At what point is it ok to just let your body go and skip bedrest?

I hear about bedrest at 35 weeks but I dont understand why if many doctors feel 36 weeks with twins is full term, why would they put a mom on bed rest if things are developed and the babies would be ok to come?

 

Most twins do fine at 35 weeks or later, but I think more time is always better unless there's some health risk (to mom or babies) in continuing the pregnancy. The babies' lungs develop more, they are better able to eat, and they are overall healthier if they weigh more.

My OB said she would keep me on modified bed rest and terbutaline until 37 weeks. I nearly killed her when she said it. But when my babies were born weighing ~6 lbs each, I was very happy.

 

My doc says 35 weeks is ok to ge off of bed rest I am happy about that but i dont think i will want to get up! I have already noticed in one day how much more uncomfortable I am so i would rather sit!

 

My Doc never said to stop bedrest, but I kind of stopped it at about 35. Not that I was able to do much anyway! I had a C-Sect at 37.1 wks and never even had a contraction.

 

There's no guarantee that babies born at 35 weeks or even 37 weeks have the best lung development, etc. even though twins are typically born during that time. It's for the babies, not us of course, that the docs want us to keep them in as long as possible/healthy! After being on bedrest since 21 weeks, I about died when my doc said, "You'll stay in the hospital (where I was) until at least 36 weeks if they haven't arrived." I was anxious about that but knew it was best for them.

They decided to come at 34 weeks 1 day. I was a little bummed they didn't wait.

 

At my 34 week appt my Dr. said I was doing great. I had been on bedrest for 10 weeks 3.5 of which were in the hospital. He said that I could start doing more and that if I went into labor they weren't going to stop it. I went for a walk the next day and my water broke the following morning. I delivered at 34weeks and 2days and my girls were in the NICU for 6 days. I think if I could have made it to 35 weeks I could have taken them home wirh me. Maybe I shouldn't have gone for the walk?? I'll never know. My girls are doing great, but I would have to say 35 weeks from experience.

 

I was put on strict bedrest from 31-36 weeks. The day of my 36 weeks, my Peri told me to go ahead and slowly get up. I vacummed my small living room that day, and the next morning I was in labor. LOL! I'm glad I didn't get up before then even though I was MISERABLE and torture!

However, I really do think it depends on the person and pregnancy. My cervix was funneling really bad and fast from the weight and I and was having PTL, so it wouldn't have been good for me to get up earlier.

 

I was never on bedrest and my dr never said I even have to take it easy. I did thoughjust b/c I was so uncomfortable.

At 34w4days Dh and I went walking through some modle homes. At 33w5d I had an ob appt and was dialated to 1cm. later that day I had an u/s appt. While waiting in the waiting room i started having some serious contractions. weleft the appt and went to the hospital. The boys were born the next morning 34w6d. They were in Special care for 9 &11 days as growers and feeders.

 

My twins were born at 36 weeks after 12 weeks of bed rest. DD-5 pounds. DS 5.5 pounds. My son had lung problems and was on a vent for several days, then c-pap. Both twins were in the NICU for 18 days growing and feeding. I was told boys are slower to develop and do worse in the NICU. It's better to keep them in as long as it's safe. Although I felt like I was going to explode at 36 weeks! I ended up with pre-E and we had to go ahead with the c-section.

I was off strict BR at 34 weeks. I could barely move and had no energy. I didn't really do much, but it was nice to think I was 'free.'

 

Never. It is best to keep those babies in as long as possible. 35 weeks is still over a month premature. I was on hospital bedrest for over a month to give my babies the best possible chance at life. No, it's not easy but pregnancy is not about you. I know it's hard but you need to do everything you can to keep those babies in as long as possible. I'm not trying to sound mean, but there are many moms on here (including myself) that did everything they could to keep those babies in, and despite our best efforts our babies still came early. If you want to see some of the trials and tribulations of NICU life, go check out the NICU forum. It's not easy, and I wouldn't wish it upon any parent or child.

 

QUOTE(Kyrstyn @ Dec 10 2008, 09:45 AM) [snapback]1105473[/snapback]
Never. It is best to keep those babies in as long as possible. 35 weeks is still over a month premature. I was on hospital bedrest for over a month to give my babies the best possible chance at life. No, it's not easy but pregnancy is not about you. I know it's hard but you need to do everything you can to keep those babies in as long as possible. I'm not trying to sound mean, but there are many moms on here (including myself) that did everything they could to keep those babies in, and despite our best efforts our babies still came early. If you want to see some of the trials and tribulations of NICU life, go check out the NICU forum. It's not easy, and I wouldn't wish it upon any parent or child.


Exactly what she said. My twins were no where near as early as hers, and we still had HUGE health complications due to prematurity (and millions of dollars in hospital bills). Stay in bed. It's not just your life anymore.

 

I was released from bed rest at 35 weeks, assuming that if I went into labor the babies would be fine. I had them at 35wks 6 days and they both saw some NICU time. My son was 6lbs 2oz and was in the NICU 3 days for monitoring and came home with me on day 4. My daughter was 5lbs 5oz and she was in the NICU for 7 days. She had some trouble breathing on her own, she had the c-pap for a few days. She came home 3 days after me and my son, and it was the longest and hardest 3 days I have ever experienced (I give so much credit to moms and dads who do the nicu thing for weeks). Now the kids are fine without a single problem, but I wish i had stayed on bed rest a little longer so they could have both come home with me right from the start. Use your best judgement though, everyone's babies develope a little differently. Good luck to you.

 

I was on bedrest for 3 weeks...one of those in the hospital. My girls were born at 35 weeks and had a 3 week NICU stay...I would have loved to have been able to carry them longer.

 

QUOTE(kitkat72783 @ Nov 25 2008, 01:36 PM) [snapback]1086349[/snapback]
I hear about bedrest at 35 weeks but I dont understand why if many doctors feel 36 weeks with twins is full term, why would they put a mom on bed rest if things are developed and the babies would be ok to come?

I think it depends on your situation. My doc says i can get off bedrest on 35 weeks. My babes are already 5.5lbs each as of last week so i think it just depends on how they are growing in utero. there is other girls on here who are delivering earlier than that due to iugr and other things. so i would say a healthy twin pregnancy without complications would be 35 weeks. ofcourse like the pps say longer is better but if they happen to come out at 35 wks they would be ok. trust me, I woke up today barely able to get out of bed the babies are so heavy. it will just hit you one day that they are big and you feel very useless at that point. who wants to get up and clean the house if i can barely get up to go to the bathroom???? i tease my family and say i will be out running a marathon next week when im 35 wks!!! YA RIGHT!

 

Thanks to Kitkat for telling me about this site. It is so nice to find other women who have been through what I'm dealing with.

I am 23+6 and have been hospitalized for 8 days now. At my last u/s the Dr noticed that I was 2 cm dilated and one of the sacks was protruding through my cervix. I was admitted right away & told I would remain here until the babies are born, which I really hope is 13 weeks from now. As crazy as it is driving me to be in here, I know that I can do whatever is best for my little girls. I think it would be easier for me to deal with if my son (he's 10) wasn't having such a hard time with me being in here.

For any of the other women who had theirs early and have had lung issues...were you on bedrest? Did you get the steroid injections to help mature the lungs? I am just curious if that really does make much of a difference.

 

A lot of doctors will not just let you go before 36 weeks because it is a liability to them legally. If they didn't stop it and your babies came and were not healthy, they are worried about being sued.
I was on bed rest from 29 weeks to 36 weeks 3 days on a terbutaline pump. All meds were stopped, bed rest lifted and I had the babies 2 days later. I had my babies at 36 weeks 5 days and my DS spent 7 days in the hospital for a problem with his lungs. So you never know.