The Value of Bed Rest in Twin Pregnancies

The effect of bed rest on the duration of pregnancy, the birth weight of newborns, the frequency of premature birth, and perinatal mortality was examined in 491 twin pregnancies. Cases were divided into two groups—women hospitalized from the 24th–26th week of pregnancy until delivery (rested group, 242 patients) and outpatients (unrested group, 249 patients). The premature birth rate was considerably less for patients in the rested group: in this group 41.0% of the newborns were delivered earlier than the 38th week and 42.9% of them weighed less than 2 500 g, whereas in the unrested group 75.0% were delivered earlier than the 38th week and 77.2% weighed less than 2 500 g. In addition, the perinatal mortality rates observed in the two groups were significantly different. Based on these findings, we conclude that the high premature birth rates and subsequent high perinatal mortality may be considerably reduced if twin pregnancies are diagnosed early and patients are hospitalized from the 26th or 27th week until delivery.

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