When's Your Due Month?

So often we hear the words, "When's your due date?" Very common is the desire to know when a woman will birth her baby. It is also general knowledge that babies don't always come on their due dates. Although most people know this, they doubtfully know the actual physiology behind when and why a woman begins labor. I read a fantastic short article today on Pushed Birth's website from Jennifer Block. She wrote the fantastic book "Pushed" that candidly explains what is most likely to happen to the average woman when she enters a US hospital to give birth.

I feel like we live in a society where everyone wants to know exactly when things are going to happen because there's not enough time in the day for wasting. The problem is that birth, by no means, is something to be determined exactly. Birth in normal, healthy women and babies is supposed to happen on its own without intervention. But that hardly happens anymore. We talk (and are talked to) about our due date or our friend's due date or whoever's due date. If the baby comes at 38 weeks it's considered early. If the baby comes at 41 weeks it's considered late. The reality, physiologically, is that babies are full term at 37 weeks and are usually born somewhere between 37 and 42 weeks. Someone decided (and I want to know who) that a woman's due date is 40 weeks from the first day of her last period. But that date, by no means, circumstances, common sense or understanding of the human body should determine the readiness of the baby to be born. Sure, the baby has developed and will survive outside the womb. But more importantly, your body and your baby are in sync and they both know when it's time for labor to begin. This is the reason why all babies are not born on exactly the first day of the 40th week!

Many OBs start pushing women after they hit 40 weeks to induce labor. It is true that certain risks increase after 40 weeks, but there are so many variables to consider in the equation of when a baby is overdue and will not be safely born. In the heat of the pregnancy-almost-being-over moment, women succumb to the temptations of these magical baby removers and go ahead with inductions. The facts are that babies who haven't come out at 40 weeks probably AREN'T READY TO COME OUT YET. Am I one of the few people who understands this concept? I ask this jokingly but I also believe that there is a strong correlation between inductions from 40 to 42 weeks and instances of emergency cesareans or other interventions like episiotomies or forceps delivery. In fact, there is numerous data to prove this correlation.

Fortunately for me, I was never force into an induction, even though my due date came and went. I was just so unhappy, emotionally spent, and physically exhausted to go on much longer. I asked my midwife to do one of the least invasive procedures to possibly jumpstart my labor; a membrane sweep. Basically she just took two fingers, inserted them into my cervix, swept the inner layer of my cervix, separating the amniotic membrane from my uterus near the cervical opening. It does not rupture the actual amniotic sac that the baby is in; it merely loosens up that small area enough to possibly signal the uterus to lightly contract. These light contractions can then signal the body to begin labor. If a membrane sweep is done and the woman does not go into labor within 24-48 hours, then her body is probably not ready to have the baby yet and it will still be (many) days away. Arguably membrane sweeping is an induction method since it helps a woman go into labor a short time before she would naturally, but when done properly it only reduces time before labor by a day or so. "So why do it if labor is coming anyway?" I asked that question myself. It almost seemed silly to have Nancy do the sweep, but I needed to do at least one thing to help bring Evelyn out. When Nancy said I had dilated more and there was blood on her glove, she said it was a sure sign that I would be going into labor very soon anyway. Sure enough, our kitten busted her leg on the broken plate and Evelyn decided it was time to be born.

So even though I knew that there was such a big time frame in which Evelyn could be born, I was still a nervous wreck and could not affirm myself enough to wait it out without trying to help her along. I am ok with that, strangely. I certainly didn't bring my 40 week, 2 day pregnant belly into the hospital and demand a c-section, and maybe I feel like what I did was so minor compared to what other women are pressured to do or elect to have done. Coming from an educated, thoughtful place helped me trust my decision. Having a loving, supportive care provider also helped me trust in this path I was taking. For most women, sadly, this is not the case. I ask all my friends, family, and readers to try to have faith in your body to give birth to your baby when the time is right. If you are a healthy, low-risk woman, you do not have to be induced before 42 weeks. It is your choice to allow your baby enough time to grow and wait until the exactly right moment to signal your body for birth. Tell you friends and family your "due month" ...Early March, mid-July, late August/early September. Trust your body to grow and nurture your baby until the time is right :)

I would love to hear thoughts on this topic!

~Christine