title: Bed rest in pregnancy.
abstract: The use of bed rest in medicine dates back to Hippocrates, who first recommended bed rest as a restorative measure for pain. With the formalization of prenatal care in the early 1900s, maternal bed rest became a standard of care, especially toward the end of pregnancy. Antepartum bed rest is a common obstetric management tool, with up to 95% of obstetricians utilizing maternal activity restriction in some way in their practice. Bed rest is prescribed for a variety of complications of pregnancy, from threatened abortion and multiple gestations to preeclampsia and preterm labor. Although the use of bed rest is pervasive, there is a paucity of data to support its use. Additionally, many well-documented adverse physical, psychological, familial, societal, and financial effects have been discussed in the literature. There have been no complications of pregnancy for which the literature consistently demonstrates a benefit to antepartum bed rest. Given the well-documented adverse effects of bed rest, disruption of social relationships, and financial implications of this intervention, there is a real need for scientific investigation to establish whether this is an appropriate therapeutic modality. Well-designed randomized, controlled trials of bed rest versus normal activity for various complications of pregnancy are required to lay this debate to rest once and for all.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bigelow
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stone
mesh_terms: D000033:Abortion, Threatened / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001510:Bed Rest / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000628:therapy*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011272:Pregnancy, Multiple / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D012934:Social Isolation; D059039:Standard of Care