Exercises while on bedrest and pregnant

MrsRobertson1005

So it is looking like I might be on bed rest for my entire 3rd trimester thanks to preeclampsia but I don't want to lose all of my muscle and gain a ton of weight. I know I could use weights and do bench press with them for my arms and chest. Anything else? Anyone else go thru this?

SirBonerFart

you probably shouldn't exercise if you're on bedrest

randomtai

you probably shouldn't exercise if you're on bedrest

This.

acpgee

I was immobile in hospital for 6 months in 2011 and the physio's had me doing pilates type core exercises. Would check with your doctor first, of course.

BarbieAS

you probably shouldn't exercise if you're on bedrest

This.

Agreed. Even weights raise your heart rate, which I'm assuming with pre-e is to be avoided.

At the very least, ask your OB, not strangers on the internet who have no idea about the risks of your condition.

ldrosophila

I have no idea if this would work or if it would even be safe, but google Brewer's Diet and ask your OB about it.

TheGymGypsy

you probably shouldn't exercise if you're on bedrest

This.

Don't risk it.

cwolfman13

bed rest means bed rest...you shouldn't be doing ****. How about worrying about all that stuff after you've safely and happily delivered your baby. That's priority one right now...everything else can be taken care of later.

PattyRain

I had preeclampsia with all 3 of my children and had them all early because of it - 5 weeks, 7 weeks and 9 weeks early. Preeclampsia means that your pregnancy is causing your blood pressure to go high and it can not only affect the baby, but cause your kidneys and liver to start shutting down. It can also cause seizures.

The ONLY person to ask your question should be your doctor.

Your baby is worth the wait and loss of muscle if your Dr. says no weights. Seriously ask to do a tour of the NICU if you start getting anxious. After a week on bedrest with my first I wasn't sure I wanted to wait that long, but seeing those babies showed me that they were worth all my sacrifices to keep them in as long as I could. You don't want this baby to come early.

And as for gaining tons of weight - if you are eating what you should then you won't gain a ton. Ask to see a nutritionist if you don't know what you should be eating.

MrsRobertson1005

Thank you for the helpful comments. My appointment with my doctor to verify if I have preeclampsia or not is Wednesday so of course I will ask my doctor then, I was just trying to see what other people had experienced. I was not expecting to hear go run or anything like that, just thinking of low impact exercises I could do from bed.

ShannonKelliG

you probably shouldn't exercise if you're on bedrest

This.

Don't risk it.

When I was on bed rest for pre-e I was allowed up to the washroom and to shower once a day. That's it. Right now isn't the time to worry about your weight.

MrsRobertson1005

I had severe preeclampsia with all 3 of my children and had them all early because of it - 5 weeks, 7 weeks and 9 weeks early. Preeclampsia means that your pregnancy is causing your blood pressure to go high and it can not only affect the baby, but cause your kidneys and liver to start shutting down. It can also cause seizures.

The ONLY person to ask your question should be your doctor.

Your baby is worth the wait and loss of muscle if your Dr. says no weights. Seriously ask to do a tour of the NICU if you start getting anxious. You don't want this baby to come early.

And as for gaining tons of weight - if you are eating what you should then you won't gain a ton. Ask to see a nutritionist if you don't know what you should be eating.

I appreciate the warning, I was early due to my mom having it as well so I know the risks. I will just ask my dr.

5ftnFun

Check with your doctor. I was on bed rest for about 8 weeks (a long time ago :laugh: ) and I was only allowed to get up to use the bathroom. I was allowed to shower & shampoo only once a week. So yeah, check with your doctor about what you can and can not do. You can work on you afterwards. Good luck to you! :flowerforyou:

msaprilm1

Kegels - :embarassed: :flowerforyou:

LauraMacNCheese

you probably shouldn't exercise if you're on bedrest

Agreed

Contrarian

Bedrest means precisely that. You'll be bored and you might gain weight, but you can address your fitness after the baby arrives.

SoViLicious

At this point just keep yourself and that baby safe. You can lose weight after you have given birth. It's not that serious.

GLady1980

I wouldnt do any exercise as it is not worth the life of your child to stay fit while pregnant if you have been put on bedrest

Cadori

Weight lifting while on bedrest? I hope you're joking.

You sit in bed, you keep your baby as safe as possible. Watch your diet.

calibriintx

Preeclampsia is a big deal. It's not like you've got an incompetent cervix or something and the rest of you is fine. Pre-e could result in you having a stroke. Don't mess around with it. I'm actually shocked to hear that you're going in Wednesday to see if you have it. If you're having symptoms of pre-e, you should be there right now. Like RIGHT NOW. If it's just a family history with no symptoms, then I can see waiting. But seriously, if you have symptoms, get to your doc. If you have pre-e and go on bedrest, just relax and take care of yourself and your baby.

auroranflash

Just watch Days of our Lives and enjoy the break. Kristen is trying to get back at EJ and it might get good. And watching Jennifer melt down is kinda funny.

Take care of you and your little one.

DavPul

bedrest means bedrest

PetulantOne

I think you have more important things to worry about.

Do you know what happens when preeclampsia turns into eclampsia?

Eclampsia is an acute and life-threatening complication of pregnancy, characterized by the appearance of tonic–clonic seizures, usually in a patient who has developed pre-eclampsia. (Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia are collectively called Hypertensive disorder of pregnancy and toxemia of pregnancy.)
Eclampsia includes seizures and coma that happen during pregnancy but are not due to preexisting or organic brain disorder.

I think I'd err on the side of caution, and worry about the rest later.

PattyRain

I knew every little about preeclampsia before I had my first 19 years ago. I knew very little about premature babies. The OP is 23. I was 26. I really didn't understand how important that rest is to the baby till I took that tour of the NICU and I suspect that if someone hasn't been around preemies in the NICU it will be hard to understand for many, My second week on bedrest was so much easier because I understood so much more.

PattyRain

One other thing - I also didn't know what preeclampsia (or toxemia as most people called it) before I got it. If she hasn't even been diagnosed with it yet then it doesn't surprise me the OP doesn't know much about it. And I don't suggest googling it because there are a lot of horror stories about it that are not the norm for most people.

I'm actually shocked to hear that you're going in Wednesday to see if you have it. If you're having symptoms of pre-e, you should be there right now. Like RIGHT NOW

That really depends on the symptoms and how severe. If hers are slight it doesn't surprise me that they are having her wait.

MrsRobertson1005

i would delete this post if i could but i don't know how. i am not trying to be a bad mom, i have been to the dr and we are going over my test results next wednesday. my blood pressure was high but not in the danger zone and i have swelling but no other symptoms. i do know how serious it can get, my mom was never diagnosed and thus i was 9 weeks early and she almost died. I am trying to stay positive and think i just swell a lot and not that it is preeclampsia because it terrifies me. I don't know how strict my bed rest will be but I can see that it might be very strict based on what some people have posted. I appreciate those who had helpful advice and in site as to what I can expect.

elleryjones

I had pre-eclampsia with my first (and was induced immediately when I showed signs with my second). With the first it just sneaked up on me literally overnight. I had a checkup on a Thursday, all was fine. Sunday night I couldn't sleep, was up all night with itchy legs, googled it Monday and went in to the OB and was promptly taken to the hospital and induced. My liver was shutting down and my BP was so high I wasn't allowed to sit upright from the time I entered the Labor and Delivery ward (for monitoring).

My first son was delivered at 35 weeks and he was fine, but it was terrifying. Terrifying. I've never known fear like the fear that something could be wrong with my baby. All I wanted was for him to be safe and okay, I quit caring about myself.

Anyone who's been through it is going to be a little harsh on you. I wouldn't wish my experience on anyone.

Hang in there and good luck. Hugs.

shadow2soul

My experience with Pre-Eclampsia wasn't pretty. My blood pressure was normal up until I got to week 32. At week 32 it was slightly elevated and I was immediately taken over to the main hospital building where the monitored me for 12 hours. I was put on bed rest and told to come back the next week. Fast forward to week 33, my BP was even higher. I was put on BP meds, had a urine test done, and was told I would have to come back to the hospital twice a week so they could check on my son. Week 34, I went in for the results of the urine test and was told I had pre-eclampsia. My BP was even higher then the last time, so they upped the BP meds and it was decided that I should stay at the hospital till 36 weeks when they would induce labor. After one night at the hospital, I was told I was being transferred to a hospital with a NICU because my BP continued to rise and they wanted to induce labor right away (was transferred that day). After 24 hours at the hospital I was transferred too, the OB (not the one I had been working with originally, but one that had worked with more high risk pregnancies) was checking something, I was half asleep at the time and don't remember what, but whatever it was worried him enough that I was taken to have an emergency c-section right then.


Point of saying all this, if you really do have Pre-eclampsia, it is dangerous enough as it is and you really shouldn't exercise with it. I understand your concerns about losing LBM and such, but it really isn't worth the risk to your health or the health of your child.

Chances are if your on bedrest, your doctor isn't going to okay you for any sort of exercise, but it never hurts to ask. Overall though you really need to get an okay from a doctor before attempting any exercise.

Wish you all the best and I hope it turns out that you don't have Pre-eclampsia.

dakotababy

Your already sacrificing your tummy and vag...whats a little arm muscle to top it off?

Seriously, ask a doctor.

MrsRobertson1005

Thank you to the ladies that posted their experience, I had no idea it could escalate that fast. I guess I also didn't realize that sitting up made your blood pressure go up though now it makes sense. I will definitely know what to look for now. They did tell me to call if my eyesight was blurry, i got dizzy, nausea, or a headache that wouldn't go away. Also that I needed to go get my blood pressure checked if it seemed high. They gave me a container for a 24 hr urine analysis to check my urine for protein. I'm guessing they didn't find any in the sample I left with them because they didn't call. Again, thank y'all for sharing your experiences, I really had no idea.