home away from home:
keeping it together during a hospital stay by paula yost schupp
W
When most women think of their pregnancies, they picture themselves either scheduling a C-section or beginning to have contractions at home which leads to them reporting to the hospital for delivery. Some women even envision a beautiful, drug free water birth in a birthing center with a midwife or a homebirth. What no woman ever envisions or dreams of is an out of the blue health complication that leaves you on bed rest or in a hospital for long periods of time. Should you find yourself or should a friend find themselves in such a place, here are a few things you should know and do to survive this time. First, even if you are placed on bedrest, you will likely be given permission to walk around or move some of the day. Take advantage of every opportunity you are given to get up and move. If you can go outside and the weather is reasonably nice, do that. Often, your nurse can aid you with that. Your muscles and mental health will thank you. I was on a magnesium sulfate drip with my middle child and had a fall risk bracelet on my wrist. My nurse asked me if I wanted a catheter
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or if I just wanted to call her every time I had to go to the bathroom. She reminded me that I was in the labor-intensive care unit, so she only had two patients at a time and I was one of them. I really did not want any more tubes in my body than necessary, so I asked her to help me get around when necessary. I’m thankful that I did and I will always be thankful to her for helping me get to the bathroom. The mag drip truly does make it difficult to walk and to feel stable on your feet. Simply getting out of my bed and using the toilet, even assisted, made me feel like a normal woman and not a human incubator. I was in the hospital during a very cold January, but I know other women who could go outside to enjoy spring flowers or fall leaves. Take each of these opportunities. You really have nothing better to do than to care for your body, both physically and mentally. Second, try to find something to do to entertain and engage your mind. My medical team was horrified to hear that I was richly focused on “The Handmaid’s Tale.” It has a good amount of violence and scenes that make women angry. The show
