Despite the scientific and medical advances, the incidence of preterm births (before 37 weeks) remains constant. This is what has led to a search of studies that assess the therapies that are carried out to avoid them.
One of these therapies, which many of us know because it is common to hear pregnant mothers explain that they have recommended it, is that of bed rest.
It is an intervention that nobody doubts that however It is not supported by any scientific evidence. There are few valid studies in this regard and the most acceptable (acceptable because the sample should have been random and it was not) that studied women with single pregnancies (a baby) with a high risk of spontaneous preterm birth resulted in 7.9% of preterm deliveries in mothers who rested in bed and 8.5% in mothers who took a placebo or did not perform any specific intervention.
This difference is minimal and it was determined that It was not significant. In other words, if the entire population were studied, the data would be practically the same in both groups.
Bed rest is not an innocuous treatment, it has some side effects such as an increased risk of venous thrombosis or muscular atrophy. It is also a stressful factor for both pregnant women and their families.
The conclusion that is drawn is that there is no evidence to recommend or advise against Bed rest at home (or in the hospital) for women with unique gestations to avoid preterm birth.
The article is from 2005. I don't know if there is any news about it, but it is curious that something we have as internalized as a valid and useful treatment has no scientific basis.
About this same one a midwife once told me "the pregnancy that has to end badly, it will end badly whatever you do", which comes to say that however much rest you do the result will be the same.
