We're out in Salt Lake City for a few days; I've got a speaking gig at the University of Utah, and there's a confluence of cousins in town at the moment, so the kid's getting some face time, which is always good.
My sister and her husband just had their second kid last week, a boy, congratulations, all doing well, considering he shrieks like a bag of cats on a trampoline.
But when I joked that I hoped the kid arrived on a day other than my lecture, because I didn't want him to steal my thunder, they told me, "No sweat, the doctor scheduled us to induce two days after his due date [Wed.], so we could choose either Friday or Monday." [They chose Friday, he ended up being born Thursday.]
My mom said that in Utah, they don't wait around; if the kids aren't there within two days, they just pop'em out. I guess I can understand if the pace of baby-birthing around here is so frenetic, they have to wring some uncertainty out of the system, but still. I thought the induce if the kid's a week to ten days late standard was, well, a standard. Is this not the case?
My daughter was nine days 'late', but, as we both appeared to be (and were) healthy, nobody seriously considered inducing. Determining conception dates is often more art than science, anyway.
Depending on the circumstances, you might be absolutely certain of the date of conception, but I'm guessing that, more often than not, people can't be that definite.
Is the "standard" a convenience thing, like optional cesareans?
My daughter was 11 days late. I was going to be induced at 13 days. A friend who is a midwife says that babies aren't "late" until they are two weeks post due date. I was given the choice to induce after I passed my due date.
What a bunch of crap. We were induced only because of health concern of mother and child. We didn't want to know which gender our baby was until she came out. I guess we are just old school.
I was induced when the kid was 2 weeks past due. As it turned out, she was covered with vernix so I'd say their due date was a bit off.
With my second, I was induced when he was a week late because they were concerned about his size. They didn't want him getting any bigger, and considering he was just shy of ten pounds, I am thankful! No gestational diabetes, btw, his dad was that big as an infant, too (something to consider asking any guys you're considering having a kid with).