Is it such a big deal?

[wasswifey]

I am 41w5d and my midwives today said that they recommend being induced at 42w which would mean tomorrow night!!! :. I am fine, I feel healthy and relaxed and the babys heartbeat is fine and moves a lot. Im not having any contractions and they said that I am about 1cm and that the placenta is grade 3 (when I asked what it normally would be at this stage she said 2 or 3). So everything is fine and they try to push inducing! I hate it, Im not doing it! I can understand if I was like 4w late or something but goshhhhh Why cant they just let the baby come when hes ready!???

P.S. Should I be nervous?

[littleteapot]

As far as I know, midwives aren't allowed to attend a birth over 43 weeks. But just because you aren't "progressed" at 41 5d doesn't mean you won't have given birth at 43w. I mean, that's quite a while from now even though it may not seem like it.
IMHO, put your foot down and say you're not willing to be induced unless they can find a damn good reason. Ask them to re-examine your dates to see if they could have been off by a couple of days. Many midwives take this as a cue to "look" for "evidence" that you could go a little bit longer (reading between the lines: fudge your numbers).

[RoadWorkAhead]

It also depends on where you are, but our midwife has to transfer at 42w by state regs. or you have to go for an unassisted birth. They may be basing it on something like that.

[Mrs_Hos]

my first question would be HOW sure are you/they on your dates...
U/S isn't always a good indicator either since 1 a human directs the machine and 2. some babies are just 'bigger/smaller' at different stages...

[wasswifey]

Well, I am 42w1d today, he sure is taking his time.. Im getting much more anxious now. I told them I dont want induction and so far they are just monitoring me (heart/contractions) every three days and I have to to another sonogram on mon (I did one last monday!) I have no idea if I calculated right and they havent said anything about my calculation. At what point would it be getting more dangerous for the baby not to come out?

[urmysunshyn]

I am 41 weeks today.

ALso, I've been hearing stories from people who have gone 6 weeks over their due date. One was from a college professor of mine who gave birth in 1970!

I agree that as long as baby is moving and has a good heart rate, why not wait it out? They know when they're ready I suppose.

[Sanguine]

sounds like you are monitoring the situation carefully... I would definitely talk to your midwives about your dates. I was really sure, so it was easier (though still hard) for me to decide it was time to induce. But if you don't know--I'd say that's a conversation you need to have, and soon.

If you & your mws decide at some point that it is time to induce, make sure you know what your options are. I pushed to try cervidil (prostaglandin gel) on its own--which my mw was willing to do--and that was all I needed to get into 'real' early labor. I was only at 1.5 cm, but was well effaced. Cervidil was no big deal for me--I went into the hospital, they put in a suppository & I had to be monitored for a little while at first to make sure Teddy wasn't getting stressed by it (he wasn't)...then I sacked out. it went in at 9 pm, & by 2:30 am I was in labor.

Good luck & remember to keep asking the questions even if they don't get answered right away. Whatever you decide, you need to have full information about your options & what factors are involved in your mws reccomendations.