Every time I see this commercial, I smile, tell my ovaries to stop twitching, and then I think about how badly I'd like to have a full term baby. By "full term," I don't mean 37 weeks... I mean 39 weeks. 40 weeks. Even 41!
Personally, I think the March of Dimes new "39 Weeks" campaign is brilliant!
Right after Emmett was born, when he wasn't strong enough to eat, regulate his own body temperature, or do anything other than sleep, I wished like anything that he could've just been born five weeks later. Five weeks! That might not seem like much, but a lot happens in those last five weeks. My lactation consultant was always telling me, "you have to remember, he was five weeks early. Wait until he reaches his due date. He will be a completely different baby." She couldn't have been more right. Emmett didn't successfully breastfeed until over a week after my due date.
Right after Emmett was born, when he wasn't strong enough to eat, regulate his own body temperature, or do anything other than sleep, I wished like anything that he could've just been born five weeks later. Five weeks! That might not seem like much, but a lot happens in those last five weeks. My lactation consultant was always telling me, "you have to remember, he was five weeks early. Wait until he reaches his due date. He will be a completely different baby." She couldn't have been more right. Emmett didn't successfully breastfeed until over a week after my due date.
The sad truth is that the next baby will likely be even more premature than my first two babies. My doctor maintains that our best bet next time would be to try the progesterone shots so that I'd have a better chance of having a full term baby. We shall see. We aren't planning on having our third for awhile, anyways.
I see so many women at 36 weeks doing all kinds of crazy things to try to jump-start their labor, all because they have been told that "37 weeks is full term." Little do they know, a lot of development occurs in those last few weeks! There are so many women who would literally give anything to be able to have a normal, healthy, 40 week pregnancy. Including myself.
So don't rush it! I know you're uncomfortable and huge... but a healthy baby is worth the wait. Besides, you will miss your pregnant belly. Trust me!
If you haven't read 40 Reasons to go 40 Weeks, please do! :) And enjoy every moment of that precious pregnancy. I sure do miss it!
this was so true of me! i wasn't trying to jumpstart labor early, but i was dilated to 4.5 cms at 37 weeks which i assumed was full-term and that i'd be having my baby girl then. thankfully my hospital educated me and said if i had my baby at 37 weeks she would be in the NICU 1-2 weeks even though she'd "technically" be full-term. both my kids were born at 39 weeks + 1 day and arrived on their on, and i'm very blessed for that! i think it's a great campaign to start :)
ReplyDeleteTotally love this and oh so true!
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this! As a doula, I try to tell mamas that a due date IS NOT AN EXPIRATION DATE! As a preemie mama, I will fight tooth and nail to get mamas to wait 40 weeks. I would have been so happy and thankful to have all the "late" baby problems!
ReplyDeleteI'm 35 weeks now-and I want to keep my little one in there as long as possible (despite my groaning at night when I struggle to roll over). :) Although another 5-7 weeks seems a long time away, but I also don't feel ready at this moment either.
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