I tend to agree with Marni and Jolt, but I do know there are real reasons that women may have restrictions to activity, carrying things, such as pre-eclampsia.
As far as the bed rest, well, I went into premature labor at 30 weeks, 5 days after a bike accident, where the down tube shifter jammed into my stomach . I probably shouldn't have been riding, but after I was stabilized, I was told to stay home from work, but I did not have to stay in bed. There was some bleeding involved, so they had concerns about abruption of the placenta. Still, no one told me to lie down all day. My mom did have to come and stay with us for 4 weeks. After 2 weeks, I couldn't keep up with my 2 and half year old, pick him up, or drive. During the last 2 weeks, I got sick of it, drove myself to the doctor each week, took the kid to play group, and just dealt with it.
I had 2 totally natural vaginal deliveries after having an emergency C section at 8 months, with my first child, who was born with many physical issues and only lived for a day. Other than having an ultra sound at a certain point in each pregnancy to check for problems, my doctor never considered that I would have to have another C-section. Maybe because this was back in the 80's and we weren't so lawsuit happy?