The 41 Week Myth

So I'd believed in a big myth. First time babies are not on average, born 41 weeks into pregnancy. I got it straight from the doctor's mouth today.

Reality is, once the 37th week is reached, birth can happen at any given time. So where did the 41 week figure come from? Who knows, but my doctor assured me that 41 weeks is the longest he'd let a pregnant woman remain pregnant. He said at that point, the placenta's service as provider for the baby is on it's last legs, amniotic fluid becomes less and less, and the baby runs out of what little precious room it already has! Not an ideal enviornment. Can I just tell you what a relief this information was to me? It was like a light at the end of the tunnel with a finite time frame attached to it! No more than 41 weeks! Another piece of good news, on average, babies are born between 37-39 weeks. Woo hoo!

Additionally, I am seeing my doctor every week now till delivery, which makes me feel good - brings a sense of 'progress' to it all. Today's visit to the OBGYN was no exception as far as progress was concerned.

I get a non-stress test (NST). This involves hooking me up to two kinds of monitors - one to detect contractions and the other detects/records Jack's heart rate. The results are recorded on a graph sheet with peaks and valleys representing variations in Jack's heart rate - accelorations/decelorations. Variations between the two states are what the doctors are looking for...as Martha Stewart would say, "it's a good thing.". The whole test is meant to last 20 minutes but today it took 45 minutes because Jack was moving around so much. We had to re-position the monitor three times. He's always been a busy body. The doctor reviewed the NST results....Jack passed with flying colors! I also had 5 small contractions throughout the test. To me, these felt like mild tightening of my tummy. Not painful at all.

Next was my internal exam. I did not enjoy this last week. It wasn't painful, but more uncomfortable. But today, not only could the doctor feel Jack's head was down, but also discovered I am 1cm dialated, and 30% effaced! Jack's at -3 station. Apparently, this is also a good thing and I'm right on target considering this is my first pregnancy.

My co-workers are now on full 'baby-watch'. Alex is very excited too. He's freaked out, but in a good way. He's also one step closer to Jack with every bit of progress that is made.

Wonder what kind of progress there will be next week? Next appointment includes the last ultrasound of Jack - this should give us a good idea of how big he's grown since four weeks ago! Maybe we'll see hair again....