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Ask A Midwife

Q. I am 18 years old and I am 5 days past due. My doctor said that I will be induced in 8 days if my labor has not started. However, I am 2 cm dialated and I feel contractions, but they are not painfull, only cramp-like and irregular. Can it be that I can not produce strong enough contractions to give birth? I do not want to be induced or have a ceserean! Help I want to go into labor!

A. There are many things to consider when you are past your due date. How are you and your baby doing?

Are your menstrual cycles normally average (29 days),long or short. If they are longer than 28 days, you might not even be at your due date. How was your due date determined (conception date, last menstrual period, early ultrasound).

Many women have their babies within the week following their EDC, so you are right in that time frame. Your provider sounds like he/she is giving you over a week past your due date, which is about average. Sometimes a provider will recommend a Non Stress Test and Amniotic Fluid Index to see how your baby is doing. If these tests are within normal limits, then you can wait a few days.

At this point don't be concerned you don't have the right amount of hormones. The contractions you are feeling are incoordinate, and not really considered 'labor'. They are very different than the contractions that do initiate labor. with my first son, I was two weeks past the 28 day EDC. Actually, I had longer cycles, so I probably wasn't really that much 'overdue'. But my provider induced me, and I agreed. My second son was 8 days past my due date. I went into spontaneous labor, and it was a much more normal type labor. So, hopefully, you'll go into labor soon !

How are you sleeping at night? That is very important, so that you don't get exhausted.

Discuss with your provider what your options are for 'induction." Some providers start out with pitocin, some just rupture membrances, some use a drug called cytotec or prostiglandins. Sometimes a provider will strip your membrances, and that will help you go into labor. Sometimes your having intercourse with your partner will initiate labor, especially if the bag of waters is still intact. All of these methods have their up and down side, so this needs to be discussed with your provider ahead of time. Do some of your own research before you go in to find out what your provider is thinking of doing to induce your labor. Hopefully this will help. Do some internet searches too, and see what information they bring you.

Pat Sonnenstuhl is a semi-retired nurse midwife with over 30 years of experience in health care (first as an RN, then as an ARNP, CNM). She has experience with hospital nursing/midwifery and home and birth center midwifery.

Two areas of special interest to her are GBS and nutrition.

She is about empowerment, and helping folks find their own answers, what is right for them, not what is right for her. But, she wants you well informed.