The dangers of going past your due date 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.
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. There's a higher risk of stillbirth if you go over 42 weeks pregnant, although most babies remain healthy.
If a baby is born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy, it is considered to be a preterm birth. Being born too early is associated with various risks for the baby. A pregnancy that continues for longer than 42 weeks is called a post-term, prolonged or overdue pregnancy.
Most pregnancies last 37 to 42 weeks, but some take longer. If your pregnancy lasts more than 42 weeks, it is called post-term (past due). This happens in a small number of pregnancies. While there are some risks in a post-term pregnancy, most post-term babies are born healthy.
If you are 40 weeks pregnant, no sign of labor and considered overdue by a physician, then it may be necessary to have your labor induced. There are several factors that contribute to this, including the status of your cervix, the health of your baby, fetal stress testing, and if you are truly ready to deliver.
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.
You at 40 weeks pregnant
If you haven't gone into labour yet, don't worry. Very few babies arrive on their due dates, and around half of all pregnancies go past 40 weeks. Even at 41-42 weeks of pregnancy, your baby is still likely to be going very well, although you might be feeling tired and uncomfortable.
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.
How did the mother of the longest recorded human pregnancy manage the duration of her pregnancy? The mother of the longest recorded human pregnancy was Beulah Hunter, who gave birth to a healthy baby girl after 375 days of pregnancy.
And, from weeks 41 to 42, the risk of neonatal deaths climbed 87%. “It is thought that the placental function slows down as pregnancy continues and beyond the due date,” said Shakila Thangaratinam, senior author of the study and a researcher at Queen Mary University of London.
In The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin, she describes the reasons as sometimes being from a long, thick or posterior cervix, a cervix scarred by previous surgery or injury, a uterus contracting in an uncoordinated fashion, or because the baby's head is still high in the pelvis or in an occiput posterior position (when ...
In the small number of cases where the fetus doesn't engage – even at 41-42 weeks – it's more likely he has adopted a tricky position in your pelvis, rather than being too big for your pelvis. Remember, your baby just might not be ready to engage yet.
Inducing labor should be for medical reasons only. If there are medical reasons to induce your labor, talk to your provider about waiting until at least 39 weeks of pregnancy. This gives your baby the time she needs to grow and develop before birth. Scheduling labor induction should be for medical reasons only.
Induction is offered in longer pregnancies because, after 41 weeks, there is a higher chance of a baby being admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit, and the rate of stillbirth increases from less than one in 1,000 at 40 weeks to three in 1,000 (Middleton, 2020; NICE, 2021a).
We don't fully understand why some pregnancies are shorter or longer, but we do know it can run in families (Oberg et al, 2013). Longer pregnancies may be associated with first pregnancies, being older, having a boy and being heavier (Caughey et al, 2009; Oberg et al, 2013).
If this is your first baby, you should go to the hospital when your contractions feel strong to you, last 45 to 60 seconds each and occur every 3 to 4 minutes for at least 2 hours. If you've had a baby before, go to the hospital when your contractions have been occurring every 5 minutes for at least 1 hour.
The same is sort of distribution is seen with normal pregnancy, with about 1% of pregnancies being longer than 43 weeks. There is nothing wrong with these pregnancies they are just a normal genetic variation. Pregnancy of 44 or 45 weeks are even more unusual, but again are just a genetic variation.
Can I wait for labor to begin naturally? Nature typically prepares the cervix for delivery in the most efficient, comfortable way. However, when there's concern about mother's or baby's health or the pregnancy continues two weeks past the due date, inducing labor might be the best option.
Risks of Inducing
With labor induction, you may be at greater risk for: An infection. A longer hospital stay. Complications with the baby due to prematurity if the pregnancy is less than 39 weeks, and especially if less than 37 weeks.
Babies are “due” after 40 weeks of gestation, but evidence suggests that infant mortality and complications are lowest for those delivered at 39 weeks, when a fetus is considered full term. Some obstetricians have recommended inducing labor at 39 weeks to reduce the risk of complications.
Distribution of pregnancy lengths for full-term single births. The shaded areas show 90% confidence intervals. First babies are less likely to be “on time” at 39 weeks, and more likely to be a little late, between 41 and 43 weeks. Among full-term pregnancies, first babies are born about 1.3 days later on average.
But don't worry, you certainly aren't alone. Most pregnant people—about 80%—deliver sometime between 37 and 42 weeks, and about 11% deliver prematurely.
Your baby will benefit the most from a full-term pregnancy. In addition to allowing the maximum amount of time to develop and grow, going the full 40 weeks will protect your baby from the risks associated with early-term pregnancies.