What to do if the second child is beyond the due date

In our lives, many people will look at their due date when giving birth, and some parents will even choose a good day before or after the due date for the child to be born. However, some people will find that they have not given birth by the due date when they are pregnant with their second child, and there are not even some obvious changes in their stomachs. In fact, don't worry at this time. So what should I do if the second child exceeds the due date?

1. Don’t be too nervous and pay attention to fetal movements. If the fetal movement is less than 3 times per hour or less than 20 times within 12 hours, or the fetal movement weakens, you need to go to the hospital for further examination immediately. The doctor will decide the time of delivery based on the situation.

2. Continue with prenatal checkups and give the doctor the results of early pregnancy examinations (such as B-ultrasound, blood tests, pregnancy tests, etc.) and the time and results of fetal movement, so that the doctor can check the gestational age again.

3. Strengthen prenatal examinations, shorten the intervals between examinations, keep in touch with the doctor at any time, inform him of the intrauterine fetal movement, and follow up the amniotic fluid volume with B-ultrasound. If there are no abnormalities, the pregnancy can be continued under close monitoring.

If the due date is postponed to 14 days later, reaching the so-called clinically overdue pregnancy, the placenta of some pregnant women will age and the fetus will suffer from lack of oxygen and suffocation, which will cause great harm to the child. You should go to the hospital in time to take measures.

Reasons for not giving birth on the due date

The doctor said that the due date is only the date the mother is expected to give birth, not the exact date of delivery. It is normal to give birth within two weeks before or after the due date. Despite this, there are still many women who want to know the reason why they do not give birth on the due date. Let’s listen to the doctor’s analysis.

The cause of overdue pregnancy is still unclear, but doctors have summarized several possible causes of overdue pregnancy.

1. Low estrogen levels Although the mechanism of labor is very complex, the level of estrogen in the blood is closely related to labor. Post-term pregnancy may be related to low blood estrogen levels. However, in a large number of post-term pregnancies, there is no direct evidence that estrogen levels are lower than in normal pregnancies.

2. Placental sulfatase deficiency Placental sulfatase deficiency is a rare sex-linked recessive genetic disease, which was reported by Ryan in 1980. Although the fetal adrenal glands of patients with this disease produce sufficient 16α-OH-DHEAS, due to the lack of placental sulfatase, this weakly active dehydroepiandrosterone cannot be converted into estradiol and estriol, resulting in a protracted pregnancy.

3. Cephalopelvic disproportion In post-term pregnancy, some fetuses are larger, the fetal head takes a long time to enter the pelvis, and the cervix does not receive proper stimulation, which delays the start of labor. This is the more common reason.

4. Genetics: A small number of women have longer gestation periods, and several pregnancies may be post-term. This is sometimes seen in a family, indicating that this tendency may be related to genetics.

How to induce labor after due date

A pregnancy that reaches or exceeds 42 weeks (i.e. 2 weeks beyond the due date) is called a post-term pregnancy. Overdue pregnancy will cause the placenta to age, which will significantly reduce the blood flow in the intervillous space and form infarction, which will further reduce blood flow, reduce the oxygen and nutrients supplied to the fetus, and stop the fetus from continuing to grow. In this case, induction of labor is necessary to ensure the health and safety of the fetus.