By Sally Robertson, BSc
Most pregnancies last regarding 40 weeks, along with the majority of women going in to labor a week either adverse of this date.
The due date estimated at the start of a pregnancy is merely an “educated guess” regarding as soon as the baby is most likely to arrive. It is therefore regular for a woman to discover she goes in to labor a couple of weeks prior to or after this date.
If a woman does not go in to labor by time she is 40 weeks pregnant and she is pregnant for the initial time, after that she will certainly be offered exactly what is called a “membrane sweep” at her week 40 and 41 appointments.
If she has actually previously been pregnant, this will certainly be offered at the week 41 appointment only.
During a membrane sweep, the vagina is examined and the cervix stimulated to make the hormones that induce labor. If this fails to cause labor, the woman is offered the option of arranging a date to induce labor.
If a woman does not want her labor induced and the pregnancy continues for 42 weeks or longer, after that the mother and baby will certainly be monitored constantly to guarantee that the two are healthy.
The woman is offered ultrasound scans and the baby’s movement and heartbeat are checked. If a doctor has actually any sort of concerns, they will certainly suggest that labor is induced.
If a pregnancy takes longer compared to 42 weeks, the pregnancy is referred to as post-term or overdue. If this happens, there is an increased risk of stillbirth, even though the majority of babies continue to be perfectly healthy.
Currently, the risk of stillbirth cannot be reliably predicted and all of women that do not go in to labor by 42 weeks are offered induced labor.
Post-Term Pregnancy Factors
A lot of women that do not go in to labor by 40 weeks are not truly post-term. In lots of cases, the due date was merely not correctly calculated.
This can easily happen for a lot of reasons including women forgetting the exact day that their last period began, differing length of menstrual cycles and failing to have actually an ultrasound scan early on enough in the pregnancy to accurately predict the due date.
In cases where a pregnancy lasts beyond 42 weeks and really is post-term, the induce is regularly unknown. However, factors that enhance the likelihood of an overdue pregnancy consist of the following:
- First pregnancy
- Previous overdue pregnancy
- Family history of overdue pregnancy
- The mother is obese
- The baby is a boy
- Rarely, the induce is related to troubles along with the placenta.
On some occasions, if pregnancy lasts for a lot more compared to 10 days beyond the due date, a doctor will certainly suggest induced labor.
The size of the baby could complicate delivery and the quantity of amniotic fluid can easily start to reduce as the baby grows, which can easily induce pinching of the umbilical cord as the uterus contracts or the baby moves.
A baby that is overdue is additionally a lot more most likely to inhale exactly what is referred to as meconium, the initial fecal stool that has actually formed in the baby’s gut. This can easily induce infection or breathing troubles as soon as the baby is born.
Inducing labour
If a woman decides to have actually her labor induced she might be offered vaginal suppositories that will certainly advice to soften and open the cervix.
A medicine called oxytocin is used to induce contractions. If the amniotic sac is still intact, the woman’s water is broken by rupturing the membranes that contain the amniotic fluid. A catheter could additionally be placed in the cervix to help dilation.
Caesarean-section (C-section)
A woman that is overdue will certainly just requirement a C-section if one or a lot more of the complying with apply:
- Labor cannot be induced using the ways described above
- Labor does not improvement in the regular method as soon as it has actually started
- Tests on the baby’s heart suggest fetal distress
Reviewed by Yolanda Smith, BPharm
