Antoinette had her most recent visit to the doctor today. As far as the baby and his Mother's health is concerned, everything was outstanding. Antoinette's belly measurement was right on target. The baby's heartbeat was perfect. Antoinette feels great. Her weight is perfect as she has added just a pound in the past two weeks. Even his head is lined up in the perfect position. Then the real shocker. After an internal, it was determined that Antoinette had gone from the 1 cm dilated that she was last week to 0 cm dilated this week. That's right, folks. She appears to have a cervix that has either sealed shut or that wasn't open 1 cm to begin with. There are several explanations for this. One, which is most likely NOT the case, is backward dilation. This process involves the baby pressing less on the cervical opening and therefore causing the cervix to tighten back up. The most likely scenario is that Antoinette simply had a different doctor checking her. It is quite common for one doctor's "1 cm" measurement to be another doctor's "closed" measurement. Since we will be discussing cervical dilation over the next week or two, here is a visual guide for you to follow along. Remember, the cervix is the opening between the uterus (which is where the baby is) and the birth canal.
That being said, without specifically venturing a guess, the doctor seemed to be hinting that it was more likely that she would be giving birth later rather than sooner, which to me seems like 5-7 days is more realistic than 1-3 days. Even so, the doctor also said that this is really anybody's guess. Plenty of women go from 0 cm to 10 cm in 24 hours, although it is not particularly common. The most likely scenario is that he'll be arriving closer to his due date, which is Tuesday, April 14th. The doctor also said that they would allow Antoinette to go a full 10 days past her due date. The previous doctor had said that a week was about as far as they would go. If he goes 10 days past, then the baby is coming no later than 4/24 or 4/25. Basically, we're guaranteed an April baby at this point.
So what is a due date? Well, a due date is actually a day which is centered on a full four week window of time when a baby is likely to come. It should more accurately be described as a due month than a due date. The window is two weeks before and two weeks after the actual "due date", which means weeks 38-42. Since Antoinette is just 39.5 weeks, she realistically has plenty of time in her natural window. A full 1/3 of pregnancies venture past the due date and on average, first time Mothers, in one survey, averaged 8 days past their due date, which would put us at 4/22.
There are two major issues with induction of labor after a due date has been passed. The first is the possibility that a baby is outgrowing his placenta. While a baby continues to grow at 1/3 to 1/2 a pound a week, the placenta will eventually achieve a maximum size. If the doctor feels that the baby may be approaching this equilibrium point, they could recommend that a new Mom be induced. The second issue with induction of labor is that many new Mom's request induction when the due date has passed, with the reason being nothing more than nervous anticipation. The result is that labor begins, but in many cases, the cervix does not properly open since you are bypassing the natural labor process. This results in an increase in Cesarean Sections for this reason.
All of this being said, we are getting way ahead of ourselves. In a quick survey of stories on the Internet, there are plenty of women who go from 0 to 10 cm in hours or days. At this point, we are preparing to sit and wait this guy out. Since this could go another full two weeks and we feel adequately prepared for his arrival, its time to just enjoy the quiet and the last few full nights of sleep we are likely to get for the next 3-4 months.
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