Did you rest strictly 40 days after labor? Mom says if u dont u'll mess up ur insides & not get pregnant agai?
Friday, May 28th, 2010 at
6:43 pm
my mom and grand ma say i need to stay strictly in bed for 40days after delivery because my body is trying to get back to normal or else it will be hard to have babies in the future. how many kids do you have and what did u do after labor.
they got mad at me for leaving the house to the market (baby stayed home w hubby) and going to my inlaws for an easter lunch. i didnt carry anything. my hubby did it all.
if i do stay home, can i do laundry, cook and clean as normal. they told me "even if i feel great, i need to rest because…its in the inside that needs to recover"
Tagged with: babies • easter lunch • hubby • inlaws • laundry • mom
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I took it easy for a week or two but that was more because I felt like I had gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson and my whole body was sore. I don’t see how you can realistically stay in bed for 40 days with a newborn unless you have a 24/7 maid. Seems a little nuts to me.
That’s a very old idea. You see women adhering to that "rule" in Asian and Latin cultures. Plenty of women are back to work around the house and out and about and have tons of kids. As long as you rest when you’re tired and the doctor says you’re ok, then there’s nothing to worry about.
Ridiculous. We’re living in a priviledged world where we can actually rest a bit after having a baby, but for millenia women have been having babies right in the fields and going back to work immediately. If they managed to do hard labor within hours of having a baby, I think we can certainly manage. Give your mom and grandma a quick history lesson.
Well you definitely need to take it easy, but doing regular household chores will not hurt you. Just stay away from anything that really tires you out or that you have to strain to do. Plus, your flow will tell you if you’ve done too much, it will get much heavier. If it does, you just need to take it easy and relax.
my mother in law told me that too, I wasn’t suppose to wash my hair so soon & many other things like dying my hair, etc.
They are domincan & believe in a lot of myths.
god those are such out dated beliefs!
no, you don’t need to strictly rest for that long, if you feel up for the market the by all means go to the market, no harm will come of it
I delivered both vaginally and was home doing regular stuff in a couple of days, 3 maybe, and I’m pregnant again! I wouldn’t suggested heavy lifting or strenuous exercises, but reasonable day-to-day activities should be fine. BUT beware that if something does go wrong they will say "I told you you were doing too much"…I had a clot with my first, and that’s what I heard from both my moms…but I found out I have a blood disorder my activities had nothing to do with it. Just make sure you listen to your body, if you are doing too much it will let you know!
do you have a latin /asian background?
I am latin and people here believe in stuff like that. It’s more like the "estimated" time of your body to heal, your uterud to go back to its normal position, etc. That doesn’t mean you can get out of bed and have to laid there like an ill person. Just a take it easy 6 weeks.
I think it’s cultural, I do take advantage of that LOL but I do have a maid, so I can give myself that break
(no, I am not rich, maids are very cheap here)
My discharge directions from my doctor were to rest for 6 weeks. That was it, pretty much. My daughter is 6 months but after I came home from the hospital, yes, I rested but I also went out and did grocery shopping, went out with friends and family. I remember once, my family and I went to dinner and a family near us asked how old my daughter was and when I said 3 weeks, they mentioned how cute she was and how young she was. But in a nice way.
I think you’re fine. 40 days is a long time to stay home and do nothing. It’s like being on bed rest ALL over again…
Blah.
If you stay in bed for 40 days you will lose bone mass and muscle mass
(Most of the links refer to prenatal bed rest but the effects on the body are the same)
http://life.familyeducation.com/multiple-pregnancy/bed-rest-pregnancy/57003.html
Lying around isn’t exactly a bed of roses. Being inactive for an extended period of time can have a negative impact on your body. Weight loss, weakened muscle tone, loss of muscle mass, bone deterioration, and blood clots are all common consequences of bed rest. The general weakness that results may hinder your recovery after delivery and leave you ill-equipped to care for the babies when they arrive.
The psychological toll of bed rest is also a factor to consider. Feelings of anxiety, frustration, and depression are common. Boredom is rampant. Isolation from family, friends, and the workplace only increases the emotional distress. Because a mother’s emotional state has a great bearing on her physical well-being, these feelings must be acknowledged and dealt with as conscientiously as her medical condition.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/116637.php
"Putting people in bed is not a benign kind of thing," says Judith Maloni, a professor of nursing at the Bolton School. She has been studying the effects of bed rest for nearly two decades and aerospace research studies conducted by NASA have shown that bed rest changes every major organ system in the body and its function.
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:QAd8Uuy19C0J:www.sogc.org/jogc/abstracts/full/200804_Obstetrics_1.pdf+prenatal+bedrest+bone+mass+muscle+mass&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk
Although the exact incidence of these complications is
not known, Maloni
3
describes problems women face after
various periods of bed rest. They “tire easily, have muscle
weakness, deep muscle soreness, shortness of breath, dizzi-
ness, difficulty concentrating, decreased stamina, difficulty
with ambulation and return to activities of daily living,” all
while caring for a newborn. These symptoms do not resolve
quickly and are incremental with the degree of activity
restriction imposed.
28
Data are lacking about recovery dura-
tion or permanent damage. In a previous study, health care
providers were described as believing that women would
recover quickly from any adverse effects associated with
bed rest because of their relative young age and health
status
[...]
Complications associated with bed rest include deteriora-
tion in muscle strength and balance, bone demineralization,
weight loss, electrolyte imbalances, and fluid compartment
shifts that can persist into the immediate postpartum period
and beyond.
2,3
Pregnant women on bed rest may be at
higher risk for the life-threatening complication of
thromboembolism.
4
Quality of life for women and their
families is also affected, because bed rest during pregnancy
is associated with significant stress (including financial
hardship) and alterations in mood states, such as
dysphoria.
1,5–10
The associated hospitalization and/or
antepartum home care, physical problems, and emotional
stress lead to increased health care cost
http://www.hyperemesis.org/hyperemesis-gravidarum/treatments/bed-rest.php
Antepartum bed rest: effect upon the family.
Maloni JA, Brezinski-Tomasi JE, Johnson LA.
Journal of Obstetric, Gynecology & Neonatal Nursing 2001 Mar-Apr;30(2):165-73.
Families experienced difficulty assuming maternal responsibilities, anxiety about maternal-fetal outcomes, and adverse emotional effects on the children. Child care was managed by various people across time. Child care problems included negative reactions from the children, concern about the quality of the provider, and maternal worry about care. Families also experienced financial difficulties, the majority of which were not compensated by insurance or work benefits. Almost all, 96.6%, families received some type of support during bed rest. Instrumental support was the most commonly received; however, emotional support was considered the most helpful. The least helpful type of support was that which was unreliable. The primary providers of support to the family were parents and family, followed by friends. The women reported that health care providers offered minimal support to the family.
Perceptions of bed rest by women with high-risk pregnancies: A comparison between home and hospital.
Heaman M, Gupton A.
Winnipeg Community and Long-Term Care Authority, University of Manitoba, Canada.
Birth 1998 Dec;25(4):252-8.
Bed rest had a significant emotional and social impact on pregnant women and their families in both settings. Overall, bed rest in hospital seemed to be associated with more sources of stress than at home. In hospital, women had to cope with separation from home and family, lack of privacy, hospital discomforts, and incompatible roommates, whereas women at home struggled with role reversal and the temptation to do more activity than was recommended. Stressors not unique to but exacerbated by hospitalization included concerns about the children, a sense of missing out, a sense of confinement and being a prisoner, boredom, feelings of depression and loneliness, and negative impact on the relationship with their partner.
An overview of the issues: physiological effects of bed rest and restricted physical activity.
Convertino VA, Bloomfield SA, Greenleaf JE.
Physiology Research Branch, Clinical Sciences Division, Brooks Air Force Base, TX 78235, USA.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise1997 Feb;29(2):187-90.
Reduction of exercise capacity with confinement to bed rest is well recognized. Underlying physiological mechanisms include dramatic reductions in maximal stroke volume, cardiac output, and oxygen uptake. However, bed rest by itself does not appear to contribute to cardiac dysfunction. Increased muscle fatigue is associated with reduced muscle blood flow, red cell volume, capillarization and oxidative enzymes. Loss of muscle mass and bone density may be reflected by reduced muscle strength and higher risk for injury to bones and joints. The resultant deconditioning caused by bed rest can be independent of the primary disease and physically debilitating in patients who attempt to reambulate to normal active living and working. This symposium presents an overview of cardiovascular and musculoskeletal deconditioning associated with reduced physical work capacity following prolonged bed rest and exercise training regimens that have proven successful in ameliorating or reversing these adverse effects.
Fathers’ experience of their partners’ antepartum bed rest.
Maloni JA, Ponder MB.
University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Nursing 53792-2455, USA.
Image the Journal of Nursing Scholarship 1997;29(2):183-8.
Major problems for fathers were assuming multiple roles, managing emotional responses, and caring for their partner. The major paternal worry was for the health of mate and fetus. Coping strategies included using tangible assistance; altering cognitive, behavioral, and emotional responses; and verbalizing worries. Fathers reported receiving little assistance from health care providers. CONCLUSIONS: Fathers experience extreme stress when pregnancy bed rest is prescribed for a mate. Family-centered care should include care of the partner whose mate is at high-risk. Interventions that reduce paternal worry and provide emotional and tangible support are needed.
Bed rest from the perspective of the high-risk pregnant woman.
Gupton A, Heaman M, Ashcroft T.
Faculty of Nursing, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
Journal of Obstetric, Gynecology & Neonatal Nursing 1997 Jul-Aug;26(4):423-30.
Stressors were grouped into situational (sick role, lack of control, uncertainty, concerns regarding fetus’s well-being, and being tired of waiting), environmental (feeling like a prisoner, being bored, and having a sense of missing out), and family (role reversal and worry about older children) categories. Two main mediators of stress were social support and coping. Families, friends, and professionals were perceived as sources of support. Women used coping strategies, such as keeping a positive attitude, taking it 1 day at a time, doing it for the baby, getting used to it, setting goals, and keeping busy. Manifestations of stress were evidenced by adverse physical symptoms, emotional reactions, and altered social relationships.
Home care of the high-risk pregnant woman requiring bed rest.
Maloni JA.
University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Nursing 53792.
Journal of Obstetric, Gynecology & Neonatal Nursing 1994 Oct;23(8):696-706.
Bed rest therapy has various physiologic and psychosocial side effects that generally are not recognized or treated. This article provides suggestions for providing comprehensive nursing antepartum and postpartum care of the pregnant woman requiring home bed rest and her family.
Physical and psychosocial side effects of antepartum hospital bed rest.
Maloni JA, Chance B, Zhang C, Cohen AW, Betts D, Gange SJ.
School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Nursing Research 1993 Jul-Aug;42(4):197-203.
Women on complete bed rest (n = 10) had greater gastrocnemius muscle dysfunction, weight loss, and dysphoria than women on partial bed rest (n = 7) or no bed rest (n = 18). Separation from family was the greatest hospital stressor. Postpartum recovery from the side effects of bed rest was prolonged and included symptoms of muscular and cardiovascular deconditioning. The severity of side effects appeared to be directly related to the degree of severity restriction.
http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Osteoporosis/Conditions_Behaviors/bed_rest.asp
The Impact of Bed Rest and Inactivity
Some people can’t perform weight-bearing activity. They include people who a
That’s not true at all. You’re supposed to take it easy for a couple weeks, but bed rest is ridiculous. Go about your daily life, whatever you feel comfortable with, just hold off for starting at an exercise routine until you get the okay at your 6 week check. you can take baby for walks, do laundry, housework, you’re okay!
No you don’t gotta be in bed 40 days after birth…it won’t mess up your insides if you don’t…
They tell you to rest as much as possible and dont lift things but having a newborn its hard to rest or relax and your in so much pain i didnt get much rest at all and i was cleaning doing laundry all that fun stuff and everything inside went back to normal just any chance you get lay down put your feet up and dont over work yourself, its pretty close to impossible to not do ANYTHING for 40 days GL!
i have 2 children and i would have done anything to have gotten to rest after having either of them. my rest ended as soon as i was released from the hospital both times. i am single and neither of their fathers ever helped me, or even checked on us, for that matter. what a luxury to rest for 40 days. i can’t imagine.
no that’s not true of course you need to take it easy and rest but you can continue as normal no need at all to stay in bed for 40 days. i’m a mum of 1 had 2 have a c-section i took it a bit more easy then before but still did everything as before just not heavy lifting for a few weeks. congrats and enjoy
The idea is a bit old fashioned although of course they mean well and just want you to be OK. So you could tell them that with new research and so on, the experts have found out that these days you can do more, including go out for walks and so on (does it sould like I’ve said this somtime before? yep, I have!!). What’s important is to make sure you don’t feel odd (on the inside or on the outside) so avoid that. But going to the market or to a lunch is just fine unless your obgyn has told you otherwise.
Well, I guess it would depend on how you labor went and if you have any other medical problems. My labor went perfectly. I was up walking around as soon as my epidural wore off and ready to go home! But that probably is not the norm. If you had a C-section you should definately take it easy for a couple months. As long as your doctor says you are recovering well and you feel well. You should ask your doctor for his opinion because he knows your body and your situation best. I hope this helped.
My friend had a baby in april of last year,basically 08,she was up and at ‘em 1 day or 2 after she was in labor,and about 5 months ago she is pregnant again .So yes i agree it is an old idea and just be careful not to over do it.