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A healthy full term baby can come anywhere from 38 to 42 weeks after your last menstrual period. The 40 weeks is an estimation of time it takes to grow a baby. It used to be that naturally about 4 percent of babies actually came on their due date. This four week "window" is considered normal and most women will deliver somewhere within this time span. The estimated due date calculation is set up for a woman with a 28 day menstrual cycle. If your menstrual cycle is usually longer (i.e. 32 days), you may have a longer pregnancy. If your menstrual cycle is shorter (i.e. 24 days), you may have a shorter pregnancy and still be considered "full term".
In this day of "managed hospital birth", most babies come within a few days or on their due dates because of the high rate of drug induction and cesarean deliveries. For homebirth babies, we usually do not consider induction necessary (using herbal or other holistic methods) until the woman has passed her "official" estimated due date and is requesting information about it. These natural means of initiating labor do not work unless the woman is "ripe and ready" to go into labor. However, we really prefer to allow the baby to "choose his/her own time" to be born and keep the process as natural and non-interventive as possible. As long as the mother and the baby are doing well, there is no need to rush the birth process. Babies will be born when they are ready to be born.
It has been shown that the baby is actually the one that initiates the labor process. It has been suggested that the baby may initiate labor when s/he is "hungry" and the placental support that has been in place is not providing enough of what he or she needs, nutritionally, any longer. The baby releases the hormones into the mother's blood stream, which then travels to the mothers adrenal system and triggers her to release the oxytocin hormones needed to stimulate and start labor and keep it going.
Another factor that may influence when you may deliver is the moon's gravitational pull. As a midwife, I tend to watch the calendar for the full moon and new moon phases. The gravitational pull of the moon acts the same on the fluid in the amniotic bag as it does on the oceans. I have seen that most women will give birth 3 days prior to the full or new moon and up to about 3 days afterward. Many times if the woman does not go into active labor during one phase, she may wait for the next moon phase. Hospital nurseries are frequently much more busy during the full moon than other moon phases.
The biggest thing is, patience. I know it is difficult as the end of pregnancy approaches, but it is important that the baby has whatever time it needs to prepare for the birth process (such as the lungs maturing and extra "baby weight" being added during the last month of pregnancy). Hang in there, you will not be pregnant forever, seriously. Don't rush the process. Your baby will arrive when he or she is ready to be born. Happy Birth Day!
MoonDragon's Pregnancy Information Index
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