Coping with an at-risk pregnancy

Recently, a close friend began having difficulties with her pregnancy due to high blood pressure. The doctor ordered her to strict bed rest where she had to remain on her left side for the duration of the pregnancy. Distressed, she sent me a text to inform me of her current situation and was beside herself with how she was going to make it through. I, not typically the person with an outstanding positive attitude, told her that she was going to have to do whatever it took to be positive, as well as productive, and that I would help in any way I could.

I did what I always do when a question of any type arises ~ I performed a search on the World Wide Web. Starting out very vaguely, I used "activities for pregnant women on bed rest" as my key phrase. Two hours later, I, the avid searcher, was shocked at the minimal number of ideas that I found, which was basically nil. I did, however, find some information to pass along to her as well as some support groups consisting of women who had undergone the trauma she was now facing.

Wanting to get something to my friend as quickly as possible, I emailed her the couple of links I had found and informed her that I was still diligently searching and brainstorming. Out of the two, searching and brainstorming, I proved to be more successful with the latter. Very proud of the ideas that I came up with, I have decided to pass them on so that, hopefully, other women in the same type of situation can benefit.

Keep in mind, most suggestions listed below may be substituted with something similar that is more appealing to the individual's preference. When I presented my ideas to my friend, I recommended she take them and build upon them to create her own activities: I recommend the same for everyone else. The below ideas are in no special order; you may want to make a list of the ideas you like and then place them in your order of importance.

Keep a daily journal in which the entries are written specifically to the child.

Purchase "baby-themed" jigsaw puzzles, put them together, glue them, frame them and have them hung on the walls of the baby's room.

Write a brief, or detailed, autobiography. Or, write a biography of the baby's father.

Have friends and family save any and all state quarters. Attempt to collect two of each state; one from each mint ("P" and "D"). Then, organize and place in collector books that may be purchased at Wal-Mart or Hobby Lobby. I am positive they can be found at other department stores as well as any specialty store. A wealth of information may be found at https://www.usmint.gov.

Read a children's book aloud to the baby daily or multiple times a day.

Research groups and/or organizations that help contribute to a college trust fund.

Learn how, if you don't already know, to crochet or knit.

Join an Internet support group. A good place to start is here: https://www.sidelines.org.

Start a family tree.

Create a birth plan. A description and questions to answers may be found here: https://kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_newborn/pregnancy/birth_plans.html

Organize photo albums and prepare new ones.

Designate a guardian for your child and have a new will drafted by a lawyer, or draft it yourself. If drafting yourself, make sure to know all applicable laws of your state and use completely up to date software.

Make a phone and email list of all the people you wish to contact after the baby is born.

Ask your doctor about any exercises that may be performed from bed.

Maybe the most important activity to take part in is to pamper yourself. Although this period seems as though it will last forever, it won't. Soon, you will have no time for yourself. Take advantage of this quiet, alone time. Spend an entire afternoon daydreaming or looking out the window. Do nothing at all and enjoy it!

If you are the friend or family member of a woman experiencing an at-risk pregnancy, do all that is within your power to assist her both physically and emotionally. Do some research yourself to become aware of issues that can arise due to being confined to a bed for any length of time.