What is a "Due Date"

Only 4% of women birth their babies spontaneously on their “due date”

So what is a due date? 

In this photo I was near my “due date”. The day came and went. My daughter was eventually born 10 days later. I did everything from walking, sex, lunges, African dance to acupuncture, chiropractor, and spicy food. Finally nipple stimulation and breast pumping is what began to nudge things along. I was so hell bent on having her at home that I was ready to bungie jump. Thankfully I was within the two week post term period that is allowed in the state of Florida. Thankfully, I didn’t have a medical provider who was bullying me into a chemical induction or feeding me horror stories about “what could happen”once a woman goes 1 day after 40 weeks as if there is a science that dictates a due date. We cannot negate the psycho-somatic power behind how our babies are coming into the world.

So happy I made the decision to switch to a midwife super late in the game.

Where did the “due date” come from?

Franz Karl Naegele (7 December 1778 – 21 January 1851) was a German obstetrician born in Düsseldorf. He is remembered for "Naegele's rule", a standard method of calculating the due date for a pregnancy. Using "Naegele's rule", your medical provider will take the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP), and add 280 days (the equivalent of 40 weeks). For example, if your last period started on September 1, your due date would be June 7. This method assumes that your period arrives like clockwork every 28 days. If your cycles are longer, you're likely to deliver later than your due date. This is a method of guess work. 

Only 4% of women birth their babies spontaneously on their “due date”, 22% will birth before and the remainder birth their babies afterward. 

One of the real risks of going passed your “due date” is that around 42 weeks pregnancy your placenta runs the risk of calcification which could present complications for your baby and its oxygen intake. Another potential issue is that the baby could pass meconium (sterile bowel movement) in the womb. This is not urgent but could mean the baby requires some assistance with breathing if medical providers see your “water” is dark brown and thick. 

Justifications for forcing the baby out through high risk chemical inductions should be seriously questioned and considered. For example the statement,  “baby is going to get too big to come out if you go passed 40 weeks” is rubbish. This completely negates the mother’s physiological capabilities and undermines her decision making as a sovereign adult. Another reason given for induction is, “your amniotic fluid will get low”. This too is a guess, and easily avoided. Simply mineralize your body, exercise, eat high protein (80 grams daily), hydrate and perhaps check fluid levels if you’re genuinely concerned. Just remember fluid level is checked with ultrasound …

It’s funny when doctors say “I won’t LET you go passed 41 weeks”, as if it’s up to them what you do with you body or your baby… “Let you”. As a pregnant woman you decide what high risk procedures get done to you. Induction is high risk, it often leads to c section because of the toll it takes on the baby’s heart and the extreme stress and pain it causes the mother. 

Lamentably, midwives in the state of Florida are heavily regulated so if your baby doesn’t come spontaneously by 42 weeks they will legally have to transfer you to the care of an OB, and usually at this point you’ll have to consider an induction or c section. If you have an open-minded medical provider they will guide you through the process of non-stress tests to monitor the baby and offer natural induction techniques. If those are exhausted then the women should assess how she feels and make a decision about the possibility of a chemical induction, and if that doesn’t work c-section is and should be a final resort. 

If you enjoyed reading about due dates, please check out my virtual classes and prenatal guidance sessions HERE.