Passing the Due Date

What if you remain pregnant when your due date arrives?  Or, worse yet, what if you are still pregnant after your due date?  That can feel terribly unfair.  It’s as if you have just run a long race and as you near the finish line, they extend the finish line and you have no choice except to keep running, tired as you may be. Remember that your due date is merely a guesstimate of when your baby could be born.  Babies come early, babies come late; but most come at just the right time for them.  Only 4% of women go into spontaneous labor and give birth on their actual due date.  On average first time moms will begin labor 8 days after their due date.  Prepare yourself for the possibility that your due date may come and go and you may remain pregnant.  If this is the case many care providers perform NSTs (non-stress-tests) to simply check in with the baby to see that all is well, checking heart rates and amniotic fluid levels.  Some care providers will only allow you to go 7 days over your due date before they have to “do something,” others are comfortable with 10-14 days.  Talk to your care provider so you know what to expect.  Being 38, 39, or 40 weeks pregnant can be exhausting.  Each day feels like a week.  Inducing, just for convenience,however, will increase your risk of interventions and C-section.  Trust your body and be patient… the baby will come out.