What is full term pregnancy ?

41st week of amenorrhea, and baby is still not here... In medical terms, we are talking about overdue pregnancy. This happens in 3% of cases. It is difficult to calculate the exact date of the due date . Pregnancy does not have a fixed duration, but an average statistical duration of 266 to 273 days from conception, and 280 to 287 days from the date of the last period. Doctors consider that the duration of a normal pregnancy is therefore 40 completed weeks of amenorrhea (or 40 WA). Overdue pregnancy begins from the 41st week of amenorrhea .

Exceeding the full term pregnancy can pose delicate problems. The placenta , a real factory of exchanges between mother and child, provides the foetus with the food and especially the oxygen essential to it until term pregnancy. Beyond that, this organ begins to age and functions less well. The foetus's contributions become insufficient. There is a risk of foetal distress.

Going past the due date involves increased medical monitoring at the end of the pregnancy: the obstetrician-gynecologist or midwife will examine us every two days, or even every day, to make sure that our baby and we are doing well. It is not a pleasant time: we are eager to meet our baby, and we have to go to the hospital every day, without knowing exactly when the delivery will finally take place.

Cool... we are patient. Going past the due date is not that rare, especially if it is a first pregnancy . And don't stress: in truth, the situation only becomes worrying if the pregnancy continues beyond 42 weeks of amenorrhea.

On a practical level, the midwife will examine the cervix , take the  blood pressure and measure the uterine height with a seamstress's tape to assess the volume of the fetus. Following this examination, we will have to do monitoring. This is a kind of belt placed on our stomach, connected to a machine that records the heart rate variations of the fetus as well as our contractions . Fetal monitoring allows us to check the baby's good health. This examination lasts a good half hour. If there is nothing to report, we will go home. Doctors generally prefer that the pregnancy continues for a few days, while waiting for labor to start spontaneously.

In case of doubt, the doctor can also do additional tests. Ultrasound can show a decrease in the volume of amniotic fluid, which indicates the beginning of fetal hypoxia (lack of oxygen). An  amnioscopy sometimes completes this monitoring: a transparent plastic tube is introduced into the orifice of the cervix in contact with the amniotic membranes (water bag), in order to observe the color of the amniotic fluid . If it is clear, everything is fine. If not, the fetus is suffering. Direction the delivery.

The doctor may decide to induce labor : if the fetus has still not expressed its desire to come out at the end of the 41st week, or if the amnioscopy indicates that the child is suffering. Rest assured, late babies are generally in good health . They just have peeling skin and long nails!

If you have not yet given birth during the 41st week of amenorrhea, your doctor will probably suggest setting a date to induce labor . This is often enough for labor to begin spontaneously the day before, or in the hours preceding this date. For others, labor will be induced using medication.

If the cervix is ​​favorable, that is, short, flexible and centered, the mother is placed under an oxytocin drip , a hormone that causes contractions within the next 30 minutes . An epidural anesthesia is generally given to facilitate the progress of labor and relieve the mother of contractions , which are particularly intense with these medications. If the cervix is ​​not ready for delivery, it must first be ripened using prostaglandin ovules or gels placed locally. Only then does the midwife start the oxytocin drip.

We can ask ourselves the question: do we want to keep our baby warm a little longer, or are we afraid of suffering during childbirth? We don't hesitate to talk about it with our partner and the midwife who is following us. We can also talk to our baby. He plays an active part in his birth. So, we put our hands on our belly, we caress him and we talk to him: " It's time, my darling, everyone is waiting for you, we can't wait to meet you, you'll see all the things we'll be able to do together!  ". We walk, we do the housework, we carry our shopping, we play on all fours with our children, anything goes! And if our partner wants to make love, we don't deprive ourselves of this moment of happiness: it seems that this can speed up the start of labor - it's the famous "Italian induction!" 

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine have defined the final weeks of pregnancy as follows:

In order to be more precise, your healthcare provider may sometimes divide these weeks into days, as in 38 and 6/7, for example, which means 38 weeks and 6 days pregnant.