Waiting until 42 weeks?
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Anonymous
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FTM here who is trying to patiently wait for our DC! I will be 42 weeks this weekend, and have been able to hold off on an induction until first thing Monday morning if monitoring tests continue to go well. So this is partly a vent/whine...I am just getting tired of the comments, "you're STILL pregnant," and for some in the medical establishment looking at me like I am crazy for waiting until 42 weeks and wanting to see if baby will come on his/her own time. I have had a great pregnancy thus far, and tests have all been very good - baby moving well, fluid level good, etc. My body is making progress (dilation, effacement, station) at each appointment, it is just slow. I am confident that if I need to be induced sooner my provider will do that, but I feel like my husband and I are among very few who are not anxious. I am enjoying this time to myself and getting out and doing things.
If anyone has positive stories, encouragement from your own postdate experiences, would be happy to hear them! |
Anonymous
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I just don't understand the need for automatic induction, even at 42 weeks, if everything medically looks good. Due dates can be off, our bodies are different, we can go into labor past 42 weeks with no problem. Of course at this point it's best to be monitored frequently to make sure everything is going well.
People might just be commenting as a way to commiserate with you, they expect you are feeling uncomfortable or frustrated. |
Anonymous
| good for you! i went to one day shy of 42 weeks so i know how hard it can be dealing with other people's comments and expectations. i also wanted to wait for my daughter to come when she was ready. i started to doubt whether labor would ever start, but it did, and things went very smoothly. sounds like you're handling it all with grace and confidence. hope you have a happy healthy birth! |
Anonymous
| OP how sure are you about your LMP? |
Anonymous
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DD was born at 42 weeks, and since the pregnancy was via IUI and trigger shots we were very confident on the dates. A hospital induction was scheduled for the evening of 42 weeks, but since my goal was to birth at a birthing center, I took castor oil under my midwives' direction a couple days before the scheduled induction. That did jump start labor, although I ended up needing to transfer to the hospital to deliver due to high blood pressure that popped up during labor. DD was on the smaller side at birth, and the placenta looked great, so she could have perhaps kept cooking a few more days anyway.
I was not anxious at all at the end, although it did become a bit of a joke in my office as I continued to show up for work each day. (Worked in the office up until 41 weeks, then worked from home on a reduced schedule until I went into labor.) There was an office pool as to when the baby would be born, and I went so far past everyone's guesses that they decided to give me the "winnings." I expect to go to at least 40 weeks with this pregnancy too (as do my midwives and even the perinatologist I saw at the 20-week anatomy scan), but I'm not sure I'll be able to be as patient this time. |
khand
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| Ahh, the waiting game. I was certain of my due date and it came and went with absolutely no progress on my end. I kept plugging along, walking, doing yoga, SLEEPING, acupuncture and made no progress. My body just didn’t quite know how to get him out. I had a little anxiety but I think it was mainly from other people saying “you’re still pregnant” or calling/emailing and asking if I’d had the baby yet. Clearly, I hadn’t and I promised them I would let them know once he arrived. I stopped taking phone calls or returning emails at that point. I ended up being induced at 41 weeks, 5 days as he was showing some signs of distress (and I wasn’t dilated at all) and ended up delivering vaginally the following day. (Labored about 24 hours without an epidural, once I stopped progressing from exhaustion, I got the epidural.) I am so happy that we waited as long as we did and looking back, it really was a special time…not without its ups and downs…but a time of great excitement and anticipation. Am not pregnant with #2 and wonder if he/she will be late. I sort of assume so but who knows? As long as the baby is okay and you are too, THERE IS NO RUSH! Several of our friends went into labor 4-6 weeks prior to their due dates and that is much more concerning than being late. Good luck! |
Anonymous
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I went to 42wks and 1day. What worked for me was having my midwife strip my membranes and lots of acupuncture. I went into labor the next day. In the end i delivered a beautiful and healthy baby naturally without epidural. I was also really sick of being asked about my pregnancy by the end. Everyone I saw was asking about my due date and whether it was twins. All our extended friends and family kept calling to see if we had had the baby without telling them. Super lame. Hang in there OP.
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Anonymous
I went to 42 wk. Ignore the commenters! You're basing your decisions off sound medical monitoring and protocol, so really, the relevant question is how thoroughly are you enjoying your last few days sans newborn?  Eat out! Sleep in! Watch a movie uninterrupted! And enjoy that little one when s/he finally makes an appearance.
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Anonymous
| I went to 42w. I felt great, but I was ready to punch the next person who suggested "Oh, just do X and you'll go right into labor!" Trust me, I tried it all, multiple times in some cases, and DC just didn't feel like being born yet. |