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Day 287 · 7 days past your due date

Forty-one weeks

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 6 sources · Plain-text version

A week past your due date: 41 weeks, which the NICHD calls late term. Your baby is ready, and this week's plan is worth hearing in your provider's words.

Size this week
around 3 to 4 kg
Weight this week
around 3 to 4 kg
A woman in her forties with a full bump in a loose sweater, walking slowly arm in arm with her partner along a leafy path, both in coats, overcast soft light.

Seven days past your due date: 41 weeks exactly. A week ago this was a date on a calendar. Now it's a week of your life, and this one comes with a plan.

Your baby

The NHS stops measuring length here and gives a weight instead: the average baby is now around 3 to 4kg, and the fast period of growth has ended (NHS). Its comparison is a small pumpkin or a watermelon (NHS). In the page's words, "Your baby should be chubby enough and mature enough to survive outside the uterus (womb) without any assistance" (NHS).

The NICHD has a name for this week: 41 weeks through 41 weeks 6 days is "late term" (NICHD).

Your body

Going past 41 weeks slightly increases some risks, the NHS says, including the chance of a caesarean birth and of the baby needing care in a neonatal unit (NHS). The word is "slightly," and it is why the care changes now. At 41 weeks your provider will typically run a nonstress test and a biophysical profile, and between 41 and 42 weeks they will likely want to induce labor (MedlinePlus).

Your body may feel much as it has: the NHS lists painless Braxton Hicks contractions around the bump this week (NHS).

Try today

  1. The forty-one-weeks conversation

    Time: 15 minutes, at this week's appointment

    1. Ask one open question: "What's the plan for this week?" Write the answer in your provider's own words.

    2. Ask which checks you'll have and when; at 41 weeks it's typically a nonstress test and a biophysical profile (MedlinePlus).

    3. Ask whether they would suggest an induction, and on which day.

    4. Read what you wrote back to them before you leave, so you both agree on it.

    Make it work:

    If you can't get an appointment this week, call and ask for one. Forty-one weeks is a reason.

Watch for

  • Normal

    a mild headache that eases with rest and water.

    Call your provider

    now for a headache that won't go away or gets worse, or for changes in your vision (CDC).

  • Normal

    itchy skin as it stretches.

    Call your provider

    straight away for severe itching at night or pain below the ribs; the NHS lists both as signs to call about (NHS).

  • Normal

    feeling flat, restless, or fed up this week.

    Call your provider

    if low mood or worry doesn't lift; the CDC says to seek treatment as soon as possible if you think you have depression (CDC).

For you

The NHS's to-do list for this week includes looking after your emotional wellbeing (NHS). That can be as plain as getting outside once a day, eating a proper meal, and telling one person how you actually feel.

If things get dark rather than dull, there are people awake at every hour: call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or call or text 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262), the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline (CDC).

If your baby arrives this week, their notes start at your first month, from the 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

Add your due date to a free Chorevia household, and every morning until the birth the day's note arrives in the app and by email: what's forming, what your body is doing, one thing to try, what to watch for, and a word for you.

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