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Info Centre - Going past your due date

Most people tend to think of babies as being ‘due’ on a specific date, and of pregnancy as lasting 40 weeks, but exactly what triggers labour is still not known. Only a small percentage of babies – about five per cent – are born on their ‘due’ date.  

Why are some babies ‘late’?

It can be frustrating to sit through your ‘expected day of delivery’ with no baby yet in your arms. Most babies (around 80 per cent) are born at ‘term’ – between 38 and 42 weeks. Babies born before 37 completed weeks are therefore considered to be ‘preterm’, or premature, while those born after 42 weeks are ‘post-term’. In most cases, it isn’t known why babies arrive when they do. However, your baby’s position may affect the start of labour. Also your emotional state influences when your baby is born; if you’re anxious, your body may ‘hang on’ to the baby.

Trying to start labour yourself

If you’re feeling fed up and uncomfortable, and are desperate to meet your baby, or if you want to avoid a medical induction, you might be tempted to try and start labour off yourself. There are many different ways that women have used over the years to do this, including sex, or arousal, and nipple stimulation, drinking castor oil, or eating curry. But there are few, if any, studies of these measures, so effectiveness hasn’t been established. It could be just coincidence that some women will find that they will go into labour after trying one of them. Acupunture, reflexology, homeopathy, herbalism, and aromatherapy all offer methods of encouraging labour to start, but again, research into effectiveness has not been established.

Your body produces labour hormones more readily if you’re relaxed, and one way of helping labour to start might be to try some relaxation exercises, and perhaps to spend time thinking about your baby.  

Sweeping your membranes

If you’ve gone past your due date, your midwife may offer to ‘sweep’ your membranes. This involves her inserting a finger gently into your cervix and running it between the top of the cervix and the bag of waters. This has been shown to increase the likelihood of labour starting in the next few days, and to decrease the need for induction, but it isn’t always effective.

Medical induction (starting labour artificially)

Once you’ve gone a few days past your due date (usually between seven and 14), the issue of starting labour artificially will probably be raised by your carers. If you have had an uncomplicated pregnancy you should be offered induction after 41 weeks. If you decline, then you should be offered extra monitoring – a twice-weekly fetal heart-rate check (known as CTG) and ultrasound examination to check the volume of amniotic fluid.

Induction can be done through use of a prostraglandin pessary or with an oxytocin drip. Prostaglandins should be offered if your membranes are still intact. With the drip, labour is likely to start more abruptly with strong, powerful contractions. Continuous electronic monitoring is usual to ensure that the drug to stimulate the contractions is not putting the baby under stress. You are likely to be less mobile and you won’t be able to use a pool. Because of the strength of contractions, women are more likely to opt for an epidural if their induction of labour is done with an oxytocin drip.

Click here for more information on induction.

Page lasted updated 2007.