Four Things You Need to Know about Postterm Pregnancy Risks

While pregnancy is commonly known to last up to nine months, you may have noticed that
doctors track pregnancy by weeks and days. A mother’s due date is calculated as forty
weeks from the last menstrual period. A normal or “term” pregnancy lasts from thirty-seven
to forty-two weeks. However, only one in twenty women gives birth on her due date. Some of
them go beyond the normal duration, which is referred to as postterm pregnancy.
As much as possible, health-care providers guide pregnant women to deliver their babies at
the expected period, and this is because a pregnancy that goes beyond forty-two weeks is
associated with a number of health risks that affect both the mother and the unborn child.
Risk for Infection
Meconium aspiration is a common risk that many postterm fetuses face. This happens when
an infant ingests amniotic fluid with meconium, or newborn feces, during delivery. This is
extremely dangerous for the fetus, which not only puts the baby’s lungs at risk for infection
and inflammation but also may lead to oxygen deprivation.
For the mother, meconium aspiration may put her at risk for critical medical issues such as
bacterial infections, postpartum hemorrhaging, and perineum injuries. This condition may
also prompt doctors to perform an emergency C-section to lower the risks and to deliver the
baby safely.
Insufficient Nutrients for the Fetus
The placenta can only do so much throughout pregnancy. Typically, after thirty-seven weeks’
gestation, the placenta reaches its maximum size, and then its functions tend to reduce
afterward. The longer the fetus stays in the uterus without proper oxygen and nutrition, all of
which are delivered by the placenta, the higher its risk for a myriad of health problems.
Aside from oxygen deprivation, a postterm baby may acquire the risk for cerebral palsy and
other learning disorders.
Larger Fetal Body Size
Since postterm fetuses stay in the uterus way past their due date, they may more likely
continue to grow, increasing their risk of developing fetal macrosomia, a condition wherein
an infant has a larger body size upon birth, weighing more than 8 pounds and 13 ounces or
about 4,500 grams. For the child, macrosomia may increase the risk for developing serious
medical conditions in the future, such as childhood diabetes, metabolic syndrome, or
obesity.
Since the fetus measures larger than normal, this may put the mother at risk for problems
such as uterine rupture, genital lacerations, or excessive bleeding after giving birth.
Management of Postterm Pregnancy
While going past your due date can lead to a wide range of complications, it’s not too late to
start managing your pregnancy correctly and to help you give birth to a healthy baby.
To strictly monitor your pregnancy and your baby’s condition, your health-care provider may
perform maternal and fetal testing. These tests will greatly help in detecting potential
problems and in preventing or treating them as much as possible.
Common monitoring tests that you may undergo are fetal movement counting, which keeps
track of fetal movements or “kicks” and identifies if the fetus is under stress; nonstress
testing, which measures the fetal heart rate and determines signs of fetal well-being; and a
biophysical profile, which is a nonstress test combined with the use of an ultrasound
transducer to check on the fetal condition.
Depending on the results of these tests, your doctor may suggest having your labor induced
or require a cesarean delivery. Whatever the case may be, your safety, as well as your
baby’s, is the utmost priority. And while you can’t predict exactly when you will give birth, it’s
always best to maintain a healthy pregnancy to keep the risks and complications at bay.
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