Post-Dates Pregnancy: Being "Overdue" Isn't so Bad!

Even though all respectable medical and informational publications list the normal length of pregnancy as being anywhere from 37 to 42 weeks (that's a 5 week range!), there is tremendous pressure for mothers to deliver on or before their due dates. Doctors, relatives, midwives, strangers, and mothers themselves seem to get incredibly nervous if a mother actually reaches her due date without delivering. Heaven forbid she should still be carrying the baby at 41 weeks. And a 42 week pregnancy is almost unthinkable these days. Caregivers will come up with a million reasons to induce, most based on "what if" and liability concerns rather than real medical issues.

My last two children were born a few days after 42 weeks had passed. I was under tremendous pressure to induce labor from 40 weeks on, and had to fight hard to avoid it. I did not want to have an induced labor for non-medical reasons due to the risks it carries, but my caregivers listed every possible disastrous outcome they could think of, even though we all knew the babies and myself were perfectly healthy, the risks of post-dates pregnancy are minimal, and that their "concerns" were for legal reasons. At 41 weeks with my latest pregnancy the doctor just gave up trying to persuade me and said she'd get the legal department at the hospital to pull together all the liability waivers I would have to sign.

But she warned me that I was going to have a huge baby (over 11 pounds), that he was likely to get stuck at the shoulders (shoulder dystocia) and die, and that there was a great risk of me tearing "from stem to stern" and needing surgical repair. Those were all scare tactics and nothing that she could back up with research, and I knew from experience and the experience of others that such risks were minimal. My two post-dates pregnancies ended in quick, easy births. Less than 6 hours hard labor both times, no shoulder dystocia, minimal tearing, and the babies and I were fine. The only thing my caregivers were correct about was the size of my babies, 9 lb 15 oz and 10 lb 8 oz respectively and their sizes did not negatively impact them, myself, or the births.

This is not to say that one should be careless and not watchful. First and foremost pay attention to and take care of your body, and especially in the later weeks pay close attention to your baby's movements. If anything seems wrong, seek medical help- there are times when a baby needs to be born immediately. However, if you pass 40 weeks, you are healthy, your baby is healthy, there is no reason to undergo induction if you don't want to. Investigate the risks versus the benefits for you and your baby, and make up your own mind.

A great book to start with would be A Thinking Woman's Guide to Better Birth by Henci Goer. If you want to be sure that your baby is staying healthy and the placenta is functioning properly, your caregiver will be thrilled to schedule non-stress tests and ultrasounds on a weekly or even twice-weekly basis until you give birth. Just remember that NST's may prompt even more pressure for induction if the baby doesn't cooperate, or if the baby measures very large. Because you likely will deliver a larger baby after 41 weeks, read up on what you can do to prevent shoulder dystocia and minimize tearing (certain positions for laboring and pushing will be incredibly helpful here). Sometimes induction is necessary, but if you desire a natural birth and the only reason given for the induction recommendation is "post dates" or "large baby", don't give up hope. You can't be forced to induce and after doing some research, you may find that there's no reason to induce labor just because your pregnancy has passed 41 weeks.