A very small number of babies die unexpectedly if they are still in the womb beyond 42 weeks of pregnancy. It is unclear why the risks of a death of the baby rise as the weeks go by. It may have something to do with the placenta not working as well as it did.
And, from weeks 41 to 42, the risk of neonatal deaths climbed 87%. “It is thought that the placental function slows down as pregnancy continues and beyond the due date,” said Shakila Thangaratinam, senior author of the study and a researcher at Queen Mary University of London.
There's a higher risk of stillbirth if you go over 42 weeks pregnant, although most babies remain healthy. At the moment, there's no way to reliably predict which babies are at increased risk of stillbirth, so induction is offered if you do not go into labour by 42 weeks.
In mothers who continued their pregnancy to 41 weeks, there was a 64% increase in the risk of stillbirth compared with those who delivered at 40 weeks, with one additional mother having a stillborn baby for every 1449 women.
At or after 40 weeks, the risk of stillbirth increases, especially for women 35 or older. Their risk, research shows, is doubled from 39 weeks to 40 and is more than six times as high at 42 weeks. In 2019 and 2020, a combined 1,200 stillbirths occurred between 40 and 42 weeks, according to the most recent CDC data.
A stillbirth is the death of a fetus in the uterus after week 20 of pregnancy. The reasons go unexplained for 1 in 3 cases. The rest may be caused by problems with the placenta or umbilical cord, high blood pressure, infections, birth defects, or lifestyle choices.
Stillbirth is the death of a baby before or during delivery. Warning signs may include bleeding or spotting. When the baby is in the womb, doctors use an ultrasound to determine if the heart is beating.
The risk of stillbirth at term increases with gestational age from 2.1 per 10,000 ongoing pregnancies at 37 weeks of gestation up to 10.8 per 10,000 ongoing pregnancies at 42 weeks of gestation.
In Australia, 6 babies are stillborn each day, affecting more than 2,000 Australian families each year. For 1 in 3 stillbirths, the cause is unknown. There is increasing evidence that some stillbirths are preventable.
The dangers of going past your due date
Many will let pregnant women go up to two weeks over. After 42 weeks, however, the baby's health might be at risk. A very small number of babies die unexpectedly if they are still in the womb beyond 42 weeks of pregnancy.
Late-term and postterm pregnancy can raise the risk of some health problems, including: Larger than average birth size (fetal macrosomia). This increases the chance that you may need forceps, a vacuum device or another instrument to assist with the birth. It may raise the risk of requiring a C-section.
In mothers who continued their pregnancy to 41 weeks, there was a 64% increase in the risk of stillbirth compared with those who delivered at 40 weeks, with one additional mother having a stillborn baby for every 1449 women.
The reason why the baby is overdue is usually not known. Sometimes it is because of a genetic predisposition (hereditary). Women who have already had a baby that came much later than their due date are more likely to have an overdue baby in future pregnancies. Being born after the 40th week only rarely harms the child.
Most babies born unexpectedly without a heartbeat can be successfully resuscitated in the delivery room. Of those successfully resuscitated, 48% survive with normal outcome or mild-moderate disability.
Certain health conditions in a pregnant woman can be a factor, but new research came up with a surprising finding: Stillbirth risk appears to be inherited through male members of the family on either side. "Stillbirth is one of those problems that is so tragic and life-changing," said study co-author Dr.
Very active baby before labor
Some women experience their baby moving a lot in the run-up to labor. One theory for this is the increase in Braxton Hicks contractions. As your body prepares for labor and birth, you might start to experience a greater frequency of Braxton Hicks contractions.
Research has shown that in the third trimester (after 28 weeks of pregnancy) going to sleep on your back increases your risk of stillbirth. As the link has now been shown in four separate research trials, our advice is to go to sleep on your side in the third trimester because it is safer for your baby.
A woman experiencing five or more stressful events was nearly 2.5 times more likely to have a stillbirth than a woman who had experienced none.
“Anyone planning to have a baby needs to know that consuming caffeine during pregnancy can raise the risk of stillbirth and other pregnancy complications, so it's important to cut down as much as you can; the national guidelines should be the limit, not the goal, and the more you can cut down beyond that the better.
When pregnancies last for 40 weeks or longer, there is an increase in the risk of stillbirth and neonatal death, a large review of studies has found. The meta-analysis also found that prolonging pregnancy beyond 40 weeks did not reduce the risk for death in the baby's first month of life.
Most overdue pregnancies do just fine, with no complications for moms or their babies. An overdue baby may look a little different, though. Past-due babies can have relatively long and thin arms or legs, dry or peeling skin, and longer hair and nails than younger babies. They're often very alert at birth, too.