But I’m tired, I just want this baby out. It’s SO uncomfortable. You have no idea how this feels. I can’t take it anymore. I feel like I’m at 52 weeks of pregnancy. Give me a membrane sweep. You have to induce me.
Yup, I’ve heard it all before. I hear it all the time. I’m callus to it.
I know just how you feel about an overdue pregnancy.
Because my baby was 12 days overdue. Having an overdue baby feels like too much hard work.
I’d had kidney stones, my pelvis had split, I could barely put my pants on and I cried almost every day. By the end of pregnancy, I was miserable.
But I was winning.
Because I was letting my baby choose and have extra time to grow and develop.
FYI, I’m Hilary — a labor nurse with 15 years of experience seeing inductions go both right and wrong, as well a behind the scenes look at how inductions work and can be both good and bad for your baby. Helping pregnant women is one of my favorite things, so I hope you find this helpful!
Looking to make your own choices in the hospital — don’t miss my free birth plan template:
Now, in an effort for full disclosure — I did end-up getting induced. At 12 days overdue my doctor talked me into it. I do believe that after 41 weeks, induction is certainly something you should talk about. Your placenta has a “shelf life” and is really only meant to last 40 weeks plus a couple more…. after that, it’s really not good for your baby’s health to be cooped up in your uterus.
If you’re looking for a little help on how to go into labor — check that post out!
Overdue For the Win, but why?
- It’s cheaper to have less medical interventions. Having pitocin and long labor stays really adds to your bill. Of course, in the US with insurance you rarely see it — but it’s true. 🙂
- Your weeks could be off. Ultrasound scan dating isn’t a perfect science. Also, the further along in your pregnancy you are, the less accurate it is. Plus or minus 2 weeks is the standard for an estimated due date. That means, when you think you’re 40 weeks, you could really only be 38. You want the baby to have all the growing time inside that it can. It’s a good idea to let your new baby go the full length of pregnancy if possible.
- Overdue babies are easier. Perhaps it’s an old wives tale, but I do think that premature babies have a much harder time adjusting to life on our planet breathing air and pooping. It’s tough people.
- You might get more time off. Hate me if you’d like – -but in California you get 4 weeks off before you due date, and then 12 weeks after your baby is born. That means, for every day I was pregnant it was like I was being paid to gestate. Just extra money in our pocket. Is that a crazy way to think about it, yes — but sometimes crazy things still make us feel better.
- Let it go. Yes, Elsa. Maybe having a little less control over your life is a good thing. Of course, this is totally the pot calling the kettle black, but so many people want to control their delivery when in reality they have zero control. So, it’s time to start that now.
My two less favorite reasons for labor induction (although, here’s a few ways to go into labor on your own)
- My family is in town. I really think the best plan is to either have your mom buy a standby ticket, or plan to not be there until a week after your due date. I feel horrible when people end-up with a c-section just because their mom was in town. And, if you’re the mom — encourage your daughter to be flexible about you coming. Often, I find it’s the mom who’s pushing the induction process.
- I’m miserable. Great. You’re growing a human inside of you. That sounds pretty miserable. The best thing to do is tell your husband you’re done with housework. Do the bare minimum. Gestate. A great way to pass the last days of pregnancy is to find a favorite series and binge watch. If that’s all you can do, to gestate, then it’s all you can do. But do it.
[clickToTweet tweet=”40 weeks pregnant and miserable? That is AWESOME! Make your husband do more work and you just gestate! #overdue ” quote=”40 weeks pregnant and miserable? That is AWESOME! Make your husband do more work and you just gestate! #overdue ” theme=”style1″]
Yes, there are PLENTY of reasons to be induced (and if you’re getting induced, I wrote this post on pregnant chicken — about induction), but the overwhelming evidence encourages moms to go the full 40. So unless there are health issues or medical reasons, stop begging your healthcare provider for an early induction of labour. Just gestate. Enjoy that quality time with baby on the inside. They’re so quiet there. 🙂
If you’re STILL pregnant, I promise there is STILL time to get in a prenatal class! Don’t be one of those ladies who WISHED they’d gotten one. Grab your birth partner and use this perfect opportunity to take a class.
The Online Prenatal class for Couples is for busy couples who lack time and knowledge about the birthing process to get quick, engaging and accurate prenatal education so they can have a more relaxed pregnancy & birth.
I totally recommend this one. It is…
You can even save 10% with code PC10.
Like more posts that encourage you during your pregnancy? Be sure to sign up for my pregnancy newsletter and check out all my other pregnancy posts below that!
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Caci says
I completely disagree with the idea of going over. But that is because I’ve had a bad experience with it. My baby was six days overdue, and on my first, my hospital wouldn’t induce me until 41 weeks. I think that is standard. Well, because we went over, he ended up in the NICU for six days due to infection. I also had an infection which could have been prevented had we gone a week earlier. He was born with meconium, and because the placenta was shot, his blood sugars plummeted within the first two hours of birth. It was the scariest experience of my life, and it could have been prevented if we had gone at our before his due date.
Hilary says
Yeah, going over can be problematic as well. That’s why it’s important to get nst’s if you’re late….
Rachel says
Love his encouragement! I’m 36.5 weeks now and since I had one child at 38 and one at 39 (membrane sweeps, one of which I did not give permission for !!!!) I’m already getting impatient. I told myself today, what if the baby goes to 41 weeks and I keep thinking “this is the last week” I’ll be miserable. Great reminders here!
Hilary says
Do it, go 42 weeks! So fun {note sarcasm font}
Alexis says
I agree that this could go either way. I have zero desire to go past my due date due to my first baby’s ordeal. She was about two weeks late, had an infection in her lungs and meconium, stayed in NiCU 5 days, plus my placenta was shot as well. The doctor asked me if I was a smoker when she saw it. I am not, nor have I ever been. They shaved two places on her head because her poor little veins kept blowing since they had to keep her on IV antibiotics, and she was on oxygen due to the lung infection preventing her from keeping her own oxygen levels up. My second was induced right at 40 weeks (I’ll admit that fear was my motivation) and everything was perfect. My third was an unmedicated birth, but he came a week early (possibly had help from accupressure…he was huge due to my GD and I was desperate) and he turned out just fine as well. So, with that said, I don’t think I will ever “patiently” wait for an overdue baby as I get anxious just thinking about it. I’m on my fourth pregnancy now and I’m pretty sure I’ll try accupressure again (as well as some other natural labor inducing ideas) around 39 weeks.
Hilary Erickson says
ugh! Yeah — that is too bad. I definitely believe in doing NST’s after your due date to make sure that placenta is still doing it’s job.
lost says
I had to be induced because with identical twins, the placenta can give out much earlier than at 40 weeks because 1 placenta is made for 1 baby. People like you terrify me that I made the wrong decision and that maybe my toddlers will end up autistic or with some kind of learning disability or chronic health ailment because I chose to get induced due to my doctor telling me going past 37 weeks was incredibly dangerous, despite having read article after article and blog after blog of moms who gave birth to identical twins full-term. Baby B’s heartrate was acting only SLIGHTLY funky during an NST and my doctor used that as an excuse to pull them out of me. I gave birth vaginally, but that’s literally the only thing on my birth plan that was followed. My number one was no chemicals and they gave me pitocin (obviously) and antibiotics because I was Group B strep positive as much as I HATED doing that. All of these people say “it’s not worth the risk” and “we don’t know what’s going to possibly be wrong with these kids in the future” and it really scares me. I am already scared of things like nonorganic food messing up my kids’ endocrine system because organic food is too expensive and it contains pesticides as well ANYWAY. It makes me feel like my children may never reach their full potential or experience some rare mental illness or something because no matter how many times you try to do things right, you’ll always end up making wrong choices. Except before being a mother, those choices would really only effect you. Not innocent people who didn’t ask to be completely dependent on you and your decisions. Your kid is better off than mine because it wasn’t pulled out before it was finished developing. Mine were. There is a difference in brain matter of people born early, and my sons were a month early. I wish someone else could take care of them so I wouldn’t have to live with the guilt everyday of every wrong choice I make, or making choices that aren’t as good for them because we can’t afford it.
Hilary Erickson says
Oh my goodness…. that is a lot in a comment. Twins is a WHOLE other ball game, and they actually created to be delivered a bit early. So, that’s a total win.
Love those babies, let it go. This article is for people seeking an elective induction, and yours clearly wasn’t.