I am particularly bothered by a few things with due dates. The first being non-medically necessary inductions. Doctors go off of a due date when they plan inductions or allow pregnant moms to schedule them. I don't agree with scheduled inductions unless medically necessary, but that is a whole separate topic. If a doctor is off on the due date by a couple weeks (which does happen) and the mother is induced early, she could be delivering a baby who is not yet ready to be out of the womb. Then comes an increased risk for health problems for the baby, and possibly some NICU time.
My other issue with due dates is that women get anxious as their due date approaches and often times frustrated when it passes. This, again can prompt doctors or mothers to induce labor, which is often not the best for mom or baby. I know so many women who get close to their due date and almost seem panicked that the baby isn't there yet. Then you see the women trying all kinds of crazy things (that are sometimes dangerous) to get that baby to come out. I never understood that....a woman's body and her baby almost always know the right time to deliver and none of those crazy things will make the body or the baby ready. I think the anxiety of the mother waiting for her baby to come and the stress of the baby not coming when she is "supposed to" is not healthy for mother or her baby.
Expectation based on a due date can lead to dangerous intervention or disappointment and frustration of the mother. This doesn't apply to all women in all cases, but it seems to be a growing trend.
Great post. My EDDs made me crazy and w/DD #2 I was anxious leading up to it and depressed just after. Then there are all the phone calls leading up to, day of and after to top off all the emotions and frustrations. I see the value in a knowing a timeframe (measurements, development etc) but there are plenty of side effects to that magic date that you're given at the 1st doctor visit. Great insights.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post! When an induction is necessary, it's necessary. It doesn't matter when a child is due. An OB should know what's best for mother and child. I know of several women whose doctors chose to induce - either for convenience or discomfort. Four of the five received cesareans after hours of drugs and labor.
ReplyDeleteI have 3 daughters and can agree, the due date is an approximation at best. It is nice to have so you can plan on (most likely) a couple week before or a couple weeks after, but especially for first time mommas, they rarely deliver on or before their due date. Ultimately, the due date should be a tool for...get ready...get set...but has little to do with "go."
ReplyDeleteIt is always refreshing to hear moms who don't just drink the kool-aid when it comes to medical recommendations and delivery. Our bodies are made to do this and, in general, it is a fairly uncomplicated process.
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I often have to restrain myself from jumping on the whole due date thing. Let's start with this: where did the EDD (estimated Due Date) come from? Modern health professionals still use Naegele's Rule to get an EDD. In the 18th century, a botanist did some research and came up with the EDD: the 40 week gestation period comes from evidence from the Bible that human gestation lasts 10 months, approx 40 weeks (OB Franz Naegele publicized this method of calculation in 1812, thus Naegele's Rule). Strictly speaking, a lunar month is actually 29.53 days, which makes 10 lunar months roughly 295 days, a full 15 days longer than the 280 days gestation we've been lead to believe is average.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology does not suggest intervening in a healthy pregnancy until 42 weeks have been completed, and if left alone, 50-80% of moms will gestate beyond 40 weeks.
The EDD is meant to be just that: an ESTIMATED due date, with healthy moms delivering anywhere from 2 weeks prior to 2 weeks after that date.The prevalence of this due date misunderstanding has led thousands of women to think they are "late" when in fact their bodies are simply doing exactly what they were made to do. Increasingly, mothers are looking out for their own convenience rather than the health of their baby by scheduling a time to deliver that works for them. But babies don't work that way, and more often than not those inductions end in complications and an unnecessarily negative birth experience... which those moms go on to share with newly expecting moms who haven't taken the time to educate themselves on what is healthy and normal.
I could go on and on about this but I'll stop.
By the way, my EDD is January 12, so when people ask when I'm due, I just say "January," too. :)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you Rachel. The whole idea of due date needs to be recognized more as an estimation and not as an expiration date.
ReplyDeleteHeidi, I will definitely check out your online store.
You ladies all have great points.