Why Your Due Date Isn’t a Deadline

16 May

🍼 “When’s the baby due?”

It’s one of the first questions everyone asks. And it’s not surprising—it’s exciting! The problem is, once you answer it, the countdown begins.

But here’s the truth most people don’t hear early enough:

🧠 Only 4% of babies are born on their estimated due date (EDD).

The other 96% come before or after—and most arrive sometime between 37 and 42+ weeks.

So why do we still treat your due date like an expiry date?

📆 How Due Dates Are Calculated

Most due dates are calculated using Naegele’s Rule, which assumes:

A 28-day cycle
Ovulation on day 14
280 days from the first day of your last period

But this is wildly inaccurate for many women.

Things like:

Cycle length
Ovulation day
Conception timing
First-trimester growth patterns

…all affect your baby’s true gestation time. And we haven’t even factored in genetics, ethnicity, or number of previous pregnancies (second+ babies often come later!).

So, a “due date” is at best a rough guess.
At worst? It becomes a source of pressure, stress, and unnecessary intervention.

⚖️ What the Evidence Says

Studies have shown:

First-time pregnancies tend to last slightly longer
Women of African or Asian descent often have shorter gestations on average
IVF pregnancies tend to have more variation in gestation length than expected
Babies born between 41+0 and 41+6 have outcomes just as good as those born at 40+0

In other words: your baby isn’t “late” at 40+1. They’re just not ready yet.

💡 The Real Problem With Due Dates

The issue isn’t the date itself—it’s how we treat it.

Women are often:

Offered a membrane sweep at 39–40 weeks
Repeatedly asked “Have you had the baby yet?” after 40 weeks
Booked for an induction at 41+0, even when mum and baby are both well

This pressure can create stress, tension, and self-doubt at a time when your body needs trust, calm, and oxytocin to go into labour naturally.

🌿 What You Can Do Instead

Here’s how to reclaim your space and sanity in late pregnancy:

Tell people a later due date
Add 7–10 days to your actual EDD when friends and family ask.
(“Oh, I’m due mid-July” is better than “I’m due July 8th.”)
Avoid the sweep pressure
If you don’t want a sweep or induction unless clinically necessary, that’s your right.
Ask for full information before agreeing to any intervention.
Think of it as a “due month” or “due window”
37–42 weeks is normal. Plan for that—physically, emotionally, and practically.
Use the time wisely
Rather than anxiously waiting, use late pregnancy to rest, connect with your baby, and build confidence with birth preparation, colostrum harvesting, and perineal massage if you feel ready.

🗣️ One Final Thought

If we treated birth like the physiological process it is—instead of something to be scheduled—we’d see fewer inductions, less trauma, and more trust.

So don’t let a calendar date rob you of the calm, confident final weeks of pregnancy you deserve.

Your baby knows when to be born.
Your body is not on a timer.
And you are not “overdue” just because a computer says so.

Need support navigating those final weeks or feeling confident in your decisions? Inside Every Birth Education, we talk about this and so much more—so you can enter birth empowered, not rushed.

And if you’re nearing the 40-week mark and feeling pressure from family or your care team, feel free to copy and paste this line:

“My baby’s due sometime in the next few weeks—I’ll let you know when they arrive!”

mariah howgill