Due Dates! I'm ignoring mine, should you?

What’s your due date???

Have you heard that question before? From friends, family, and healthcare providers? It’s often the first thing people ask when they find out you’re pregnant, driven by excitement and anticipation for the arrival of a new baby.

Your due date is set at 40 weeks of gestation, typically calculated from your last period but sometimes adjusted based on ultrasound results.

But have you considered that your baby will most likely not be born on their due date? 🙊
In fact, less than 5% of babies are born on their actual due date! With the majority born after 40 weeks.

As you approach the 40-week mark, the “due date” can often become a source of extreme stress for mothers.

💭 Am I ever going to go into labour?
💭 Why isn’t my baby here yet?
💭 Is my baby okay in there?
💭 Will I be offered an induction?
💭 Do I want an induction?
💭 I’m so over this! Can they just hurry up and arrive!

These are all common and valid thoughts in the late stages of pregnancy. So, if you have these thoughts, you’re not alone.

The focus on the "due date" is one of the reasons we feel pressured for our baby to be born exactly at 40 weeks.

Let’s change this!
Let’s take the pressure off the “due date” and focus on a “due window” or a “guess date.”

Because at the end of the day, it’s important to remember your due date is just an estimate.
It’s completely normal for a pregnancy to last between 37-42 weeks, and your baby will arrive whenever they are ready, at some point within this timeframe.

Let’s remove that fixation on the 40-week mark.

It can also be overwhelming to receive all the (hopefully well-meaning) “just checking in” or “is baby here yet?” texts that start coming in as soon as you hit 40 weeks.

It’s entirely up to you whether you tell people your due date or not. Choosing not to focus on or talk about your estimated due date can feel freeing and take some of the pressure off—but everyone feels differently about this.

Will you be sharing your due date with loved ones?

Reply to this email or send me a DM on Instagram to let me know how the concept of the due date makes you feel and if you’ve noticed it impacting you in the later weeks of your pregnancy.

I’m here for you,

Tam xx