Overdue Pregnancy

An overdue pregnancy often refers to a condition where a woman has well passed her due date of delivery. The due date is a well calculated date that guesses the most probable date of the delivery. But a delivery two weeks prior or later than the expected due date is considered a normal occurrence. If you have well passed two weeks of your expected due date then your pregnancy can safely be termed as an overdue pregnancy. 

If you wish to wait for your labour to start on its own well past your due date, your doctor might ask for a close monitoring of your health and that of foetal well being. If labour doesn't start on its own, an option for inducing might be put forward. Particularly if the pregnancy continues beyond two weeks with no labour pains or contractions set in. An overdue baby has a lot of health hazards to encounter. As the pregnancy passes its due date the amniotic fluid around the baby begins to decrease, aging of the placenta might also make it difficult for the baby to thrive beyond your due date. Also the baby might just increase in size which might complicate vaginal delivery. An overdue baby is also more likely to inhale fecal waste (meconium), which can cause breathing problems or an infection after birth.

In an overdue pregnancy inducing of labour becomes necessary. Although its not always that labour might not start on its own. If necessary, you might also be given medication to kick-start your contractions. Remember even though you might want labour to set in naturally an overdue pregnancy increases chances of foetal distress and can lead to an emergency c-section. Talk to your doctor and draft a plan that helps both you and your baby to proceed safely into labour and postpartum.