Statistically, are More First Babies Born Before or After Their Due Date?

by Anne
(Salt Lake City, Utah USA)

I would like to know if, statistically speaking, more FIRST babies are born before or after their due date.

Answer:

Hi Anne,

Statistically first babies are usually late! They tend to come after their due date - even up to two weeks and some comfortable babies go even longer.

This is changing a bit because doctors do many, many more inductions now than they did in the past, and many will even induce a few days before the due date. But generally most first babies come a little bit late.

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Statistically, are More First Babies Born Before or After Their Due Date?

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Mar 24, 2010
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11 days
by: Clarissa

In Florida birth dates v. due dates that were adjusted for inductions and elective/planned cesareans showed that on average, first babies were born 11 days after their due dates if labor was allowed to start spontaneously.

Also, active labor for first babies typically lasts between 6-13 hours. This is what I was told by a midwife with a referencing study (although, I don't know which one) and she did note that all babies born via induction and elective cesarean were removed from the statistical pool.

Babies born via cesarean that took place on an emergency basis were counted in the 11 day post due date stats.

If the stats are adjusted and all managed labor (any interventions: pitocin, epidural, c-section, etc. even if labor spontaneously started) are removed then on average first babies are born 14 days past due date.

These stats are only in Florida and were from the year 2006. So, pitocin and epidural may get your baby born 3 days earlier even if you spontaneously start labor, but its likely your risk of c-section skyrockets from .1% in non-managed labors to 30% in managed labors.

So those 3 days may be the difference between vaginal birth and "emergency" c-section. Personally, my first born was 1 day before her due date and my active labor lasted 6 hours. Some hospitals in Fl have cesarean rates as high as 60-80% of all live births.

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