Rethinking Bed Rest For Pregnancy

Four-year-old Violet (right) supervises as her mom Margaret Siebers pours a first-ever spoonful of honey for 1-year-old Frances to try. Siebers spent much of the end of her pregnancy with Frances confined to bed rest at her home in Milwauke

The couch is dark brown corduroy with lumpy cushions. There are a few telltale smears of food, maybe yogurt or a banana, and some crumbs here and there. It’s a well-loved piece of furniture.

Margaret Siebers plops herself down in the center and reaches out to baby daughter Frances, who climbs onto her mother’s lap to breastfeed.

“This is where I spent several months,” says Siebers, with a shrug. Her 4-year-old, Violet, runs around nearby. “I could come downstairs and sit on the couch.”