[uwsider]

I'm a week past my due date. On the one hand, my instinct is to let things go naturally and let my body decide when it's ready to give birth. On the other hand, I've worry that by opting against interventions performed on me (e.g cervidil, pitocin), I risk having interventions performed on the newborn (greater likelihood of meconium aspiration/suctioning). Any thoughts? I feel really excellent and am in no hurry, psychologically. Do some women simply gestate longer? Should I let my body be? Or should I try to coax myself into labor and/or agree to an induction date?

[Deb]

Hi

I would like to refer to a blog entry I wrote called "whose schedule are we on anyway?" In it, I address the issue of induction.

How far past the mother’s due date is allowed before induction? Six Care Practices that Support Normal Birth that labor begins on its own. There are, of course, medical exceptions to this rule - which does not include, by the way, an estimation of a large baby, unless the mother has gestational diabetes. Generally, it is believed that labor should not be started artificially. Researchers now believe that when a baby is ready for life outside his mother’s uterus, his body releases a tiny amount of a substance, which signals the mother’s hormones, which begins labor.

You may also want to check out "Natural Alternatives to Induce Labor"

Personally, I really do believe unless there is a medical issue that put mom and/or baby at harm, you should not induce. Size assumption is not a reason to induce. Please read: Estimate Fetal Birth Weight and Shoulder Dystocia.

Good luck and follow your instincts.

Deb

[uwsider]

Reporting on a successful birth of my postdate baby!

I decided to try a membrane sweep and it immediately triggered labor. I'd had two membrane sweeps with the pregnancy already, so the OB was "very vigorous" in this third and final one. It sure did the trick! Braxton-Hicks contractions 'evolved' into labor contractions over the course of three hours as I hiked in Central Park (to put pressure on the cervix). I labored at home with the help of a doula for 13 hours and arrived at the hospital 9 cm dilated! I gave birth 5 hours later, with the help of an epidural, to an 8 lb 11 oz baby boy born at 41 weeks.