Only 4% of babies are born on their due date!
How accurate are due dates? Only 4% of babies are born on their due dates! Find out more…
Why hasn’t my baby arrived on its due date?
Statistically, only 4% of babies are born on their due date and many healthy babies are born after this.
I often discuss the advantage of planning a meal out or date night on a baby’s due date with my expectant couples. There’s a good chance that you might be able to fulfil your plans, but make sure it’s something easy to cancel if needed.
No matter how reasonable and rational you feel about your due date, it’s completely normal to feel a hint of sadness when your baby doesn’t turn up ‘on schedule’. Think about it - you’ve been waiting for this day for 9 months!
Personally I took delight in going to as many different places on my due date as possible. Feeling huge and waddling like a penguin, I was determined to keep as active as possible and get those last minute bits and pieces from the shops.
The lady on the tills at Dunelm Mill told the entire queue that I was due that day, with a hint of panic as if they might need to run and get some towels any minute. And the waiter in the restaurant that evening couldn’t bring the card machine fast enough when I told her that the baby was fully baked.
Comment below - What have you planned for your due date? Or if your baby has already arrived, did you do anything fun on your estimated due date?
What is an APGAR score?
Find out how your baby is assessed by the midwifery team at 1 min post birth and 5 mins post birth. In this short blog, I explore APGAR scores, how they are carried out and what they mean.
What is an APGAR Score?
Once your baby is born, the midwives in charge of your care will assess your baby using a scoring system called APGAR. This routine scoring occurs after 60 seconds and again at 5 minutes post birth.
A baby can score between zero and two for each of five criteria (Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity and Respiration) This is added to give a score out of 10.
A score of seven or above is considered normal, and a score below seven is regarded as low.
From the NHS Maternity Statistics 2018-2019, only 1% of the 485,901 term babies (with an APGAR score recorded) had a score below seven.
Research suggests hypnobirthing has significant impact on post natal wellbeing.
Every day in advent, I’ll be bringing you the latest maternity statistics or interesting facts plus busting some maternity myths! Welcome to the antenatal advent calendar!
Does hypnobirthing work? Is hypnobirthing real?
Yes, it’s my speciality, but I’m proud to say that hypnobirthing can be taught from an evidence based perspective. A three-year NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) funded study into the effectiveness of self-hypnosis during childbirth found that it had a significant impact on the women’s levels of postnatal anxiety and fear about childbirth. There was also a reduction in the number of women taking epidural pain relief whilst using the techniques.
One of the participants, who has since gone onto have another baby and practised self-hypnosis during both pregnancies, commented: “Hypnotherapy is something that I had never considered before. I have an anxious personality and friends had suggested that it might be something that I could try, particularly during labour. The hypnobirthing script provided during the trial was easy to listen to and during the latter stage of my pregnancy I practiced it twice a day. I think that this was the key to it being successful during my labours. I would highly recommend this technique to women as I had big babies and with the help of the hypnobirthing was relaxed and in control. I used gas and air with one labour and nothing with my second.”
Maria Williamson, a Midwife at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust who took part in the study, said: “Women and their families engaged so well with the sessions, you could see their confidence grow. Their ability to remain calm and relaxed enabled them to have a positive birth experience. For me as a midwife, to see a family begin is a privilege but to experience women and their birth companions leaving the sessions not terrified about giving birth, but actually feeling excited about meeting their babies, was truly amazing.”
The only downside to using hypnosis, according to the study, was that maternity staff were less likely to believe a woman was in active labour.
Professor Downe added: “The results suggest that self-hypnosis poses no danger to participants. However, if self-hypnosis is offered to women, maternity care staff will need to be made aware of how relaxed some women can appear when they are using self-hypnosis, even if they are actually in strong labour.”