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Day 284 · 4 days past your due date

The methods

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 7 sources · Plain-text version

Four days past your due date. The ways labor can be induced, as MedlinePlus lists them, and one question to ask about each before you need to.

Size this week
about the size of a pumpkin
Length this week
around 51.2 cm from head to heel
A red-haired woman with a full bump in a loose grey t-shirt dress, cross-legged on a bed with a notepad, her partner beside her reading over her shoulder, warm evening lamplight.

Four days past your due date. Induction may not be on the table yet, but it's easier to learn the words on a quiet evening than in a busy room. Today you read the list once, together.

Your baby

A single orange pumpkin on a plain pale wooden table, soft window light.

Your baby is around 51.2cm long from head to heel, about the size of a pumpkin (NHS). The NICHD explains why the weeks after 39 matter: if there's no medical reason to deliver earlier, it is best to deliver at or after 39 weeks, so the lungs, brain, and liver can fully develop (NICHD). Your baby has had that time.

Your body

MedlinePlus says that between 41 and 42 weeks, your provider will likely want to induce labor (MedlinePlus). It lists the methods: oxytocin through an IV, vaginal suppositories to ripen the cervix, rupturing the membranes, a catheter placed in the cervix, or a combination of these (MedlinePlus). Which, and in what order, is your provider's call with you.

Your waters can also start things. The NHS says to call your midwife or doctor if you think your waters have broken, because induction may be needed to reduce the risk of infection (NHS). It may be a trickle rather than a gush (NHS).

Try today

  1. The induction methods read

    Time: 15 minutes

    1. Read the MedlinePlus list aloud together: IV oxytocin, vaginal suppositories, rupturing the membranes, a cervical catheter, or a combination (MedlinePlus).

    2. Under each, write one question you'd want answered. "How long does it usually take?" and "Can I move around?" are good starts.

    3. Add one more for the end: "If you suggest induction, which day, and why that day?"

    4. Keep the page with your notes and take it to your next visit.

    Make it work:

    If a question feels too small to ask, write it anyway. Small questions are the ones you'll wonder about at 3 a.m.

Watch for

  • Normal

    no sign of your waters yet.

    Call your provider

    if you think they've broken, even as a trickle (NHS). Note the time, the color, and any smell; the Office on Women's Health says to tell your doctor, since infection risk rises if labor is delayed after the waters break (OWH).

  • Normal

    feeling warm and heavy in late pregnancy.

    Call your provider

    as soon as you can for fever or chills (OWH).

  • Normal

    aches low in the belly that come and go.

    Call your provider

    now for severe belly pain that doesn't go away; the CDC lists it as an urgent warning sign (CDC).

For you

You can take part in the decision. Asking for a moment to think, or asking the same question twice, is fair; MedlinePlus says to contact your provider for any reason if you are unsure what to do (MedlinePlus). That holds in the room, too.

If you're the partner: you're the second set of ears. While she listens, you write down what was said, and you ask the question she meant to ask before you both leave.

And if labor starts on its own tonight, none of this list is wasted. When your baby arrives, the notes carry on at your first month, starting with their first day.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

Get each day’s note the morning it applies

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