Have you experienced bedrest during pregnancy? Did you also have issues with depression? How did you handle it? What do you feel nurses can do to help reduce depression in women on bedrest during their pregnancies?
I'm looking specifically for input on hospitalized, long term bedrest women.
10 comments:
We had a mom whose baby was in our unit who was on bedrest for 9 weeks in the hospital. Her employer hooked her up with a laptop and had her work almost full-time from her hospital room. Her husband bought her a HUGE flat screen TV and brought it up to her. She established a daily routine--work for a few hours, work on a project for the baby, watch a movie, call a friend, and work for a few more hours. She said it was still a LONG nine weeks, but it helped the time to be on a set schedule and work. It would be nice if more employers would be that accommodating, or if the hospital could somehow link up volunteer organizations with moms on bedrest. A mom on bedrest has time to write thank you notes to donors, etc.
Melissa
#1 thing that a nurse can do for a patient on long-term bed rest, if doctor's orders permit it - let her go outside from time to time, without acting like it's a huge imposition. (My hospital had nifty rolling recliners in every room, so it wasn't that hard.) And if doctor's orders don't permit it, but it seems to you like it would help her and not be a huge safety risk, ask if they can be modified (I know this is tough to do with some doctors, though).
I was on hospital bed rest for nine weeks. The two things that kept me sane were getting outside regularly, and visits from my daughter. (Actually, talking to the patient about her family probably helps, too, especially if she has other kids. Talking about my daughter really helped keep me focused on something other than how miserable I was.)
As a mom who spent 2 separate pregnancies on extended bedrest, I can tell you that depression and the two go hand in hand, and goes mostly unnoticed.
At best, it is passed off as being hormonal, at worst no one notices the pregnant mom on bedrest is experiencing such isolation, lonliness, and unwanted helplessness.
I am very interested in talking to you more about this. Can I contact you any other way?
I have often thought about contributing to a book or seminar topic on these matters.
Also- I have the perspective of both the patient and an RN.
I haven't had to deal with hospital bedrest, but I have been on bedrest at home for the last 4 weeks (with another 3 to go) and I can tell you that the isolation is the hardest part for me. Just getting to leave the house for my weekly doctor's appointment is a major thrill! So anything nurses can do to 1) decrease isolation and 2) help patients find opportunity for an interesting break in the everlasting SAMENESS of being stuck in bed all day every day would help make things better.
I spent about 6 weeks on hospital bedrest with my first son. He was born vaginally (unmedicated) at 35 weeks. He spent 9 days in NICU.
I spent about 3 weeks on hospital bedrest with my second son. He was born via crash c-section under general at 32 weeks. He spent 80 days in NICU.
Let me know if you'd like to hear about my experiences.
Nurses definitely have the ability to make a hospital stay pleasant, tolerable, or hell. Mine were mostly hell.
I'm so grateful to have never had bed rest with any of my pregnancies. I would love to do volunteer work with Moms who need encouragement. I'm wondering if this might be an unmet need in the hospital. Perhaps I will inquire about spending even 2 hours a week at a local hospital's perinatal high-risk unit and see if any nurses think a visiting mom who can run errands for the bedrest mom or just sit and talk with her could be helpful for those bedridden ladies. It would almost be like a prenatal doula!
I did 7 weeks of home bedrest with my daughter - advanced cervical dilation (3-4 cm). Seven weeks of boredom and loneliness. She was born at 37 weeks, just literally a couple of days after the restrictions were lifted.
For my son, I did a week of in-house bedrest followed by 4 weeks of home bedrest (allowed only because I was an OB). He was delivered at 36 weeks thanks to worsening pre-eclampsia.
I as a provider have a lot of sympathy for these folks that I place on rest. I try to cheerlead, but I am the first to admit that it is hard to do.
Anyone is free to email me privately with any discussion, personal stories you care to share, or information.
atyourcervix1@gmail.com
I really think that depression and long term bedrest of hospitalized pregnant women is a severe condition that is often underlooked by nursing and medical staff. This has always been a concern of mine.
I was on bed rest with my last son. The high points of my day were when I got to take a shower and the 15-20 minutes of stretching I did. The nurses would come in to disconnect me from my IV and then I had about 30-45 minutes to do whatever until they came back. I would shower, then I would do gentle stretches, and I really did feel better after the little bit of time on my feet.
I agree with going outside or getting a change of scenery or talking with the nurses helps a lot. For me, there was a lot of stress knowing that my husband was the only one taking care of my 3 year old, especially when he wound up in a seperate hospital for breathing issues. I feel bad for my husband going back and forth. But, as a nurse, there's not much you can do about family obligations.
My sister was on extended bed rest at home during her pregnancy for 8 or 9 weeks. Boredom, isolation and depression went hand-in-hand -- I made a special point of calling her every day, just to give her something to do and so that she wouldn't feel so alone.
She could leave the house a little to get groceries -- nothing heavy, though. She couldn't even do housework, since she couldn't lift anything. Doctor's appointments were a joy, because at least she had something to do.
She played a lot of World of Warcraft, if I recall.
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