Impact of Prescribed Activity Restriction During Pregnancy on Women and Families

Using grounded theory, I examined the experience of women and their families of prescribed activity restriction during pregnancy for treatment of preterm labor. The major finding in this study suggests that women and their families see themselves as "doing the best we can" as they attempt to balance the demands of activity restriction and the needs of individuals and the family. Invariably, maternal activity restriction resulted in increased emotional distress and, in some cases, family disruption. Those who succeeded in establishing a balance between these competing demands saw themselves as "doing okay" and found the emotional distress and family disruption to be manageable. In contrast, those who had difficulty balancing competing demands described themselves as "on the edge" and experienced uncomfortable levels of emotional distress and, occasionally. significant disruptions to the family. Conditions associated with these two modes of functioning, as well as consequences of this experience for women and their families, are identified.