You are 42 weeks pregnant

Your baby

Don’t be surprised if your doctor repeats the non-stress test - and perhaps the contraction stress test, as well - this week. It doesn’t mean anything is necessarily wrong or worrisome....Read more

Your body

At the end of this week, your pregnancy will truly be considered overdue - or ‘post-term’. The next time you see your doctor, she may discuss induction with you. What it involves: Your ...Read more

Your life right now

Even though the baby hasn’t arrived yet, you’re probably already mentally fast-forwarding to the moment when you’ll bring her home from the hospital. You’ll be on your own! ...Read more

Mums like me

‘When it comes to your breastfeeding plans, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Although I definitely understand wanting to be successful and wanting to "get it right," if ...Read more

Don’t be surprised if your doctor repeats the non-stress test - and perhaps the contraction stress test, as well - this week. It doesn’t mean anything is necessarily wrong or worrisome. It’s fairly standard practice with babies that are past their due dates. He just needs to make sure that the baby is still happy and healthy inside your belly. As always, tune in to those foetal movements and let your doc know if the kick count you get goes down at all. Most doctors wait until a pregnancy is one to two weeks beyond the due date before considering induction - so your baby’s arrival is imminent! You’ve done an amazing job caring for this amazing new life. It won’t be long until you finally get to enjoy her!

At the end of this week, your pregnancy will truly be considered overdue - or ‘post-term’. The next time you see your doctor, she may discuss induction with you. What it involves: Your doctor may examine your cervix and use what’s called the Bishop score to evaluate how successful inducing you is apt to be. Scoring includes dilation, effacement, station consistency and position of the cervix. If your cervix hasn’t softened, thinned out or dilated enough, she may apply a medication that helps ‘ripen’ (or ready) it. By this point, you’ll probably be in the hospital. Finally, you’ll get an IV dose of Pitocin, which will cause contractions to begin. And boy, will they! Some women describe it as 0-60 labour. Although Pitocin does tend to help speed the whole process along, if induction is unsuccessful, further intervention such as a C-section may be needed. You should know that induction is a fairly common practice, though.

Even though the baby hasn’t arrived yet, you’re probably already mentally fast-forwarding to the moment when you’ll bring her home from the hospital. You’ll be on your own! And if you’re like a lot of new mums, you’re probably both excited to prove your maternal mettle and freaked out about it at the same time. After all, this kid didn’t come with a 146-page owner’s manual, like your flat screen TV did. Those initial few weeks are often a time of trial and error (and yes, everyone makes mistakes) as you figure out how best to dress, bathe and feed your cute new family addition. One thing that will make you feel much more confident and prepared: Make the most of your hospital stay - and all the amazing resources there. Let the lactation consultant talk you through the ins and outs of breastfeeding, pumping and bottle feeding. Let one of the nurses show you how to change a nappy like a pro - and learn all the little baby care tips you can, like how to stave off cradle cap (by regularly brushing even non-existent hair), how to ease a case of wind or how best to bathe him (how about in the kitchen sink!). And ask the doctor to run down the list of ‘when to call me’ signs that you should keep an eye out for. Your time in the hospital is a great opportunity to watch, absorb and learn.

‘When it comes to your breastfeeding plans, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Although I definitely understand wanting to be successful and wanting to "get it right," if you become so stressed or so sleep-deprived that you can't function, supplementing does not make you a failure or a bad mum. I've seen a lot of women get very upset, feeling like they failed because it got harder than they could handle. If you’ve exhausted your resources and it still isn't working, give yourself permission to use other means.’ –brittmomma

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