But I wasn't happy acting against the hospital's wishes. The induced labour was not a terrible experience — Jack was born with no complications in 50 minutes — but it was not ideal. I had wanted him to come out when he wanted to. Not when a doctor ordered him to. It turned out that he was large, but not abnormally so 8lb 12oz; his sister was larger at 9lb. And he had no signs of being post-dates: no wrinkly skin, and the amniotic fluid was clear. I wasn't sure he was really that late at all.
Could we be inducing babies who don't need to be induced — exposing both them and their mothers to unnecessary risk? She believes that every baby will come in its own time, and she is currently campaigning for 43 weeks — rather than 42 — as the definition of "late". The dates in themselves, says Gaskin, do not indicate the need for induction. There are clear signs if there is something wrong and the baby needs to come out: reduced foetal movement, for example, a deceleration in growth, or reduced amniotic fluid — all of which could be picked up by the mother or a midwife.
In recent years the ultrasound dating scan at 12 weeks has been seen as the best measure of due date in the UK. Statistics suggest it is marginally more accurate than the traditional LMP last monthly period date.
The latter method, known as Naegele's rule, dates back to It is based on the idea that human gestation lasts 10 lunar cycles nine months plus seven days and assumes that every woman has a monthly cycle of 28 days where she ovulates on the 14th day. The trouble is that very few women fit the "average" — hence the huge variation in the dates when babies are born. Seventy per cent arrive after their due date. And yet it has become a fixed point by which we measure everything in pregnancy.
Meanwhile, induction rates in England are rising — albeit very gradually — up from Hannah Latham, 36, a writer from Bristol, was 18 days overdue when she gave birth to Noah, now six weeks old. You have all these people hassling you, saying, 'Isn't he here yet? Which in future I wouldn't do. But they pressure you from when you are a week overdue.
They say to you, 'Are you aware that you are putting your baby at risk? They said, 'We don't know. This is the problem with overdue babies: there is very little evidence because so few women allow their pregnancies to go past 42 weeks. As US midwife Gail Hart points out, the most-cited statistic about post-dates babies that their risk of stillbirth "doubles after 42 weeks" comes from a study — a time when mortality rates were 10 times what they are now.
The emotions of a week pregnancy can be a mix of anger and fear including the feelings of the people close to you. Give yourself a little space to hear them also. Some concerns you may hear will be answered in part by these two questions. The emotional results of changing plans deserve a good listener. Time to process your feelings is important and best done after birth under these circumstances. Affirmations are short, powerful statements that can affect your conscious thoughts.
Close your eyes, breathe deeply and slowly, and repeat the following to yourself each day throughout the next week. Fill yourself with breath and feel the joy:. Pregnancy: Week by Week. This Week. Continue professional body balancing help from a chiropractor or osteopath. The research was carried out in The Netherlands, where until recently it was commonplace for women to choose not to be induced if they were overdue. She told BBC News: "Every pregnant woman knows that if the child comes early that's not good, so why don't we question the long-term effects of when a child comes too late?
In the UK, guidelines state than women should be induced between 41 and 42 weeks, and warned about the possible complications if they wish to prolong pregnancy. Complications include a higher risk of stillbirth and difficulties in delivering large babies.
0コメント