The Myth of the “Due Date”: Why Going Past 40 Weeks is Normal (and Safe)
If there is one date that becomes burned into a pregnant person’s brain, it is the “Due Date.”
From the moment you see those two pink lines, the countdown begins. You circle it on the calendar. You tell your family. You plan your maternity leave around it. And then, as the date approaches, the texts start rolling in:
“Is the baby here yet?”
“Have you had that baby?”
“You’re still pregnant?!”
By the time 40 weeks hits, if you are still pregnant, the pressure can feel crushing. In the conventional medical model, this date often acts as an eviction notice. But at the Santa Clarita Birth Center, we view it differently.
As Renee Sicignano, our founder, often reminds us (quoting the famous obstetrician Michel Odent): “Not all the fruit ripens at the same time on the tree.”
Here is the truth about “going post-dates,” why it happens, and how the Santa Clarita Midwives at the SCV Birth Center keep you and your baby safe while we wait for nature to take its course.
The 40-Week Myth: It’s a Window, Not a Deadline
The idea that pregnancy lasts exactly 40 weeks is a statistical average, not a biological rule.
For first-time mothers especially, the statistics tell a different story. Most first-time moms will naturally go 7 to 10 days past their due date. This isn’t “late.” This is normal physiology.
At the Santa Clarita Birth Center, our window for a safe, out-of-hospital birth is between 37 and 42 weeks. That means if you are 41 weeks pregnant, you aren’t “overdue” in our eyes. You are just… pregnant.
We don’t even start raising an eyebrow or talking about induction methods until 41 weeks and 5 days. Until then, as long as you and the baby are healthy, we encourage you to ignore the calendar and trust your body.
Why the Rush? The Pressure Cooker Effect
Most of our clients are pretty chill until that 40-week mark hits. Then, suddenly, the anxiety spikes.
Family members start calling. Friends start offering unsolicited advice about castor oil or spicy food. You might start wondering, “Is my baby getting too big? Is my placenta giving up? Did my body forget how to do this?”
This anxiety is actually counterproductive.
When you are stressed, your body releases cortisol and adrenaline. These are “fight or flight” hormones. Biologically, if your body thinks you are in danger (stressed), it will not go into labor. Adrenaline inhibits oxytocin, the “love hormone” responsible for fueling contractions.
Essentially, the more you stress about not being in labor, the harder it is for your body to start labor.
The “Key in the Lock”: Why Babies Need Time
One of the biggest fears we hear is, “If I wait, the baby will get too big to come out.”
Renee often uses the analogy of a Key in a Lock.
Imagine your pelvis is the lock and the baby is the key. You can try to jam the key in (induce labor), but if the ridges don’t line up perfectly, it won’t turn.
In those final days and weeks of pregnancy, your baby is doing important work. They are squirming, rotating, and tucking their chin to find the Optimal Fetal Positioning. That little head is trying to find the perfect angle to engage with your pelvis.
When the baby finds that sweet spot—click—it triggers the hormonal cascade that starts labor.
If we rush this process with an induction at 41 weeks because we are impatient, we might be forcing a baby down who hasn’t finished rotating. This often leads to the stories you hear: “My doctor wouldn’t let me go past 41 weeks, so they induced me, the baby got stuck/distressed, and I ended up with a C-section.”
Sometimes, babies just need a few more days to get the key in the lock.
(And for the record: Big babies are born at home all the time. Renee’s first baby came at 41+5 and was 7lbs 4oz. Her second came right on the due date and was over 8.5lbs. Your body grows the baby it can birth, especially when you are eating clean protein and staying active, as we emphasize in our prenatal care.)
Safety First: Our In-House “Post-Dates” Protocol
Now, does “trusting birth” mean we just ignore you until the baby falls out? Absolutely not.
We are midwives, which means we are experts in normal birth, but we are also vigilant about safety. We know that the placenta has a lifespan and that risks can increase slightly as we approach 42 weeks.
That is why the Santa Clarita Midwives (including Renee Sicignano, Julia Underwood, and Roam Midwifery’s Jordan McCart and Stephanie Pihlmann) follow a strict testing protocol starting at 41 weeks and 2 days.
If you are still pregnant at this point, we begin Post-Dates Testing:
- Ultrasound: We check the amniotic fluid levels to ensure the “swimming pool” is still full and safe.
- Non-Stress Test (NST): We monitor the baby’s heart rate to check for “variability” (healthy accelerations) and ensure the baby is happy in their environment.
And the best part? We do all of this right here at the Santa Clarita Birth Center.
We know that when you are 41 weeks pregnant, the last thing you want to do is drive across town to a sterile imaging center or a hospital, sit in a waiting room with strangers, and deal with stressful referrals.
At our birth center, you come to the same comfortable, familiar place you have been visiting for months. You see the same friendly faces. We perform the ultrasound and the monitoring in-house, so you stay relaxed, supported, and close to home.
We repeat this testing every 2 to 3 days. As long as the fluid is good, the baby is reactive, and you have no medical indications for induction, we wait. We leave you alone to let your body do its work.
What to Do While You Wait
If you are reading this at 40 weeks and 4 days, feeling huge and emotional, here is our prescription:
Stop trying to evict the baby.
Stop drinking the teas, eating the curries, and curb-walking until your feet fall off. If your adrenaline is high from trying to “force” labor, your oxytocin is low.
Instead:
- Go dark. Turn off your phone notifications. Tell your family, “We will call you when there is news. Please stop asking.”
- Boost Oxytocin. Watch a funny movie. Cuddle with your partner. Get a massage. Eat a meal you love. Laugh.
- Reflect. Remember these last few days, while they feel like years, are a blink in time. You will never, ever have this baby inside your belly again. You will never feel their hiccups from the inside again. It is a portable, quiet, magical time.
- Sleep. Seriously. Once the baby is out, you will wish you could put them back in for just 4 hours so you could take a nap. Enjoy the fact that they are fed, warm, and safe without you doing a thing.
Trust the Process
It is incredibly rare for a pregnancy to actually go past 42 weeks when the due dates are accurate. In our decades of experience serving the Santa Clarita Valley, we can count on one hand the number of women who truly went “overdue” to that extent.
Your baby knows when to come. Your body knows how to birth.
We are on your timeline, not a hospital’s schedule.
We will monitor you right here in our office. We will keep you safe. But mostly, we will remind you to breathe, trust, and wait for your fruit to ripen.
Have questions about your due date or our safety protocols? We are here to chat.
Santa Clarita Birth Center 23548 Lyons Ave suite b, Newhall, CA 91321 (661) 254-3000 Serving families in Santa Clarita, Antelope Valley, Simi Valley, and San Fernando Valley.