Is your due date overdue?

When your estimated due dote (EDD) seems more like a random date

HERE is the interesting thing about EDDs. Only five per cent of pregnancies are estimated to actually have taken place on their indicated date! What are the other 95 per cent? Well, 70 per cent of those are worrying that they are overdue! But they are really not. It is common for women to give birth either two weeks before, but mostly two weeks after their EDD. In fact, if most babies are taking up to two weeks to get ready to make their entry into the world, it is probably just right. Perhaps they would rather come fashionably late! What you should not do is worry. You may be due in theory, but before you begin panicking and talking inducement, add another two weeks onto your pregnancy, and take it as easy as possible. So what do you do in the meantime?

Keep yourself busy—Go for a walk, meet a friend for lunch, go down to the video shop but do try and plan an outing a day. Put the finishing touches on your arrangements for the baby and allow yourself a good 10 minutes to coo happily to yourself… better yet, with your hands on your stomach, try to convince your baby that, although it is comfortable in there, you are eager to meet them on the outside!

Relax—Indulge yourself in long hot baths, massages and good food. When this baby finally comes out. you will need all your strength!

Cuddle up to your partner—You will miss the chances for intimacy that you have now, when the baby is here, so snuggle up every moment you get!

Ignore your phone—You may regret you have spread your EDD around as friends and relatives begin to visit and call expecting to meet the new arrival. Either SMS all a blanket ‘we’re still waiting patiently and will let you know! Thanks for all the good wishes.’ Or you may spend most of the time you are meant to be relaxing on the phone, holding the same conversation over and over.

Keep going for medical checks—You will need frequent checkups until your baby is born. If there is any problem, or it has truly been too long and either you or your baby is in distress, your doctor will know and he will also know exactly what to do. If, while you wait, you think you’re in labour, go to your hospital facility as soon as possible.

After 42 weeks you begin to be truly overdue. Make sure you continue to stay in touch with your caregiver and. without being too anxious, watch out for any signs that you are in labour, experiencing unusual discomfort, or are feeling plainly ill.

WHAT THE DOCTOR SAYS
Comments by Dr. J. M. Kiiru

Being overdue may be as light a matter as having the wrong EDD, or as serious as having an ectopic or abdominal pregnancy. When her EDD is being calculated, a woman may not correctly remember when her last period was. It follows that, as the pregnancy persists, she may begin to believe that she is overdue. There are, however, many more serious causes for prolonged pregnancy. Thankfully, almost all can be averted by regular visits to the clinic to check that the pregnancy is progressing as expected.

He adds that one of the most common reasons that may prolong pregnancy may arise when the patient has used progesterone daily as a contraceptive pill for a long time.

And when the baby has not developed inside the womb as it is supposed to. but inside the abdominal cavity, the EDD date may be surpassed too. She is then unable to go into labour, meaning that a Caesarean section is necessitated.

Where a child’s brain has not developed as normal, and his central nervous system has been affected, he may also remain longer in the womb. In this case, the pregnancy must be induced.

When a patient is due but there are no signs that the cervix is ready to dilate, it may be due to low prostaglandin levels, Dr. Kiiru explains. Prostaglandin is a hormone with many properties, one of which is to soften and ‘ripen’ the cervix, in order to ready it for delivery. Where prostaglandin levels are low, the cervix remains unprepared for dilation. Labour must be induced, and this will usually be done through the administration of prostaglandin in gel form, for example.

Dr. Kiiru stresses that the cause of a prolonged pregnancy may sometimes remain unclear, and so it is important for women to set up regular visits to their clinics. After 42 weeks, Dr. Kiiru warns, patients must present themselves to their clinics for a check-up, and possible induction of labour. The risks to the baby at this stage are high. Because they are stressed, they may move about in such a manner as they might entangle themselves with the umbilical cord. They may also lose or gain weight, none of which are good signs for a healthy delivery. Mothers also suffer as their anxiety levels remain high and the physical trauma of induction is considerable. The cost of having a baby after the EDD it is also much higher than that of a normal delivery, given that treatments for induction and the Caesarean operation are much more expensive.

Dr. Kiiru is a gynaecologist/obstetrician

END:PG15/15