# the war against pregnancy past 40 weeks



## XmasEve (Jun 18, 2002)

Check out this neat site:

http://www.maternitygallery.com

Click on "Third Trimester" then scroll to the bottom. Notice anything? It goes from "Week 40" to "Overdue." Having had two "overdue" babies, this put me off and I emailed the site owner to ask if she might change it to "41+ weeks?" She quickly responded that it USED to be that way, but she got three requests (two from medical professionals) asking that it be changed to "Overdue" so as not to give pregnant women the idea that it's safe to go past 40 weeks of pregnancy.

THANK GOODNESS she says she is open to changing it back, but would like more opinions. So, c'mon!! Email her!! (Hint: click "Add Your Picture...") And send her your "overdue" pictures to boot!


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## minkajane (Jun 5, 2005)

It says both now. It says "41+ Weeks (Overdue)."


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## angelpie545 (Feb 23, 2005)

That's crazy. A normal pregnancy lasts anywhere from 37 to sometimes 43 weeks for some folks. I went to almost 42 weeks with both my kids.


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## rmzbm (Jul 8, 2005)

Uggh...I went to 43 weeks with DS2 & had to be induced. (Well, I didn't HAVE to be, I was just quite stupid...)







Leave babies alone!


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## stacey2061 (Feb 1, 2006)

ugh...i was pressured into an induction from about 40w 1d ~ I finally gave in and DS was born almost 2 weeks later...I completely regret it and will never cave to that pressure again.
i was born 20 days "late" and my mom says no one batted an eyelash!


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## greenwoman2006 (Feb 1, 2006)

It is exactly this kind of propaganda against pregnant women that needs to be stopped. My doc brother, and doc brother-in-law ASSAULTED me with phone calls once I was 10 days past dates. Next time, they will not be told the due date, no one will!


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## XmasEve (Jun 18, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *greenwoman2006* 
It is exactly this kind of propaganda against pregnant women that needs to be stopped.









ITA. I've told many people and groups about this and most think I am overreacting, but I do not. I'm not sure how many emails reached the website before it was changed to 41+ weeks (Overdue), but whatever amount it was worth it, and as I come across more statistics supporting this cause I will continue to send them on.

I am thrilled with how open the site owner is to this change, that is wonderful. hurrah!


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## Kiki Runs (Oct 7, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *stacey2061* 
ugh...i was pressured into an induction from about 40w 1d ~ I finally gave in and DS was born almost 2 weeks later...I completely regret it and will never cave to that pressure again.
i was born 20 days "late" and my mom says no one batted an eyelash!

This is just another reason I am so glad I went UP/UC w/DD. I dont' remember what I thought the due date might be (cycles were a little wacky, plus my memory has crapped out on me lol). I do remember that DH's work wanted him to go on a business trip around Valentine's Day and I made him not go b/c that was right around the time we thought the babe might come. DD's birthday was March 10. Yeah, nearly a month's difference there. And she was NOT overdue! Scary to think if I'd been seeing a (s)care provider who'd decided my due date based on my LMP (I didn't get a BFP until VERY late, causing me to believe I ovulated late - but we all know that there's no way mom could know anything about her body














.

I'm glad the title has been changed, but why does it need to be there? It doesn't say 35 weeks (Premature) on those pics, yk? Why does there even need to be a commentary on the "due-ness" (yeah, that's totally not a word, lol)?


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## MamaFern (Dec 13, 2003)

i was 42 weeks with my dd when she was born and felt totally healthy had a beautiful healthy baby, born at home.. 10lbs 50z of pure perfection!! i dont believe that i was overdue . she just needed more time than my son who was born at 39 weeks..

i think all of the crapthat woman are put through durring pregnancy is horrible. even though i had a midwife the first time around she still made me feel scared and like i didnt know my body. i was nervous each time i went in for an appointment and she scared me into the gestational diabetes tests and so on.. she told me that my baby was Huge and that i would be lucky to deliver him at home, let alone vaginally. i was pretty determined to have a natural birth and i was trying not to let her scare me, but i was a bit scared anyways.. then i moved at 8 months pregnant and found a different midwife who washed away all of my fears and helped me gain total belief that my body could do it and that my body was meant to give birth and that my son wasnt too big.. he was 7lbs 8oz! tiny in comparison to my daughter.

the second time around i had the same midwife who attended the birth of my son and did all of his pre and post natal care *from 8 months on) and i never had a moment of doubt that my body could handle anything that came up.. and i did!

40 + weeks is NOT [email protected]


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## kyndmamaof4 (Jul 25, 2006)

This is an innocent question...really it is...what about the quality of the placenta after a certian amount of time? I am all done having babies, but my MW told me this, and I was induced 2x and I thought that it was a reliable fact, after all she was a midwife, not a Dr. Wow, what have I missed? If it matters at all, I knew when my babies were concieved each time, because they were one of those moments where we were in the "heat of the moment" and said "who cares" and didn't stop to get "protection" or pull out etc. So I really did know how many weeks preg. I was. I just thought it was fact







Please explain, so I can know better. Thanks, Kaara


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## kyndmamaof4 (Jul 25, 2006)

One more thing: Can a baby be too big to come out? I thought that #2 was, but now I'm skeptical







: He was 9# 10.2 oz. I was in Labor for 70+ hours, and he just wouldn't come out. I tried leaning, squatting, sitting on a ball, resting/leaning on DH anything and everything...he just wasn't coming out. Should I have tried harder? I know that on the last day, I felt like I was going to die, because I could feel his head hit my pelvis with each contraction. When I finally agreed to a C-section, they had to push him back in from the Vaginal area, because his head was stuck. He had a wicked case of a misshapen head for a while, but otherwise he is OK. Was I wrong for accepting the c-section?

Thanks, Kaara


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## kyndmamaof4 (Jul 25, 2006)

Risks of Postterm Pregnancy

Health risks for the baby and mother increase if a pregnancy is prolonged. The more prolonged the pregnancy, the greater the risks. But problems occur in only a small portion of postterm pregnancies. Most women who give birth after the due date have healthy newborns.

After 42 weeks, the placenta may not work as well as it did earlier in pregnancy. Also, as the baby grows, the amount of amniotic fluid may begin to decrease. Less fluid may cause the umbilical cord to become pinched as the baby moves or as the uterus contracts. For these reasons your doctor may recommend delivery before 42 weeks of pregnancy.

If pregnancy goes past 42 weeks, a baby has an increased risk of certain problems, such as dysmaturity syndrome, macrosomia, or meconium aspiration. There also is an increased chance of cesarean birth.

I got this form this site....

http://www.acog.org/publications/pat...tion/bp069.cfm

I am not saying that I agree/disagree, because I don't know enough information on the subject. So please don't flame me, I just want to learn the real deal.

Thanks, Kaara


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## Kiki Runs (Oct 7, 2002)

Kaara, you should check over in the Birth and Beyond forum for more information about this.

Very rarely is a baby "too big to come out" - more frequently a babe is positioned poorly or folks get tired of waiting.

As far as the placenta, well every baby grows at its own rate. Some mamas tend to "bake" their babes quickly (maybe delivering at 38 weeks?), some mamas tend to bake their babes slowly (delivering past 40 weeks). neither one is necessarily wrong, it's just different bodies doing different things. The problem comes when we expect every mama to grow and birth her babies on the same timeline.

Lots of information over in the B&B forum!







Oh, and no one can say you were "wrong" for accepting that c/s. I'm sure that you made the best choices you could at that time. My first child was an unecessary c/s, but looking back (when I'm in a decent mood, lol) I can forgive myself and see that I did the best I could at that time. I wouldn't make those same choices again, but that's true for MANY choices I've made, lol!

K


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## DreamsInDigital (Sep 18, 2003)

Having been twice induced and then having one natural birth, I can definitely say there was a lot wrong with my induced births and absolutely nothing wrong with my natural birth.
I was induced at 41 weeks 2 days and labored for 56 hours.
I was induced at 41 weeks 3 days and labored for 12 hours.
I went into labor naturally at 42 weeks 1 day and labored for 5 hours.
But my 15 day "overdue" baby was extremely healthy, the placenta looked great and the NST I'd had three days earlier scored an 8/8.
The placenta is not on a timer and at the magical 40 week mark it does not start to break down. Not even at 42 weeks. At 42 weeks it might just *begin* to, but not stop functioning altogether.


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## E&Gmommy (Mar 23, 2006)

I hate when docs do that. Both my boys were a couple days over 42 weeks and I had no problems. There was one girl screaming in my OBs office one day to induce her becasue it was her due date







: I just don't get it.


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## veganf (Dec 12, 2005)

Argh. I hate the "due date" concept. My babies came when they were ready, all were a good size, and all were healthy.
#1 - 40w+3 (8lbs.4oz)
#2 - 43w+3 (9lbs.5oz) (our "due date" was so wrong with him, we originally thought he was "early"!)
#3 - 37w+3 (8lbs.4oz.)

- Krista


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## angelpie545 (Feb 23, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kyndmamaof4* 
This is an innocent question...really it is...what about the quality of the placenta after a certian amount of time? I am all done having babies, but my MW told me this, and I was induced 2x and I thought that it was a reliable fact, after all she was a midwife, not a Dr. Wow, what have I missed? If it matters at all, I knew when my babies were concieved each time, because they were one of those moments where we were in the "heat of the moment" and said "who cares" and didn't stop to get "protection" or pull out etc. So I really did know how many weeks preg. I was. I just thought it was fact







Please explain, so I can know better. Thanks, Kaara

In some cases, there is some truth to the placenta function starting to decrease in pregnancies that are truly prolonged, but in order determine that you are really overdue you have to be very exact on dates. I know because this happened to me, with my second child, who incidentally turned out to have some cognitive/speech delays. She was born at 42 weeks, but I had shown no signs of labor prior, and my NST showed her hearbeat to be very low. It was low throught the pregnancy, and when it at almost 42 weeks my midwife stripped my membranes so that I wouldn't have to go to the hospital to be induced. It worked, and she was born the next day, but when she came out, her skin was wrinked, her nails were very long, and the placenta was very white, not red at all, and was very aged. If she had been in there much longer the likelihood of stillbirth would have gone way up.

This isn't meant to say that normal pregnancies can't go past 40 weeks, as they obviously can, I'm just saying that it is good to understand risks involved, no matter how small, and just be careful. I did in my case and it turned out fine, with minor medical intervention.


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## stacey2061 (Feb 1, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kyndmamaof4* 
This is an innocent question...really it is...what about the quality of the placenta after a certian amount of time?


i wonder that too ~ after ds was born the dr commented to a nurse that the placenta was REALLY deteriorated...that scared me...he was all wrinky...the nurses all (jokingly) commented that he was well-done
btw - i just posted a question about this in childbirth...check it out! thanks


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## natashaccat (Apr 4, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *kyndmamaof4* 
Risks of Postterm Pregnancy

Health risks for the baby and mother increase if a pregnancy is prolonged. The more prolonged the pregnancy, the greater the risks. But problems occur in only a small portion of postterm pregnancies. Most women who give birth after the due date have healthy newborns.

After 42 weeks, the placenta may not work as well as it did earlier in pregnancy. Also, as the baby grows, the amount of amniotic fluid may begin to decrease. Less fluid may cause the umbilical cord to become pinched as the baby moves or as the uterus contracts. For these reasons your doctor may recommend delivery before 42 weeks of pregnancy.

If pregnancy goes past 42 weeks, a baby has an increased risk of certain problems, such as dysmaturity syndrome, macrosomia, or meconium aspiration. There also is an increased chance of cesarean birth.

I got this form this site....

http://www.acog.org/publications/pat...tion/bp069.cfm

I am not saying that I agree/disagree, because I don't know enough information on the subject. So please don't flame me, I just want to learn the real deal.

Thanks, Kaara

Yeah that's PAST 42 wks, this doesn't mean that we need to be preemptive and forced to deliver at 40 wks.


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

I thought the studies on postdates placentas grouped 42 weeks through 45 weeks together? Have studies come out that actually show deterioration *at* 42 weeks?


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## lyttlewon (Mar 7, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sapphire_chan* 
I thought the studies on postdates placentas grouped 42 weeks through 45 weeks together? Have studies come out that actually show deterioration *at* 42 weeks?

That is my question too. Since ovluation for every woman is different there is a possiblity a late baby is right on time. Marah Jade was born at 41 weeks and when they did gestational age post partum she was 39 weeks. If she had been born on her due date she would have been premature.


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