Q. I have conceived after trying for five years. Should I be on bed rest?

Answered by

and medically reviewed by iCliniq medical review team.

Published on Jul 16, 2017 and last reviewed on: Oct 09, 2018

Patient's Query

Hello doctor,

I am a 34 year old female in the seventh week of pregnancy. I have conceived five years after we started trying for a baby. My blood, urine, and ultrasound test results are normal. But, my doctor has advised me a complete bed rest till the 12th week. Could you please comment? Is bed rest essential?

Answer

Dr. R Balakrishnan Menon

Infertility Obstetrics And Gynaecology

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

How are you doing?

There is a big misconception in the minds of many patients and sadly some doctors too, that rest is going to help pregnancy a lot. Let me explain.

I do not see any risk factors in you. The age of 34 years is not too high. We do advise complete bed rest if you had bleeding, severe pain, fever, infection, history of cervical insufficiency or a low lying placenta. But, you mention that your reports were normal.

Pregnancy is not a disease. It is a physiological condition of the body. So, why rest when you can enjoy your pregnancy. The baby is attached to the uterus by chemical and hormonal means. It is not attached with glue for it to break if you cough, sneeze or strain in any way. Only an infection or directly traumatizing the embryo can cause it to dislodge from the uterus.

Even after an assisted reproduction, we do not ask mothers to rest. They can go back home walking.

In pregnancy, mother's blood has a tendency to clot or thicken due to the changes in the coagulation profile. So, we never ask mothers to rest. This can cause thrombosis in the leg veins which can embolize to the lungs or brain. The only way to avoid it is to keep moving your legs or keep exercising.