18 Pregnancy Bed Rest Care Package Ideas

Finding out you need to go on bed rest during pregnancy can feel overwhelming. Whether you’re worried about missing work, caring for older children, preparing the nursery, or simply getting through the day, bed rest often comes with physical and emotional challenges.

While support from family and friends can make a huge difference, thoughtful gifts can also help brighten long days and make bed rest more manageable. A well-planned care package can provide comfort, entertainment, convenience, and a reminder that someone is thinking about you.

If you’re putting together a pregnancy bed rest care package, these ideas can help you create something both practical and meaningful.

Pregnancy bed rest can feel isolating, but thoughtful gifts can make the experience more comfortable.
The best care package items support comfort, entertainment, hydration, and self-care.
Practical gifts are often just as appreciated as fun gifts.
Consider the mom-to-be’s activity restrictions before choosing items.

How To Choose an Appropriate Package

Before choosing a bed rest care package for the mom-to-be, check with her to see what her activity restriction level is. According to the Cleveland Clinic, there are three main levels that vary in activity:¹

Activity restriction: This is the most commonly used term for bed rest and involves reducing activities and avoiding prolonged standing or walking. It can also include restrictions on lifting things or using the stairs.
Partial bed rest: Also known as modified bed rest, this level allows for some mobility and independence. It typically involves sitting or lying down for most of the day, but it also allows you to take short walks and do some light housework.
Full bed rest: This is also known as “strict bed rest.” This level requires spending most of the day lying down or reclining. It involves avoiding any activities that require standing or sitting upright for extended periods.

Depending on the mom-to-be’s level of bed rest, choose the gift you believe is best for her needs while considering her limitations. Some gifts may be especially helpful for moms on hospital bed rest, while others are better suited for someone resting at home.

The best bed rest care packages include a mix of comfort items, practical essentials, entertainment, and small luxuries that help pass the time and make daily life easier.

Related: Surviving Bed Rest While Pregnant and Raising a Toddler: 13 Tips

Comfort & Self-Care Gifts

Many moms on bed rest spend long stretches of time resting or reclining, so comfort-focused gifts can make a big difference in their daily experience.

1. Body Pillow

18 Pregnancy Bed Rest Care Package Ideas

If they don’t have a pregnancy body pillow yet, now may be the perfect time to get them one. Pregnancy pillows make lying down much more comfortable, which is necessary when you’re on bed rest for weeks or even months.

Related: Best Sleep Positions During Pregnancy for Safer Rest

2. Self-Care Kit

An arrangement of self-care items resembling a thoughtful care package includes a patterned sleep mask, ice roller, scalp massager, hair clip, facial massage tool, scrunchie, bar soap, and exfoliating glove on a white background.

Make them feel a little brighter with a little freshen-up kit full of self-care products. Grab a bottle of their favorite lotion, lip balm, baby wipes (get her collection started!), a hairbrush, body oil, and, most importantly, some dry shampoo! If she doesn’t use the dry shampoo now, she certainly will after the baby arrives!

3. Blanket With Pockets

A person with long hair sits on a gray sofa, wrapped in a large gray blanket with sleeves, holding a white mug—a cozy scene akin to bed rest. The room features a light-colored rug and a small table with magazines, set against plain, light-colored walls.

Another fun, useful item to help her through pregnancy bed rest? A wearable blanket with pockets! This might be something every mom should have. A wearable blanket can help keep essentials close by while making long days more comfortable.

Add lotion and chapstick to the pockets for an extra touch, especially if she will be in the hospital for bed rest, where the air can cause a lot of skin dryness.

4. Massager

Lying down or staying in the same position for extended periods of time can be hard on the body. A massager is a perfect bed rest gift because it will loosen her muscles and help bring blood flow to the muscles she hasn’t been using. Being sore is common while on bed rest, so a massager can help tremendously!^4,5

5. Manicure Kit

Let her glam herself up a bit with an at-home manicure kit. You can check your local nail salons to see if they sell mani/pedi kits, or build her one yourself with just a nail file, nail polish, an exfoliator, and lotion! If you know mom is sensitive to stronger smells, like nail polish, grab a nail art kit or nail stickers instead. Etsy has a ton of cute options that are easy to apply.

Entertainment & Activities

Keeping the mind engaged can help break up long days on bed rest and provide a welcome distraction from stress or boredom.

1. Magazines

Collage of six magazine covers. Top row: Scientific American with a horse, Magnolia featuring a woman in a white coat, Cooking Light Slow Cooker showcasing a vegetable dish. Bottom row: Love of Quilting with quilts, Womens Health highlighting bed rest benefits, The New York Review of Books.

This may be a little old-school for some, but there’s something really satisfying about picking up a physical magazine and reading it cover to cover.

For someone spending long stretches of time resting, magazines can provide quick entertainment without requiring the focus of a full book. Grab the latest issue of her favorite magazine and add it to the care package, or gift her a subscription. You can also gift her magazines that she can view on her Kindle!

2. Audible Subscription

Audible has a massive selection of audiobooks, perfect for women who want to multitask while on bed rest. Believe it or not, it can also be hard to hold books or Kindles while you’re lying down since the blood can rush from your hands quickly. Grab her an Audible subscription or gift card so she can let her favorite books play in the background. Or, add a pair of headphones to the care package so she can listen solo!

Related: Third Trimester Must-Haves for Pregnancy

3. A Pregnancy Journal and Baby Book

The image depicts a hardcover book titled A Complete Childhood History: From Pregnancy to 18 Years Old. The blue cover with a white band of bird illustrations suggests it could be an ideal addition to a thoughtful care package for new parents. It mentions recording milestones and writing notes to your child.

For moms stuck on bed rest, this can be the perfect time to work on a small project. Grab her a baby book to start documenting her pregnancy and baby’s first year. One day, her little one will love to read through the story. A baby book is also a wonderful reminder of everything she did with this baby, in case she gets pregnant again.

4. Crochet Kit

A delightful crochet kit designed as a cheerful care package, featuring a yellow crocheted chick, a ball of yellow yarn, a crochet hook, eyes, stuffing material, and The Woobles instruction booklets. Perfect for brightening bed rest days with its charming cartoon chick illustration.

Crocheting is a fun and calming activity to do from bed and a great way to pass the time. Grab her a crochet kit with instructions, like this one from Woobles. With these kits, she’ll learn how to crochet and make something sweet for the baby!

5. Adult Coloring Books

Cover of an adult coloring book titled #Preggers for pregnant women. It features a pregnant woman in sunglasses and a swimsuit against a pink background with doodles of baby-related items like bottles, pacifiers, and rattles—a perfect addition to any care package for moms-to-be.

Let her act like a kid again with an adult coloring book! Coloring is a great way to reduce stress, improve sleep, and simply take your mind off things.² There are so many benefits of coloring that are wonderful for her, especially during this (most likely) stressful time.

6. Puzzles

Puzzles never go out of style and are an easy way to pass the time. For a little something extra, grab her a 3D puzzle! She can place the puzzle pieces on a tray in her bed as she tries to put them together. Puzzles are also great for stress management and more!³

7. Activity Books

Cover of The Big Fat Activity Book for Pregnant People by Jordan Reid and Erin Williams. This whimsical care package features an illustration of diverse people and a person holding a phone, with a green polka-dotted pattern at the bottom. Perfect for bed rest days.

You’re pretty limited with what you can do from the lying down position. If she’s tired of some of the activities listed above, she can try an activity book! Books like these often have sudoku, dot-to-dots, word searches, mazes, and more. She’ll be able to keep her mind and hands busy with these. They’re also easy to pick up and put down throughout the day without requiring a large time commitment.

8. Entertainment Subscription

A smartphone screen displaying an Entertainment folder with apps like Netflix, HBO Max, and Hulu rests on a dark textured surface. Perfect for bed rest days, this digital care package offers endless streaming to keep you entertained and relaxed.

If she hasn’t subscribed to a streaming service, grab her a month’s subscription to Netflix, HBO Max, or Disney+ so she can see all the must-watch shows and movies. This can be a great opportunity for her to catch up on all the shows she’s been wanting to see. Streaming subscriptions can be especially helpful during hospital bed rest or long periods of restricted activity.

Practical Bed Rest Essentials

These practical gifts can help make everyday tasks easier and reduce some of the frustrations that often come with extended bed rest.

1. Insulated Mug or Water Bottle

When she can’t get up every hour to add more ice to her water or reheat her decaf coffee in the microwave, having an insulated mug or water bottle can keep her drinks cold or hot for hours on end and be a huge help.

2. A Dinner Tray/Lap Desk

She can use a lap desk as both an eating tray and a desk for a laptop. These are great for making mealtime and working easier and more convenient. For an extra measure of convenience, look for a lap desk or tray with a place to hold a cell phone upright. She’ll love it!

3. Grabber Tool

A long, silver reacher grabber tool with blue and black accents, perfect for adding to a care package. It features a trigger handle on one end and a gripping mechanism on the other, expertly designed to assist users in picking up objects while on bed rest.

We thought this gift would give her a chuckle. But it’s also practical because, sometimes, things drop. Since she might not be allowed to get out of bed very often, a grabber tool like this can help her reach anything that’s out of reach or that falls to the floor. While it’s funny, it may become one of her most-used items!

4. Organizing Caddy

A cream-colored storage organizer with multiple pockets holds books, pencils, a smartphone, a calculator, and pink flowers—ideal for someone on bed rest. A pocket on the right contains a pink water bottle, making it a thoughtful addition to any care package.

It’s helpful to keep all your essentials within arm’s reach when you’re on bed rest. If she doesn’t want to clutter up her bedside table or nightstand, a caddy could be the perfect gift! This will give her a spot to organize all her must-haves and keep them close by.

5. Robotic Vacuum

Lastly, if you’re going for the ultimate care package and have no price limit, a robotic vacuum could be a massive help for a mom on pregnancy bed rest (though it is pricey). She’ll be thrilled that something else will be working to keep the house a little less dirty. It can also help reduce the mental load of watching household chores pile up while you’re unable to help.

Pregnancy bed rest can be physically and emotionally challenging, which is why thoughtful gestures often mean so much. Whether you choose practical essentials, self-care items, entertainment, or a mix of everything, a care package can help make long days feel a little brighter.

Most importantly, it reminds the mom-to-be that she’s supported and not going through this experience alone.