QuestionDear Nurse Suzette,
Help-- my doctor wants to induce on the due date, and I am a minimal intervention, no drugs, natural childbirth type. This is my 3rd child. I found out a week ago, and now have one week left. Are due dates by ultrasound that accurate? Is the risk of stress on the baby due to post-term placental aging increased by age of the mother? I expected to be at this point with the doctor, based on previous experience, two weeks after the due date, not two weeks before. Can my doctor drop me as a patient if I refuse? The hospital staff seems fairly amenable to natural childbirth, and one can request nurses who are experienced with it. I have one appt. left before my due date. Any advice on communicating with the doctor?
AnswerUltrasounds done later in your pregnancy are not as accurate as early ones. Usually there is a variance 1-2 wks plus or minus.
I don't think your doctor will drop you for wanting to wait another week or so. I don't think you should go past 41 or 42 wks though. The blood flow to the baby decreases with an aged placenta. The baby is more likely to have problems once you go past your due date. These include: meconium stained fluid, a bigger baby which may increase your risk of having a shoulder dystocia (where the shoulder gets stuck coming out), or the head growing too big to even fit through your pelvis. As long as you know these risks, your doctor shouldn't drop you. He or she will want to do non-stress tests on the baby pretty frequently, to ensure the health of the baby.
The aging of the placenta has no studies that I'm aware of that correlates with the age of the mother. There is a new study that says that women tend to have more problems in their 3rd trimester due to maternal age, but they proven that it is from the placenta and older mom.
Hope this helps!! Good luck!
Suzette
