An overdue or postdate pregnancy is one that is longer than 42 weeks. Most pregnancies are 38-42 weeks long. The cause of overdue pregnancy is unknown but most are believed to be an error in the calculation from the date of the last menstrual period (LMP). Complications may develop from an overdue pregnancy that is not due to miscalculated dates. They include insufficient amniotic fluid (not enough fluid in the bag of waters), meconium (baby’s first stools) in the amniotic fluid, stillbirth or fetal death, high birth weight (greater than 9 lbs. 14 oz.), uterine infection, vaginal and rectal tears (lacerations), and vaginal bleeding. Risk increases in women who have had a previous overdue pregnancy.
What your doctor can do:
Evaluate your condition to ensure you or your baby have not developed any complications. This includes doing a pelvic exam
Perform certain laboratory tests to check for potential problems
Monitor the baby for any distress
Initiate labor for delivery of the baby
What you can do:
Take as good care of yourself as possible
Get plenty of rest
Do see your doctor for your regular prenatal visits. Tell your doctor of any problems that you are experiencing.
Continue to eat well and get plenty of fluids.
What you can expect: The delivery of your baby very soon! It’s almost time, be patient just a bit more.
Contact your doctor if you have any vaginal bleeding, your water breaks (fluid leakages), you have a severe headache that will not go away with acetaminophen (Tylenol), or you have not felt your baby move for more than 2-3 hours.
