that you are confined to bed. Gather tissues, extra magazines, snacks – sweet and salty, just in case – paper, extra pens, a pencil and a sharpener, extra batteries for the remote and the TV guide. It never hurts to be overly prepared."
– Carma Shoemaker, Chester, Va.

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