Albert Sarno, MD
Maternal fetal medicine
A news report this week summarized a study that’s questioning whether bed rest actually helps prevent premature birth during high-risk pregnancies – or if it causes more problems.
In the study, 37 percent of the women with some level of bed rest had a premature baby, compared to 17 percent who continued their regular activity levels. A report on the research is published in the latest issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Like other experts quoted in the report, Lehigh Valley Health Network maternal fetal medicine specialist Albert Sarno, MD, says the study is flawed because it wasn’t conducted in a randomized way to test whether bed rest increases or reduces the risk of pregnancy complications. Thus it fails to draw a causal relationship between bed rest and premature labor.
Nevertheless Sarno is hopeful the research will prompt further testing about whether bed rest should be a treatment for women at risk for preterm labor.
“It is good to see that some of the things that we have taken for granted as far as treatment regimens over the years are finally being studied in a scientific way,” Sarno says. “We do need to question some of the things we’ve been doing for years without scientific reason.” Read More
