From early in your pregnancy it is best to keep in mind that due dates are only a guide. However, once you hit the week mark, it is natural to start getting anxious. You might be getting particularly uncomfortable or just be excited about meeting your baby.
Most doctors and midwives are happy for you to go a few days over your due date as long as everything seems to be okay. Many will let pregnant women go up to two weeks over. A very small number of babies die unexpectedly if they are still in the womb beyond 42 weeks of pregnancy. It is unclear why the risks of a death of the baby rise as the weeks go by.
It may have something to do with the placenta not working as well as it did. If this is the case, the supply of oxygen and nutrients to your baby may be reduced. Your doctor or midwife will discuss your options with you. If your midwife or doctor is happy that everything is okay, you can:.
However, your midwife or doctor might suggest inducing labour or performing a caesarean section if they are concerned about:. In Australia, about a quarter of pregnant women are induced. Some policies allow inductions between seven and 10 days after your due date. Others allow it to go up to two weeks. Policies vary because there is no scientific evidence about the ideal time to induce labour.
If you and your midwife or doctor have decided to induce your labour, the process will begin with the doctor or midwife examining your cervix to see if it is ready for labour. This vaginal examination may be a little uncomfortable, but will only take a few minutes.
Based on the examination, your doctor or midwife will use one of the following ways to induce your labour:. This page has been produced in consultation with and approved by:. Miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death is a shattering event for those expecting a baby, and for their families.
Grief, relationship stresses and anxiety about subsequent pregnancies are common in these circumstances. Counselling can help both the mother and father after a baby dies. A birth plan is a written summary of your preferences for when you are in labour and giving birth. Multiple births are more common than they used to be, due to the increased use of assisted reproductive techniques, in particular the use of fertility drugs.
After 40 weeks, your doctor may do an internal examination to "strip the membranes. She'll insert a gloved finger into the cervix and pull the membranes in a circular pattern.
This can soften the cervix and increase the chance of your going into labor by 30 percent in the next 48 hours. It's safe for you and your baby, but it can cause cramps and slight bleeding. After 41 weeks, there is a slight risk to your baby's health caused by reduced efficiency of the placenta. After 42 weeks the risk increases, but it's still small. Depending on your hospital's policy, you may be offered an induction around 41 weeks to avoid that risk. Many doctors induce labor by 41 or 42 weeks.
If your pregnancy goes beyond 42 weeks and you don't want to be induced, your doctor may offer monitoring with scans to measure the baby's pulse and the volume of fluid around the baby; or you may have an NST once or twice a week until labor to pick up any signs that the placenta is failing. If a problem is found, you'll be advised to have a cesarean or an induction.
Let's face it: No one wants to be pregnant for 42 weeks. Doctors predict the due date by noting the first day of the mother's last period, as well as measuring the size of her uterus early on in the pregnancy. However, differences in menstrual cycles and inaccuracies in remembering the actual date of the mother's last period make predicting a due date more of an art than a science. Neil Sloane, clinical director for obstetrics and gynecology at Delaware Valley Health in Philadelphia, noted.
Mothers may also be more likely to deliver late if overdue pregnancies run in the family. Daniela Carusi, director of general gynecology and surgical obstetrics at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. By the numbers: Royal births. She added that "People who have the most accurate due dates are those that have IVF, because they know exactly when the baby was conceived.
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