Estimated Due Date: The Great Wait
“The longest month of pregnancy is the last month, this month typically has 765 days”
Waiting for the birth of your baby is one of the most challenging ‘stages of pregnancy’. The constant checking in from well-intentioned friends and family asking “any news” “have you had the baby yet” “weren’t you due last week” can become so overwhelming that we begin to worry.
We begin thinking there must be something wrong with me or my baby, and ultimately become nervous about waiting for our babies to choose their own birthdays. “Allowing your body to go into labor on its own almost always is the best way for you to know that your baby is ready to be born”
There are some significant benefits to both Mother and baby in Waiting for Labour to begin on it’s own and avoiding Induction, they Include:
- Reduction in Medical Interventions
- Increase in ability to cope with labour contractions
How long is a typical pregnancy?
Humans gestate for approximately 280 days, some more, some less. When you work that out it’s almost 10 months, not the 9 months that we’re culturally led to believe. Some ethnicities are renowned for exceeding 280 days. On average 4% of women will birth their baby on their estimated due date – so give yourself a little wiggle room with the expectation of meeting your baby on the date that you receive from your Maternal Health Provider. This ‘Due Date’ is an estimate, not an expiry date, and, you’re not overdue, you’re simply pregnant and waiting. Most first time mothers (who avoid an induction) will go into labour between 40 and 41+3
“Pregnant women are routinely assigned a delivery date of about 280 days after the onset of their last menstrual period (LMP). Only 4% of women deliver at 280 days and only 70% deliver within 10 days of their estimated due date, even when the date is estimated by ultrasound (Mongelli et al., 1996)”
Can an ultrasound tell me when my baby is due?
The issue with using an ultrasound to determine the ‘due date’ of your baby is the inaccuracies of Ultrasounds, and again Due dates are not expiry dates, they offer an estimate of when your baby is most likely to be born “An ultrasound used to determine due dates during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy is accurate only within 7 days. Ultrasounds done from 20 to 30 weeks are only accurate within 14 days, and ultrasounds done in the last 10 weeks of pregnancy are only accurate within 21 days (ACOG, 2004a). If there is a 2-week error in calculating a due date, a woman scheduled to be induced at 38 weeks might be only 36 weeks pregnant”.
What can you do to bring on labour?
Non Medical:
- Eat Dates
- Raspberry Leaf tea
- Sexual Intercourse
- Walk (be active)
- Be patient
- Acupuncture or Acupressure
Medical Interventions
- Induction: Stretch and sweep
- Induction: Foley balloon Catheter
- Induction: Artificial rupture of Membranes (AROM)
- Induction: Syntocinon Drip
If you are planning an induction or wanting to avoid an induction we recommend the following:
Books on Induction of Labour
- Sara Wickham : Inducing Labour; Making Informed Decisions
- Sara Wickham: In Your Own Time
- Dr Rachel Reed: Why Induction Matters
Podcasts on Induction of Labour
References:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1948087/#:~:text=RECOMMENDATIONS%20FROM%20LAMAZE%20INTERNATIONAL&text=Allowing%20your%20body%20to%20go,is%20ready%20to%20be%20born.
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3777570/#DET297C20
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