40 Weeks Pregnant: Pregnancy Labor

You are 40 weeks pregnant and you’re done! Or are you? Only 5% of mommies actually deliver on their due dates. Some go early. Most others... keep... waiting... Only if you go longer than 42 weeks will you be considered truly “post-term.” If you’re still making that brave trip into the office each day, congratulations: you are a masochist. Maybe you’re just putting in some days here and there or working from home – maybe you’re already on leave and loving it. If you already have one or more children, there is no such thing as leave.

When all that waiting comes to its conclusion you’ll know it. All those times you thought you were in labor, eating ice cream on the couch and rubbing your belly as you grimaced through your Braxton Hicks contractions, will be but a distant memory. The real thing is pretty much unmistakeable. First, it doesn’t go away. Second, it just doesn’t go away. When those early contractions begin, try to keep active during waking hours. Sleep as much as possible while you still can. Early labor (when you can usually still go about most of your daily activities) can last several hours and first-time moms experience an average of 8 hours of active pregnancy labor (which begins once your cervix has dilated 3-4 centimeters and contractions are usually coming just a few minutes apart). If you’ve given birth before, active labor lasts an average of 5 hours. Continue to eat and drink plenty of water in those early hours of labor, because you are about to perform the biggest physical task you will ever be faced with. And once the birth is actually over, breastfeeding is a fair bit of work too. But you’ll never again work for such an amazing reward.

That baby you’re waiting for is probably going to arrive looking like some alien-human hybrid. Her skull will be temporarily misshapen from her passage through the birth canal. She will likely have traces of vernix on her skin and she will, of course, come out a little purplish and covered in blood. She may even have patches of dry skin or scratches from little fingernails that have already grown a bit too long. She’s the most beautiful alien you’ve ever seen! Congratulations, mommy!