42 week pregnancy - advice!

gwinnie

Might be a bit late now to find a practitioner, but a friend of a friend had a special reflexology session. It seemed to do the trick!

Spendless

inkie wrote:

With regard to working out the due date, you take the first day of the last period and add 9 months and 7 days (based on a 28 day cycle) - this is called Naegele's Rule. This will give you the expected date of delivery eg 1st day of LMP 3 March - based on a 28 day cycle the baby will be due 10th Dec. . However, most people I would say are given a date based on a 28 day cycle regardless of the length of their actual cycle.

That's the way my dates were worked out regualr 28 day cycle in those days, but the scans dated me 10 days after this . DS born 2 days before scan date, DD on scan due date.

I though I had read that labour was more dificult after 42 weeks, though I can't be sure what reason they gave.

gingerdad

Both my daughters were born over two weeks later one was induced the other wasn't. We tried to leave it as long as possible. but eldest wasn't for comming out then she did have the cord wraper around her neck. good luck

GD

honeychunky

This an interesting discussion! The whole issue of cycles and due dates can be quite confusing. I had 32 day cycle when I became pregnant with my first child and although I was given a due date based on the ''normal'' 28 day cycle/40 week pregnancy, my doctor told me that I could expect to be overdue by a couple of weeks and would probably have to be induced. Baby arrived 2 days before his due date, completely spontaniously!!! :T After this my cycle changed to 28 days and when I became pregnant with baby no.2, again I was given a due date based on the 28 day cycle/40 week pregnancy. Baby no.2 arrived 5 weeks early, completely spontaniouly and despite being premature, had the appearance of being full term because she was 7lb6oz!!! :T Then that started a debate as to weather or not my dates were correct, which I'm 100% sure they were, and both scans confirmed this! So I can only conclude that every as woman is different and every pregnancy is different, there are no hard and fast rules, only guidelines, regrdless of what the experts might say. As long as you and your baby are healthy, I say stick to your guns and have the birth you want, after all your the one that has got to go through it and should be completely happy and comfortable with everything!

Perhaps you should try strolling along the beach collecting seashells, this is what I was doing an hour before baby no.2 arrived!!!!!!

Good luck !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:j

Katyag

I was induced with DS and altho it took a while to get started once i was it went perfectly, it wouldnt bother me to be induced again. Id go for that over a section anytime!

Good luck to you with your home birth, if i ever have any more babies i want a home birth too, esp in water!!

jlj_2

Sperm contains prostoglandin so you could try having intercourse as the combination of this and the pushing against the cervix can start labour. Also eating a curry and going for a longish walk can bring things on. I trained as a midwife and put these theories into action twice and labour started within 12 hours. I too had 2 home deliveries and both were overdue one by 1 week and 1 by almost 2 weeks and too didn't want to go into hospital/be induced. I don't know if I would have gone into labour naturally without trying these methods but thought it wouldn't hurt to try. Both my boys were big, 9lbs and 10lb 10oz and all went well. If at any stage you feel "not right" or don't feel the baby move for a good while, i'd go and get checked out. Anyway, good luck, I really hope it all goes well for you and the baby.

Katyag

I also remember reading somewhere that the prostoglandins in sperm were more likely to trigger labour if taken orally than thru sex! :rolleyes:

Not sure if thats really true tho!

jenniferpa

I hestitate to post this - this is NOT medical advice, but I can only speak for my experience but... when I was (supposedly) 42 weeks pregnant with my second child and I'd had false labour pains for a week, and it was hot, and I was as big as a house (you get the picture) I took castor oil. Thats was at 4 in the afternoon, and he was born at 12.21 am the next day. I'm not advocating it, because as it's a laxative so you'll get cramping (but at that point they gave you a laxative when you went to the hospital anyway if your bowel was full), and although I don't know if that was the reason, there was only 2 hours and 20 minutes between my water breaking and giving birth. Although this was my second child, this was my first labour (DD was breech, so I had a c section), if that's relevant.

Jennifer

jasmine

I was induced at 11 days over and have vowed never to do it again !! The first pessary didn't work so they did it again. I thought I was in labour as the pain was horrendous. When they checked I'd hardly dilated and the pain was a 'false' contaction pain brought on by the 2nd pessary ...eventually they broke my waters to speed things up; lost the baby's heartbeat , meconium in the waters etc and they rushed me for an emergency caesarean.. wish I'd stayed at home and had a curry ! ps DS1 was fine just being a boy :rolleyes:

jlj_2

jenniferpa wrote:

I hestitate to post this - this is NOT medical advice, but I can only speak for my experience but... when I was (supposedly) 42 weeks pregnant with my second child and I'd had false labour pains for a week, and it was hot, and I was as big as a house (you get the picture) I took castor oil. Thats was at 4 in the afternoon, and he was born at 12.21 am the next day. I'm not advocating it, because as it's a laxative so you'll get cramping (but at that point they gave you a laxative when you went to the hospital anyway if your bowel was full), and although I don't know if that was the reason, there was only 2 hours and 20 minutes between my water breaking and giving birth. Although this was my second child, this was my first labour (DD was breech, so I had a c section), if that's relevant.

Jennifer

I think that caster oil acts the same as the curry, can act as a laxative and give cramps. (I couldn't face the caster oil, which is why I went for the curry!!)
Also, I should have said what you did, my way of doing things wasn't meant as medical advice either - sorry everyone.