Someone I knew in HS is pregnant with her 2nd child, DD today. Saw on her wall that if “nothing’s going on” she’ll be induced tomorrow. Made me think,“Damn she’s impatient!” 
So, is 1 day late really that late?
I was induced a month early due to complications. Baby was perfectly healthy, induction was a breeze, and the side effects of the complications went away within moments of birth.
My friend’s daughter was 2 weeks late, never induced… (Kept getting put off.) Then finally went into a 48 hour labor that led to a c section… 10 pound baby that was too big for mama to have who has to have physical therapy because she has a muscular problem due to being cramped in a tiny womb.
One day seems a bit early to me. I was induced about 10 days after my due date. Personally I didn’t want to be induced since I went without an epidural. But it won’t hurt to get induced early. One thing to remember is that due dates are not an exact science. I wouldn’t judge anyone for wanting the kid out, but it’s not a choice I would personally make.
Yeah, I meant to phrase that EDD. I don’t judge either, and her daughter was on the big side.
Just checked, her daughter was 8-13.
I wasn’t induced, but I would have been if my son hadn’t finally decided to be delivered ten days after his due date. With one day, I can’t see what the huge rush is…let the kid finish cooking!
It might not be her choice. There could be a medical reason. I had a check-up the day after my due date, and the OB said the fluid around the baby was reduced, this could be dangerous for her, and if I didn’t go into labour by the next day he was going to induce me. I did NOT want that. I had a long talk with the kid about the need to GET OUT NOW and went into labour that night.
As I said, her 1st was 8-13, and my friend isn’t especially big.
Doctors don’t usually induce on the whim of the patient. There’s generally a legitimate medical reason. It doesn’t always, or even usually, have anything to do with the size of the mother or the size of the baby.
Plus, why on earth do you care? You’re sounding a bit judgmental about the medical decisions of someone you knew in high school.
I’m not trying to sound that way! :rolleyes: This is just something I noticed when I checked her wall. To me, it was a good example of a MP thing, that’s all. YMMV.
Do you know she’s only 1 day overdue? Could be two weeks and this was the last day she felt it was safe to wait. I was induced twice right at 40 weeks due to complications at the end of each of my pregnancies.
She mentioned on her Wall last week that yesterday was her EDD.
I’ve had two inductions due to high blood pressure. With the second one, my doctor would have induced me around my due date had I not made it plain that I preferred to try to control the blood pressure with medication and wait for natural labour.
Your OP does seem judgemental. Aside from the high BP, I was miserable for the last five weeks of this pregnancy just because the final stages are hugely uncomfortable. Heartburn, which caused a hacking cough and frequent vomiting and made it difficult to eat, pain in my hip joints and pelvis, mild contractions continuously from 37 weeks, sleep disturbance, exhaustion, needing to pee every ten minutes, simply being so enormous makes doing anything difficult… And all the while I had a 3 year old to look after too. I did wonder if I was crazy to turn down an induction when it was first suggested.
Sorry I’m coming off judgmental. I only started this thread because 1 day late seemed like not *that *late.
1 day late is 281 days of the joys and delights of pregnancy.
Not an expect, but having been along for the ride for a few births recently. . .
Normally, one day in and of itself is not generally considered to be a reason, but I know plenty of mothers who were induced before the EDD because of other reasons. Our first was induced really early.
More intervention sooner (induction and Cesarean) is a trend which is increasingly happening in the States and many other countries, so the threshold for taking action can, perhaps, be lower than what it used to be.
The trend seems to be driven by the medical field and not the patients, though.
I told everyone my due date was the last day they’d let me go. That way there was a lot less “I thought you were supposed to have that baby already.” Which, I figured with foresight, nine months in would want me to remove someone’s spine through the top of their head. And I figured I’d be late - babies are always late, right? (When they aren’t very early).
As I ended up with pre-eclampsia, they were likely to induce early.
Lucky me, I went two weeks early with no induction. On a Monday. My OB appointment was on a Wednesday and the OB said he had intended to tell me to pack and be induced on Thursday because my blood pressure was getting troublesome.
So for people who were paying close attention, but whom I didn’t bore with the real details of my pregnancy (i.e. you weren’t my mother, husband or sister), I delivered a month early - and would have been induced three weeks early.
I would have had the same reaction. Those of us who have never been pregnant tend to not really know how it all works. I have known a few women go really early and a few who have gone really late - with no intervention… I know one who had a planned cesarean, scheduled months ago (she just had the baby a few days ago).
Hearing about planned cesareans and early inductions - with no mention of health risks always seems odd to me. But, it’s not my uterus.
I don’t think you came off as judgmental. To me, you just sounded perplexed at the whole thing.
The GQ answer to the question in your OP is: no, it’s not that late. 40 weeks from the last menstrual period (or, more precisely, 266 days) is the average length of gestation, with a two week window on either side considered full term and on time.
So some doctors consider a baby “mature” at 38 weeks and will induce any time after that for personal, convenience or preference reasons, but I’m not so sure. I think there’s been a huge increase in asthma since that because commonplace, and I truly wonder if there is a link there. “Mature” and “optimally developed to breathe air” may not be the same thing. (Note: this is my hypothesis, I don’t know if it’s anyone else’s or if their is research to support or eliminate it.)
Unless I was given a sound medical reason, I would not allow an induction before 280 days, or 42 weeks.
Two children; two inductions. The first was due to pre-eclampsia and my boy was little, but he was born only a week before due date.
Daughter was induced because I just couldn’t manage to stay in labor after my water broke and we went to the hospital. My plan was to wait at least 24 hours before getting the pit, but after 14 hours of stopping and starting, I was frustrated, tired, and ready to have baby OUT!
A small part of me feels a little bit inadequate that I couldn’t have my own babies without help, but at least I can reassure myself that I didn’t have any painkillers or anesthesia with either.