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Will the Baby Come On Time?

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The first thing you get told when your gyno confirms your pregnancy is a due date. And most happy moms are dutifully repeating that date to all they ask! And just how reliable is that "due date" and how likely is that your baby will actually come on time? We've already discussed that obstetricians like to think in pregnancy weeks, and not really days at all. Human pregnancies typically last 280 days or 9 and 1/3 months. But many human pregnancies are delivered after that time, yet we still use the 280 days. For those that bet, ultrasound dates a few days later than the last period due date, so some say if you are a betting woman use 283 days. If we know very precisely when conception was, for instance and IVF pregnancy, then we can add on those 280 days and it's a very reliable prediction. And we then term that due date your EDC or EDD, estimated dates of confinement (old school term) or estimated date of delivery (sounds much better!). But studies done in the early 1900s based on menstrual dates said that really only 1/20 births occur on the due date. And more recent studies have only improved just a bit on that prediction. 10% are actually born premature, and over half are delivered in their due week. Quickening is the date the mom feels movement, and prior to ultrasounds, in cases of unknown menstrual dates, that was the date the due day was reckoned from. And new moms feel that about 20 weeks in, experienced moms quicken about 4 weeks earlier at 16 weeks.  Once you get closer to that assigned day there are signs that the day is near or slightly farther, like the opening of your cervix or any contractions you are feeling. It's always just a bit of a mystery as to whether the baby will come on time, and most of us moms sort of enjoy that thrill of the unknown. For those who want a natural nudge, it's always been said that eggplant, balsamic vinegar, and anything spicy are the foods that trigger labor, although there has never been any scientific proof for that.For the newest research on the due date ACOG has just released the newest guidelines for establishing that due date.
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