How long will they let you go past your due date?

Jekadah · March 2012

Hey Ladies,

I was just wondering how long your doctors/midwives will let you go overdue? Once you do become overdue how often do you have appointments, and do they check to make sure your fluids aren't getting low?

Thanks!

Jessimurph · March 2012

My MW will let me go to 42 weeks. After 40 I started twice a week appointments and weekly biophysical ultrasounds and nst's. I had my biophysical profile yesterday and my NST is this morning. Yesterday at my appointment I asked what happens at 42 weeks and she either misheard me or dodged my question as to not stress me out about the deadline. Either way I didn't ask again because I'm trying for a vbac and I assume 42 weeks means automatic csection since they won't medically induce vbacs at my local hospital. To hear her confirm that really would stress me out so better to not think about it until next week.

Jekadah · March 2012

Thanks for the response Big Smile

My midwife is really laid back, and I have loved that about her up until now, and I have been getting really paranoid about the risks of going over due and I just want to make sure she checks everything she needs to. Hopefully you won't have to worry about what happens after 42 weeks! Fingers crossed for you and your VBAC.

rebbieW · March 2012

My midwife/doctor don't have a set limit. At 40 weeks, I've always started going in every other day for monitoring/fluid check/one or two US's, but there was never any scheduling of inductions (or even talk of them) with any of my babies. They were 8, 10 and 8 days overdue respectively. I had borderline GD with the 3rd and even then, there was no talk of induction. (I'm in Germany.)

LindseyJW · March 2012

my CPM does not set a time limit on pregnancy.

as i approached 42 weeks with my hbac baby, we talked more frequently and i saw her twice that week. i ended up having DD at 41.6, but would have gone longer.

robyn2201 · March 2012

When I asked my OB about going overdue and inducing, her response was that she wouldn't let me go further than 41 weeks. I told her I wasn't comfortable inducing at that point if there wasn't an issue with myself or the baby. She wasn't very happy about it but agreed to 42 weeks if I do additional monitoring starting at 41 weeks. Thankfully DD was born at 38 weeks and I didn't have to worry about it.

Kristinmo · March 2012

My OB starts offering inductions at 40 weeks for first timers and 39 weeks for all pregnancies after that. However, I told her I want to avoid being induced and she hasn't brought it up again. She starts twice weekly NSTs and BPPs once you hit 40 weeks.

Her cut-off for inductions is 42 weeks which is my personal comfort level as well.

AppleMomma · March 2012

42 weeks is the limit. At that point it's a ntural attempt at induction if I'm already 3cm and effaced 50% or it's to the hospital.

I doubt I'll go that far, I have a history of heading towards pre-e or having pre-e, and my MW induced me with my home birth at 38w 5d with stripping membranes and castor oil. DD came less than 24 hours later and my blood pressure & protein normalized right away.

pinksweetpea2 · March 2012

My MW does not believe in inductions for date reasons. I had my first DD at 43 weeks and she was perfectly pink and healthy- 10/10 on her APGARs. My placenta was also perfect. I truly believe she just needed a bit more time.

I had NSTs ever few days after 41 weeks and nearly every day after 42 weeks. We were planning on going in for a u/s the morning I ended up going into labor.

pugznploons · March 2012

my doctor schedules inductions between 41-42 weeks. I don't think he'd let me go over 10 days past my due date.

Jekadah · March 2012

Thanks for all the responses it's interesting to see how everyone's midwives/doctors do things. I'm currently 3cm and 70% effaced she said that they won't change anything with my appointments and I will continue to just see them once every week (which kind of makes me nervous). She did say that they can do what ever they want at 40 weeks (almost 40 now) which would include inducing me if I chose. I obviously don't want to be induced but I kind of wish she wouldn't had said that because now the temptation is there! Is is strange that they won't want to see me more more than once a week after I am over due? It sounds like most of you are being seen more than that, at that point.

sschwege · March 2012

Jekadah:
Thanks for all the responses it's interesting to see how everyone's midwives/doctors do things. I'm currently 3cm and 70% effaced she said that they won't change anything with my appointments and I will continue to just see them once every week (which kind of makes me nervous). She did say that they can do what ever they want at 40 weeks (almost 40 now) which would include inducing me if I chose. I obviously don't want to be induced but I kind of wish she wouldn't had said that because now the temptation is there! Is is strange that they won't want to see me more more than once a week after I am over due? It sounds like most of you are being seen more than that, at that point.

It's funny I asked this question of one of my CNMs, using the same wording as you did in your title. I remember her saying something like, they can't force anything on me, it's my body, but here's what they recommend.... It really changed the way I thought from that point forward. Anyway, your post just made me think of that.

My CNMs recommended induction at 41w6d provided everything else looked good. If you wanted to continue past that point, you just had to sign a wavier. I wouldn't have gone farther than that though.

To answer your question in quotes, you went to your 40w appointment as scheduled. Then you came twice if you made it to your 41st week. They did NSTs, checked levels, etc. Keep in mind that your EDD is just that an estimate. Had I not been charting I would have been considered 41w3d when I had DD as opposed to the 40w3d I was based on my conception date. It's just a guess Hang in there, you are so close!

mkflower3000 · March 2012

I know that my BC will let me go 42 weeks, and then they start to take some other measures (although they haven't been specific about them yet, but hopefully we don't need to worry about getting there anyway).

hass2001 · March 2012

My doc says they will have to induce 2 weeks past my due date.

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