Surviving bed rest
Can “The Secret” Benefit Mamas on Bedrest?
April 20th, 2010“You have the power to have whatever you want!”
This is the message of the movie, The Secret. According to the laws of attraction, everything that we are currently experiencing we have brought into our lives or “attracted” with our thoughts. As someone who works with and for high risk pregnant women on bed rest, I have a bit of a problem with this statement. However if this theory is true, then there is no reason that The Secret and laws of attraction can’t be used by mamas on bed rest to help their situations.
First I want to say that I in no way believe that any woman on bed rest “attracted” her high risk situation. Most high risk pregnant women that I know take excellent care of themselves and their unborn babies. Still complications arose and they were put on bed rest for their health and the health of their babies, to prolong their pregnancies and to avoid preterm labor. Despite the fact that I don’t believe women “attracted” their high risk pregnancies, I do think that high risk mamas on bed rest can employ this law of attraction to help themselves and their babies.
All Stressed out…but somewhere to go!
I want to go back to my last post, All stressed out and nowhere to go. In that post I presented ground breaking research by Dr. Kathleen Kendall-Tackett and her colleagues in the field of pychoneuroimmunology. Dr. Kendall-Tackett and others have been able to show that stress puts women at risk for going into preterm labor. The physical reactions to stress create not only the “fight or flight” response from the adrenals but also an inflammatory response in the immune system. Chemicals released by the immune system produce inflammation in many tissues of the body including the cervix. It’s this inflammation that results in cervical ripening (too soon) and preterm labor.
So how can the law of attraction be applied to high risk pregnancy and preterm labor? According to the “experts” in the film, the law of attraction can be used to promote healing. Using the law of attraction and focusing on having a healthy full term baby a mother would bring that to fruition. This is not a new concept. Hypnosis, meditation, prayer, cognitive behavioral therapy and other autosuggestion types of relaxation and behavior modification are supposed to work in much the same way and many studies show that they are effective. But how do they work?
The Law of Attraction and Psychoneuroimmunology
If we go back to psychoneuroimmunology, we see that when a pregnant women (like anyone else) is stressed her brain sends messages to her adrenal glands to produce adrenal hormones for the “flight or fight” response and cortisol to protect against injury. The brain also sends messages to the immune system to put out chemicals to help reduce inflammation or infection in the event of an injury. This “red alert” system is great at protecting the woman in immediate stress, but if she remains in constant stress, these protective measures go askew and start to have negative effects on her body. One way in particular is by ripening her cervix too soon for delivery.
When the pregnant woman in our example begins to apply the laws of attraction, she begins to hold images of herself growing ever larger with her growing baby inside of her. If her cervix is incompetent, she may begin to envision her cervix being tightly closed and at a length that sustains pregnancy and not one the promotes delivery. She’llpromote calm in her surroundings with comfortable clothes and bedding, a comfortable and supportive set up around her bed and a supportive network of family and friends. She’ll envision herself going into labor ONLY on her due date, and the labor and delivery going well without complications. Finally she should envision herself holding her newborn in her arms, healthy and full term.
Again, I cannot say with absolute certainty that The Secret or the laws of attraction that it advocates is effective or that if high risk pregnant women employ the laws of attraction that they will have full term pregnancies and uncomplicated labors and deliveries. However, hypnosis, cognitive behavioral therapy, meditation, prayer and visualization have been scientifically shown to work with other people in other situations. It stands to reason then that it is certainly better for a mama on bed rest to be calm and to think positive thoughts than to dwell on whatever put her on bed rest and the prospect that she may lose her baby.
So if thinking positive thoughts, envisioning a tight cervix, breathing down high blood pressure or positively planning for the future with a happy and healthy full term baby are all methods of employing The Secret, then Mamas on Bedrest-the secret is out!
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Mamas on Bedrest: All stressed out with nowhere to go
April 15th, 2010Mamas on bed rest are at increased risk of going into preterm labor!
Now any woman on bed rest reading this is probably ready to click off. Why am I stating the obvious? Because the answer to my original statement is not what you think. Women who are prescribed bed rest receive the prescription because they have incompetent cervices, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, vaginal bleeding, placental issues, poor fetal growth or some other obstetrical complication. These complications increase a pregnant woman’s risk of going into preterm labor and increase the health risks to both mother and baby.
But consider this: in addition to being at increased risk of going into preterm labor due to an obstetrical complication, women who are on prescribed bed rest-either in the hospital or at home as an outpatient-have an additional increased risk of going into preterm labor due to being on bed rest. The fact of the matter is despite its intention, being on prescribed bed rest is stressful, and it’s this stress that compounds the risk of going into preterm labor.
The Physiologic Effects of Stress
Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, Ph.D., IBCLC is a health psychologist who studies the effects of chronic stress and depression on health. Her websites UppityScienceChick.com and BreastfeedingMadeSimple.com have a combination of evidenced based science linking chronic stress and depression as well as very “people-friendly” information on the ameliorating effects of breastfeeding on depression in new mothers.
In the normal stress response, the brain releases chemicals from the hypothalamic-pituitary axis (HPA) which stimulates the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline for “flight/fight” and cortisol to aid in repair from disease or injury. At the same time, the immune system releases chemicals called cytokines that start a cascade of events designed to slow, halt and reverse inflammation associated with illness or injury.
According to Kendall-Tackett and her colleagues in this emerging field of psychoneuroimmunology, in people under chronic stress, these usually protective mechanisms go haywire. The normal stress reaction is that the brain perceives danger or stress and sends messages to the adrenal glands and immune system to prepare for defense. Once the stress or danger is removed, the HPA gets the message that there is no longer any danger and stops sending out messages to the adrenal glands and the immune systems. The systems reset themselves and stop producing and secreting the protective hormones and chemicals.
In a person under continuous stress, the HPA continuously sends out “stress” messages. The adrenal glands continuously produce and secrete adrenaline and cortisol in response and as a result too much adrenaline and cortisol are produced. A similar response occurs in the immune system. Cytokines are produced and released in excess by the immune system in response to the perceived “threat”. The result is a state of chronic inflammation.
Psychoneuroimmunology and Mamas on Bedrest
So what does all this science mean for Mamas on Bedrest? Well, the normal physiology of pregnancy results in elevated levels of cytokines, the chemicals released by the immune system in response to stress, in the third trimester. Accordingly, women in the third trimester of pregnancy are at increased risk of developing depression. Since cytokines remain elevated into the post partum period, this inflammatory response persists and increases the risk of developing post partum depression.
Women on prescribed bed rest are stressed simply by being placed on prescribed bed rest. Add to that stress the time they may spend worrying about their health, the health of their babies, their families, their jobs, their finances, etc… and you can see that they are under additional stress. Their HPA’s are firing like gangbusters telling the adrenals glands and immune system to prepare for battle. Adrenal hormones are present in excess. Cytokines are produced and put out by the immune system in excess. Hence, a woman on bed rest who is stressed is in a heightened state of inflammation. She’s all stressed out with nowhere to go.
But what does this mean for her pregnancy? Researchers have shown that cytokines act on the cervix causing an inflammatory response. This inflammation causes cervical “ripening”, i.e. the cervix to shorten and thin and prepare for delivery of the baby. Hormones secreted from the adrenal glands trigger partuition. If this inflammatory response occurs before 37 weeks of pregnancy, in addition to be at risk for preterm labor due to obstetrical complications, mama is also at risk of preterm labor due to the stress response on her cervix. If she’s already on bed rest for an incompetent cervix this is a “double whammy.” But in combination with other known obstetrical complications, this can become a very serious problem.
But there is good news
When women on bed rest are able to keep their stress levels low, they are able to reduce their inflammatory responses and lower their risks of preterm labor. The psychoneuroimmunologists have also found that DHA, an Omega 3 fatty acid found in fish oils helps lower the inflammatory response. While no one is telling mamas on bed rest to go out and to start taking fish oil (you have to be very careful with supplements during pregnancy. Always consult with your OB or midwife and/or a nutritionist prior to taking any supplements during pregnancy!) this information relates directly to our discussion on eating a healthy, well balanced, whole foods diet.
There is so much more to this story and we will continue the discussion in the subsequent post.
Please share your thoughts on this blog post in the comments section below. Also, please share this vital information with friends and loved ones.
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Words of Wisdom from Mamas on Bed Rest
February 10th, 2010
I was working in my own little funk the other day when I decided to take a break. I went over to the online message boards that I frequent to see how the mamas on bed rest are doing, how they are supporting one another and to learn any new information or tips.
One post in particular really touched my heart. A mama-to-be had finally gotten pregnant after 2 years of trying. Now it seems that her cervix is shortening and is a centimeter shorter than where it should be for this point in her pregnancy (second trimester about 22 or 24 weeks). She was asking anyone who read her post to please pray for her health and for the health of her baby, for her cervix to stop shrinking, for preterm labor not to occur and for her baby to be born healthy. She was starting bed rest.
Bed rest sucks! No doubt about it. But I am constantly amazed and humbled at how mamas on bed rest stay focused, stay positive and stay supportive of one another. I am honored that I get to work with and support such incredible women. The beauty that I have seen is that women on bed rest, after the initial shock and anxiety, really pull it together and make it through. At the same time they support one another, encourage one another and are invaluable resources for one another – all while on bed rest!
After reading through the responses to her post, I compiled this list of tips mamas on bed rest recommend to help keep your spirits up and to help you to press forward when your situation is scary and out of control. Strangely enough, this list can be applied to any situation that is difficult, not just being on bed rest, and I find myself drawing strength from their words. Here are words of wisdom from mamas on bed rest how about how to survive and beat bed rest.
- It’s okay to be sad. All the mamas agreed that their initial response to their bed rest prescription was anxiety and sadness. They were all very concerned about the health of their babies and sad that there was little else that they could do to make the situation better. They acknowledged the sadness but quickly moved on.
- Steel your resolve. As one mama put it, “I just told myself, whatever I have to do to get this baby here I will do!” All of these mamas fully intend to bring home healthy babies and have set their minds to do so. As so many psychologists and coaches say, “the mind directs the body. ” These kids are well on their way.
- Perk up. The mamas all recommended that you surround yourself with positive things while you are on bed rest. Make sure your “living space” is cheerful and that you have all you need handy. As much as possible engage in activities that keep your spirits up. Invite people to come and visit you. Watch movies and do crafts with your children. If it makes you happy and content, do it.
- Get Support. Along the same lines, mamas on bed rest recommend that you get support. Get help with the household duties, your children and your pets. Arrange to get those things that must be done done and forget the rest!
- It’s not over ’til it’s over! One mama said, (and I’m paraphrasing) “I am going to do all that I can to hold my baby in my arms. I’m not giving up, no way! As long as I am here and my baby is inside me, I’m going to keep going. It’s not over ’til it’s over!” We all know that sometimes things don’t turn out well for mamas on bed rest and babies don’t make it. But I really liked this mamas attitude. She wasn’t going to give in to negativity and she wasn’t going to give up until she had a clear reason to so. Now that’s strength.
These mamas on bed rest showed me that situations are what they are, but we don’t have to let them rule us. You can become very sad and give in to the fear or you can acknowledge that the situation is tough and then do all that you can to press on towards your goal. If mind over matter can be applied to mamas on bed rest, we’re going to be welcoming many babies in the very near future.
(Photo courtesy of PregnancyToday.com)
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