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40 weeks pregnant!

Me, 40 weeks pregnant:

… and here’s Andrew at 40 weeks pregnant:

So yesterday was my due date. And still no baby. I’m going to try not to stress about it. In fact, I did a little research and found that there isn’t much to worry about. First time moms (medical term: primiparas) who are white and healthy, on average, have a gestation of 288 days, not 280 (40 weeks) as most believe. Here’s a quote from this site:

What is the “normal gestational term” for humans?

Naegele’s Rule: The standard definition for gestational term is 266 days from conception to the date of the baby’s birth. This is also defined as 280 days, or 40 weeks, from the first day of the mother’s last menstrual period, a definition which assumes that the mother ovulates on day 14 of a 28 day menstrual cycle. The formula used to calculate due date is:

(LMP + 7 days) – 3 months = Due Date

This definition is based on observations, first reported by Franz Naegele in 1812, who believed that pregnancy lasted ten lunar months from the last menstrual period. It was not based on empirical data.

Mittendorf’s Observations of Gestational Term. In the 1980’s, Mittendorf noticed that birth dates for women in his practice, primarily second-generation Irish-Americans, averaged seven days past their “due dates”. He reviewed his records, then went on to review records of 17,000 births, and determined the average healthy, white, private-care, primiparous woman averaged 288 days from LMP to birth: 8 days longer than Naegele’s rule. Mittendorf and other researchers have further determined several factors that affect gestational term, including ethnicity, parity, nutrition, substance use, mother’s age, and mother’s size. Based on Mittendorf’s data, a more appropriate formula might be:

(LMP – 3 months) + 15* Days = Due Date

* Add 10, rather than 15, if mother is non-white, or multiparous

The good news is I THINK I’m making progress toward delivering this baby. I’ve had weird cramps for the last 2 weeks, and they’ve become a daily occurrence. The doctor confirmed that they must be Braxton Hicks, and everything I’ve read about what they feel like seems to confirm it as well. It’s like a weird charlie-horse/funny bone feeling deep and low in my abdomen - practically in my groin. My stomach appears to harden with each cramp, too. It’s only mildly painful - maybe a 1.5 on a scale of 1 - 10.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 1st, 2007 at 6:00 pm and is filed under baby. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

6 Responses to “40 weeks pregnant!”

  1. I love the picture of your husband–too funny! Yes, try not to agree to an induction. I went to the hospital when I went into labor w/ my son, and after awhile, they wanted to speed things up with Pitocin, which ended up leading to an Epidural, then an episiotomy. Labor with Pitocin is so much harder than letting your body go naturally. I hope we both go into labor this weekend. I’m so ready! I’ll keep checking your blog for updates. Karli
    P.S. Your 40 week pregnancy photos is great! You’re all baby!

    2. Karli on December 1st, 2007 at 8:21 pm

  2. I agree that the Pitocin was hard… I needed it because I was 100% effaced and the baby was zero station, but I was only 4 cm dilated and wasn’t making any progress in that area. They said it was pitocin and an epidural or a c-section. Hm.

    I’ll tell you what, though, as someone who was dead against having an epidural: it really wasn’t that bad.

    I think it is pretty normal to go past your due date. Most of my friends were a week or more overdue. Just hang in there!

    3. Larkness Monster on December 1st, 2007 at 8:28 pm

  3. Karli - Pitocin definitely scares me. I keep reading all these birth stories on babycenter.com about people being induced and it seems that so many of them end up as c-sections.

    Amy - glad to hear the epidural was OK with you. To be honest, I’ve been planning on it all along - I don’t think I have what it takes to do it naturally. I have a hard time with the simple cervix checks - sometimes I wish I could have an epidural for those!

    4. Jennyology on December 1st, 2007 at 9:19 pm

  4. Hi Jenny -

    I found your website a while ago through ApartmentTherapy or some site like that and remembered we had similar due dates. My “official” due date was Nov. 25 and I’m still waiting around for this baby. Anyway, it’s comforting to know you’re waiting, too. You seem to have a great attitude….I’m trying REALLY hard not to cave in and be induced, I really want to try and let my body do it’s thing, but these are the LONGEST days of my life! Hang in there, sister.

    5. chelsea on December 2nd, 2007 at 9:43 pm

  5. Hi Chelsea,

    Yeah, this waiting is crazy. This pregnancy has been so easy for me up to this point. But now the weight (literally) is really getting to me. I’m not sure my skin can hold up to much more stretching! I’d love to know when you finally have your baby - come back & visit or e-mail me (jen @ this domain)!

    Jennifer

    6. Jennyology on December 3rd, 2007 at 9:42 am

  6. Hi - I suppose you have your baby now and am sure you are really busy. I think there is only one kind of woman more beautiful than a new mother and that is a pregnant woman. I do hope you can understand that. I don’t think it’s weird at all. If you decide to get pregnant again I hope you will recognize how lovely you look when you have a big belly and just enjoy it. I think you look beautiful in that pregnant pic and I hope your husband appreciates how lovely you look when you are pregnant and I hope you will have another child before long. Best wishes to you all
    Pete

    7. aronpete on May 25th, 2008 at 11:26 pm

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