What Happens if I Go Past My Due Date

You have anticipated meeting your baby for months and your due date arrives…and your baby does not. That’s actually pretty normal. Most first time mothers go into labor, on average, around 41 weeks and 3 days. Great, but now what?! You may be OK with waiting until your baby decides on their birthday. Once you get to the 4o week mark, you may be ready to meet your baby and there may be some additional things you decide to do. Read on to find out some of your options and what your care provider may recommend.

Membrane Sweep

Many providers will offer a membrane sweep at your 40th week appointment. This is a cervical check where the provider will use their gloved finger to try to separate the amniotic sac from the wall of your uterus. Sometimes this separation causes your body to produce hormones that may help you go into labor. You would need to be at least 1 cm dilated for your provider to do the sweep. The membrane sweep (or sometimes referred to as stripping mebranes) can sometimes cause a little bit of spotting and cramping. Research shows that serial membrane sweeping (so a few sweeps over the course of a few days) may be most effective. There is a small risk that your water may break during a sweep.

Fetal monitoring

Once you get to your 40th or 41st week of pregnancy, your provider may want to do some additional fetal monitoring. They may want to do this monitoring a couple of times a week until your baby is born. Typically, this monitoring is the nonstress test (NST) and you would have this done in your provider’s office. This test measures your baby’s heartrate over a twenty minute period. Your provider may also order other testing based on the results of the NST. It is very common to follow up the NST with a biophysical profile (BPP). The BPP includes more fetal monitoring of the heart rate but also includes an ultrasound. This ultrasounds measures the level of amniotic fluid, movement of your baby, and if you baby is “practicing” breathing and swallowing. The BPP will also take place in the office of your provider.

Induction

Most providers will encourage you to schedule an induction by your 41st or 42nd week of pregnany. If you have certain risk factors, they may want you to schedule the induction in your 39th or 40th week of pregnancy. Medical inductions typically begin with cervical ripening (helping the cervix shorten, soften, and thin out) and then include starting Pitocin. Some providers may offer to break your water. If you would like to try to go into labor before a scheduled induction, you might try things like acupunture, chiropractic care, and nipple stimulation (either manually or with a pump).

Make Plans

Once your estimated due date comes and goes it can be really hard not to obsess over when your baby might come. You might feel like you’ll be pregnant forever and get in your feels about it, and that’s totally OK. One of the best things you can do for your own mental health is to plan something you can look forward to every day while you wait to go into labor. Make lunch plans, get a pedicure with friends, go get a really long massage, go see a movie where they have the big comfy chairs and bring food right to you. Plan a few Date Days or Nights with your partner. You’ll get to spend time with people you love doing something that you love. Not only will this help pass the time, doing something you enjoy will help you feel happy…and that means your body will start producing oxytocin (the love hormone that causes contractions) and you just might go into labor.