Deliveries after 42 weeks are more likely to be stillbirths – probably because the placenta doesn't survive long enough to support the developing fetus at that point. “Timing is extremely important,” says Ramkumar Menon of the University of Texas in Galveston.
As you pass your due date, the placenta may not work as well as before. This could lessen the amount of oxygen and nutrients that the baby gets from you. As a result, the baby: May not grow as well as before.
Prevailing wisdom insists after a certain time in pregnancy the placenta stop working after a certain time in pregnancy. This is usually 40 weeks or after your estimated due date. However, this idea the placenta automatically stops working after 40 weeks is a myth. It's not based on any evidence whatsoever.
When a pregnancy reaches 42 weeks and beyond, it's postterm. Late-term and postterm pregnancy can raise the risk of some health problems, including: Larger than average birth size (fetal macrosomia). This increases the chance that you may need forceps, a vacuum device or another instrument to assist with the birth.
Pregnancy may linger into the 43rd week from time to time. Some babies are vigorous and healthy through a 43-week pregnancy. The rate of stillbirth begins to rise somewhat, and the rate that babies pass meconium is higher; however, most babies will be born healthy.
Many will let pregnant women go up to two weeks over. After 42 weeks, however, the baby's health might be at risk. A very small number of babies die unexpectedly if they are still in the womb beyond 42 weeks of pregnancy. It is unclear why the risks of a death of the baby rise as the weeks go by.
Stillbirth Risk Beyond 42 Weeks
While the risk of stillbirth is increased in pregnancies that go beyond 42 weeks, it is still relatively small, at 4 to 7 deaths per 1000 deliveries, as opposed to 2 to 3 deaths per 1000 deliveries in women who deliver between 37 and 42 weeks.
Studies show that pregnancies past 42 weeks gestation are at increased risk for stillbirth—perhaps because the placenta beings losing its ability to support the fetus. To avoid complications, healthcare providers usually recommend inducing labor at or before 42 weeks gestation.
When you are at 42 weeks pregnancy your baby is the size of a watermelon measuring 20.3 inches (51,5 cm) and weighing 8.1 pounds (3.7 kg).
The reason why the baby is overdue is usually not known. Sometimes it is because of a genetic predisposition (hereditary). Women who have already had a baby that came much later than their due date are more likely to have an overdue baby in future pregnancies. Being born after the 40th week only rarely harms the child.
It's your choice whether to have your labour induced or not. If your pregnancy lasts longer than 42 weeks and you decide not to have your labour induced, you should be offered increased monitoring to check your baby's wellbeing.
Placental insufficiency may be diagnosed during a routine ultrasound if your baby isn't growing as expected. Sometimes pregnant women may notice that their tummy isn't growing, is smaller than in previous pregnancies or their baby isn't moving as much.
But maybe these claims are not so odd when you remember that the average pregnancy is actually nearer 10 months than nine. So if you give birth at 43 weeks, you are heading towards 11 months anyway.
The NICE guideline on inducing labour (CG70) recommends that women with uncomplicated pregnancies should usually be offered induction of labour between 41+0 and 42+0 weeks to avoid the risks of prolonged pregnancy.
When you reach between 41 and 42 weeks, the health risks to you and your baby become even greater. Your provider will likely want to induce labor. In older women, especially older than 40, it may be recommended to induce labor as early as 39 weeks.
At 42 weeks pregnant, baby is the size of a watermelon—a bigger watermelon than last week. The average 42-week fetus measures 20.3 inches and weighs 8.1 pounds. Yup, baby is still growing! But don't worry, they're unlikely to be too big to deliver vaginally.
Your 42 Week Old Baby. At nine and a half months, your 42 week old baby is in the lead up to yet another Wonder Week! Leap 7 is just a few weeks away, and you might be seeing the usual signs as that time approaches.
The most common symptom of stillbirth is when you stop feeling your baby moving and kicking. Others include cramps, pain or bleeding from the vagina. Call your health care provider right away or go to the emergency room if you have any of these conditions.
Most babies born unexpectedly without a heartbeat can be successfully resuscitated in the delivery room. Of those successfully resuscitated, 48% survive with normal outcome or mild-moderate disability.
Research has shown that in the third trimester (after 28 weeks of pregnancy) going to sleep on your back increases your risk of stillbirth. As the link has now been shown in four separate research trials, our advice is to go to sleep on your side in the third trimester because it is safer for your baby.
Stillbirth is further classified as either early, late, or term. An early stillbirth is a fetal death occurring between 20 and 27 completed weeks of pregnancy. A late stillbirth occurs between 28 and 36 completed pregnancy weeks. A term stillbirth occurs between 37 or more completed pregnancy weeks.
Sometimes a baby dies in the uterus (an intra-uterine death or IUD), but labour does not start spontaneously. If this happens, you will be given medicines to induce labour. This is the safest way of delivering the baby. It also gives you and your partner the chance to see and hold the baby at birth, if you want to.