41 Weeks

Yep, I am either 41 weeks or we were right about my due date. Which would make me 2 days overdue. Below is an article that Adam sent me to keep me moviated. I have been having contractions every night that are 10 mins apart, this has been the longest early labor ever.

By the end of pregnancy, you're probably ready to be done. You're huge, your belly is pendulous, you can barely sleep, and you have to pee every ten - no wait, every seven - minutes. Most women hope to deliver early, and these hopes soar in the last weeks.

Your due date arrives! And...it passes. No changes in your body, your dilation, but your mood plummets.

Going overdue often makes pregnant women depressed. You are ready to be finished, prepared for labor, perhaps have family arriving to help with the transition, yet you are still pregnant. You might feel like a failure - after all, you aren't doing your job. No baby to show for your forty weeks of effort. If it goes on, you might feel that you will never go into labor.

If this is where you are, take heart. Forty weeks is an estimate, and your actual due date is an estimate too. Your baby will be born soon. Relax, do something fun, like go see a movie. Try to forget that you're pregnant (it doesn't help to dwell on it - thinking about labor will not cause it to occur any sooner - sometimes trying to forget that you're past your due date is good therapy). Your life will change dramatically very soon.

Avoid induction for arbitrary reasons. If you are more than a week overdue, you will need to be monitored by your OB to make sure that the placenta is functioning and the baby is doing fine. As long as everything is going well, do not be induced. There are complications associated with induction, especially in first-time moms, and you and your baby will be better off if you allow labor to start on its own. Your body will be better able to respond to labor, and you will know that your baby is full-term and ready to be born.

If you have family arriving and feel pressured to have a baby while they're in town, please readjust your priorities. Your baby has one chance to be born, and it should be as free from risk and complications as possible.

One word on how labor begins: The baby's lungs are the last organs to complete their development. Once they are mature, they release a protein, and that protein causes the release of other hormones that initiate labor. If you haven't gone into labor yet, it is because your baby's lungs are not yet entirely ready. Hang in there. You will go into labor.

If you are concerned about the baby gaining weight, there is usually not cause to worry. Ultrasound weight estimates can be inaccurate by 2 lbs either way, on average. Most methods of estimating fetal weight tend to overdiagnose macrosomia (large babies). Do listen to your doctor, but keep in mind that it is ultimately your decision whether to be induced or not.

If you are overdue and there is no evidence of complications:

Do not be induced. Labor will begin on its own when both you and your baby are physically ready.
Do not dwell on your pregnancy. Do something fun. Try to forget you are pregnant.
It is OK to take yourself off the radar for a while. Do not answer the phone or accept visitors, if you are feeling antisocial. You might want to record a message on your answering machine to say that you are still pregnant and doing fine. Take care of your emotional needs.
Use the time to finish up any projects or arrangements you haven't yet completed. Make sure the baby's space is ready. Pack your birth bag. Do some cleaning (getting on your hands and knees to scrub a floor is especially helpful to get the baby in the right position for birth!). Or get some much-needed rest.
You WILL go into labor. This is a tough time for you, but no one is pregnant forever. And you won't be the first, I promise!


Updated to include this press release, dated 21 February 2008:


Lamaze International recommends that a woman allow her body to go into labor on its own, unless there is a true medical reason to induce. Allowing labor to start on its own reduces the possibility of complications, including a vacuum or forceps-assisted birth, fetal heart rate changes, babies with low birth weight or jaundice, and cesarean surgery. Studies consistently show that inducing labor almost doubles a woman's chance of having cesarean surgery.

— Lamaze International Press Release