For those that went OVERDUE with their FIRST baby.....

[Shanti]

I'm interested in hearing from those who went overdue with their FIRST babies.

How far overdue did you go? And how far overdue did you go to avoid induction?? And if you reached the stage where you needed medical induction... what happened and how did it go for you??

Just interested. I'm only 6 days overdue at the moment () and hoping I can make it through the week and go into labour naturally before a medical induction is necessary I REALLY want to avoid induction.

And yes, I've been doing all the 'natural' ways to induce labour but so far no good..... and suffering pregnancy rash so very uncomfortable which is making me want my baby out even sooner than normal! I know babies come when they are ready.

Tia

[~clover~]

I went 8 days over with DD1.
Spent a full day shopping & went out for tea with family & things started that night.
No medical intervention needed.

Good luck! Hope it happens soon!

[mrsmac]

My 1st baby wasn't late but she was induced on her DD cause my BP went very high and I started losing weight. I ended up with an episiotomy but only had peth and gas for pain so no epidural. She was forceps too.
Looking back (it was 17 yrs ago) I didn't know anything and spent the whole labour on my back in the bed so I was damn lucky it wasn't a c/s in the end.

[{sarah}]

Eight days over here as well, I went into labour at six days over, about an hour after I had my appointment to book the induction in!

[Ryatha]

Hey Renstar, sorry to hear that bubs hasn't made an appearance yet.

I was 5 days over due when the ob did an internal and I was already in prelabour and 2 cm dilated. I was really surprised that my body was already getting organised and I had no idea. things went downhill for me after that but I think had I relaxed and kept doing the 'natural' induction methods things probably would have been better.

Good luck, oh and one of my friends said she sat in one of those massage chairs for 10-20 mins with both her babies and went into active labour about 4 hours later, she doesn't know if that is what got them started but it is a bit of a coincidence...

[westy]

Hi Ren,

I went 16 days overdue with my first baby and to be perfectly honest i didn't do anything at all to try and bring my labour on, i was sooo over it but i decided that he was obviously very comfy in there and he would eventually come out when he was ready.

It was looking as though i would have to have a c/section as he was breech but luckily for me he turned at 37 weeks and that's exactly where he stayed for another 5 weeks.

I really hope your baby decide's to come and meet his Mummy and Daddy before any induction is required but if not i wish you all the very best. Hope to see your announcement soon x

[thepixie]

Ren, I went 11 days over with my DD. Was booked for an induction at 40w+10d, but because of the way they handled it (my OB, or mainly his secretary ), I panicked and didn't go. I had acupuncture in those last few days in the hope I could prepare my body for labour, expecting that I would have to be induced, but at least if my body was ready I could avoid a c-section. I went into labour during the small hours of the day after I was supposed to be induced. Once I got to hospital, I had ARM and synto drip because ctx had slowed/stopped. Had a normal delivery with just gas, no tears or stitches. I'd recommend acupuncture. If you're in Sydney PM me and I will send you the details of my acupuncturist. She was very good. I was booked for 3 sessions and went into labour after the 2nd.

[2CheekyMonkeys]

i was induced at 10 days past due date. my cervix was nowhere near ripe so they inserted the gel (which i had a reaction to), which led to what they call prostin pains.. pains that dont really do much in the way of opening the cervix, then s&s the next day, then waters broken, after about 4 hours of labouring i had an epidural (which was recommended to me cause my body was bearing down already at only a few cm dilated). ended up with vaccum extraction and internal tears. all in all not the most ideal experience but i wasnt overly tramuatised by it overall.

btw- when she came out they said we must have had dates wrong and they estimated her at only being about 39weeks gestation. well no wonder my cervix wasnt ready at all!

[Lulu]

Can you try to avoid focussing on THE date at all? You might not even be over right now, just right on track?

Well thats what I did anyway, refused to be hooked into the DD thing, even told myself they would come around xxx WEEK, instead of day. hth

[AnyDream]

Great advice, as always, Lulu!!

Well I went to 42.5 weeks before I could no longer avoid an induction. The drs stressed to me the higher risks of intervention after a certain point overdue so I took the induction after dancing around it for a few days (it was long and hard, and as i later discovered, horribly mismanaged). BUT this scenario's pretty rare. There's a thread around here somewhere which asks when did people give birth in relation to their due date. There's a graph that I found that shows a huge spike in birth numbers around the 41 week mark. So it sounds normaller to go over than to go early, esp in first births.

Good luck, I wish you every blessing in your powerful birth journey!

[skybie]

I was 9 days over with DD1 they said that they werent ovely worried because the blood flow to my placenta was still really good, or something like that anyways!!
went into early labour at about 2am and she was born 23 hours later at 1242am, early labour is now a dirty word in our house, we went to the hospital about 3 times only to be sent home because ? was only in early labour still'. so frustrating!!
Good luck hun! hopefully you and baby_blip have ur lil bundles in the next few days

[Crystalwings]

Like thepixie I would definatly recommend acupuncture. I wasn't overdue but by the end of the 38th week bub was engaged and I had acupuncture twice. After the second treatment I went into labour that night. It can also help to relax and open the pelvis, this part didn't work for me but for induction, definatly.

[Toomanytoomany]

Because a normal pregnancy is at term anywhere between thirty eight and forty two weeks, you might not even be "overdue"! There's a lot of fixation by the medical profession on the "due date" (which is really an estimated due date) so it's understandable that we internalise that. Your baby might not be late at all but right on track for where your baby needs to be.

I went two weeks over, not with my first, but with my second. The reason for that was that her presentation was not good - she was breech, then transverse. So her head was not putting good pressure on my cervix and helping it ripen. I ended up being induced, it was gentle, and wonderful. How is your baby presenting? I believe you posted that it had dropped or were feeling that it might be engaged.

At forty one weeks you might ask for a stretch and sweep, which is a relatively low risk but often very effective way of getting things moving, and at the very least getting your cervix more favourable. You can also ask for monitoring to make sure your baby and your placenta are doing well. If all is well, baby is happy, and you can tolerate the itch (have you tried hydrocortisone cream?) then you should be able to delay a doctor's imposed limit with no medical indication.

All the best - you are a very stoic lady and I've been following your posts, not in a stalkerish way wishing you all the best!

[Yael]

I have gone 12 days over with both my children... I had an induction with my first, and went naturally (avoiding my induction book for 2 days later), with my second.

Clearly my body just needs to cook my babies a bit longer. Next time i am adding 12 days to my EDD before i even consider myself due.

It is very stressful and anxious to be overdue (trust me, 12 x 2 taught me that), but do try to enjoy the last special days you have together. Unfortunatly you don't see a trend for a least a few babies in terms of how long your pregnancies are. but just look at this experience as a knew way about learning about how your body works.

Good luck!

[~clover~]

Can you try to avoid focussing on THE date at all? You might not even be over right now, just right on track?

Well thats what I did anyway, refused to be hooked into the DD thing, even told myself they would come around xxx WEEK, instead of day. hth

Thats a good Idea. DD2 was due May 29, but coz I was overdue with DD1 I figured I would be with DD2 as well, so I told everyone that's my due date, but I'm expecting a June baby.
June 5 she came along!

[suse]

I was 11 days over when labour started spontaneously. I had been booked for induction 10 days over, but had negotiated an extension after monitoring that day showed that all was progressing fine, at which point the induction was rescheduled for 12 days post dates pending further monitoring. Wasn't needed in the end.

I had had acupuncture at 9 days over, then DTD 10 days over, and was due for more acupuncture the day I went into labour, which also wasn't needed.

Good luck - it will happen soon - no two ways about that!

[MantaRay]

DS1 was too days overdue (based on my dates, but once he was born his skin was very dry and his nails long, so more than likely it was actually a bit more than that). I had no signs of pre-labour so when labour started it was very unexpected (and for the first 2 hours I thought I just had a tummy bug LOL!).

DS2 was 3 1/2 weeks early so having one late doesn't mean subsequent babies will be.

[christy]

DD1 was induced at 16 days post EDD.... She was born 17 days post EDD. I was booked in at 14 days post EDD, becuase I had avoided induction but she wasn't sitting on my cervix so they wouldn't induce anyway. I went home very confused... they then encouraged me to have a caesarean, which I refused. But a few days later when I went back to be induced, I wound up with a failure to progress. Matilda didn't look overcooked at all.


DD2 was born at 13 days post EDD. I went into my room just at the time my appointment was with an OB who was going to "encourage" me to have an induction.