What to Do When You're 40 Weeks Pregnant With No Sign of Labor

Being 40 weeks pregnant with no signs of labor can be stressful—but try not to worry. We turned to experts to learn more about how to cope.

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When you're pregnant and waiting for your baby to join the world, those last few weeks can feel like they drag on forever. And if you're 40 or more weeks pregnant, the waiting game can feel exponentially challenging. But what should you do when you're overdue, contractions have yet to start, and there's no sign of labor?

We turned to experts to learn more about due dates, things you can do to coax labor along, and when you should consider calling a health care provider for help.

Remember That Due Dates Are Just an Estimate

Bear in mind that it's impossible to predict the exact day a baby will be born, just as it's hard to pinpoint the exact age of a fetus. Due dates ultimately are just an estimate.

"No one should feel nervous or anxious if they're still pregnant past their due date," says Alex C. Vidaeff, MD, MPH, an OB-GYN and maternal-fetal medicine researcher and practitioner at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.

Doctors and midwives use several methods to calculate their best estimate of a due date, including:

  • Menstruation: The most common method of estimation is based on the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP).
  • Conception: This estimation is based on the time your baby was likely conceived. You might also the embryo transfer date if doing IVF.
  • Fundal height: A clinical examination of the uterus can help estimate the age of the fetus.
  • Ultrasound: During early pregnancy, your doctor can estimate fetal age based on an ultrasound. This method is not as effective in later trimesters.

Even so, the reality is that 80% of babies arrive between 38 and 42 weeks of pregnancy, so your due date window is much bigger than you might think. "You might really be 39 weeks when you think you're at 40," says Dr. Vidaeff, adding that pregnancy length is, in many cases, genetically determined.

You can also use our due date calculator to determine when your baby might arrive.

Risks of Going Past Your Due Date

Fewer than one in 10 babies are officially overdue, which means that the baby is born after 42 weeks of pregnancy. However, delivery after 40 weeks may come with certain risks, and it's important to be mindful of them.

OB-GYNs and health care providers are aware of these potential outcomes, and they can advise you accordingly if your due date has come and gone. "We now change our clinical practices at 40 weeks to prevent potential complications," explains Carri R. Warshak, MD, an OB-GYN and professor in the department of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Cincinnati.

While they're rare, complications associated with being overdue include:

  • Reduced placenta function: The placenta's ability to provide the baby with adequate oxygen and nutrients may be compromised.
  • Decreased amniotic fluid levels: The volume of essential amniotic fluid may decline as the baby grows, which increases the possibility of a pinched umbilical cord.
  • Fetal distress: The risk of fetal distress increases.
  • Fetal macrosomia: The baby could grow too large to pass safely through the birth canal.

I'm 40 Weeks Pregnant and Overdue—What Happens Next?

At the 40-week mark, a health care provider will become more vigilant about monitoring the overdue baby. "Expect twice-a-week visits if you go past 40 weeks," says Sheryl A. Ross, MD, an OB-GYN in private practice in Santa Monica, California. Methods that a prenatal health care provider can use to monitor your post-term baby's condition include the following:

Kick count

A "kick count" is a record you keep of how often your baby moves. A health care provider will tell you to contact them immediately should you notice your baby suddenly decreases their movements. This could be a sign of fetal distress, requiring immediate testing to determine your baby's condition and assess whether delivery should be initiated quickly.

Nonstress test

Nonstress tests, a type of electronic fetal monitoring, use a special instrument to measure how your baby's heart reacts when its body moves. With the results, your health care provider can determine if your baby is in distress.

Contraction stress test

When your uterus contracts, this test (which is another form of electronic fetal monitoring) measures your baby's heart rate with a special instrument. It helps determine your baby's condition during labor and allows your doctor to see if there's any fetal distress.

Ultrasound

A physician can determine your baby's size, position, respiratory rate, heartbeat, and body movements with an ultrasound. Ultrasound can also gauge how much amniotic fluid surrounds your baby. Insufficient amniotic fluid for prolonged periods can cause labor complications.

In addition, a health care provider can assess the size and position of the placenta using ultrasound. This information is important because the placenta provides your baby with life-sustaining oxygen. Plus, "if the fetus weighs more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces, you may have difficulty pushing during labor, and using a forceps or vacuum may be necessary for delivery," says Dr. Warshak.

If I'm 40 Weeks Pregnant With No Signs of Labor. Will I Need to Be Induced?

After 39 or 40 weeks, it's sometimes best to deliver sooner rather than later. Studies have shown that newborn admissions to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) increase slightly when a baby is overdue. And stillbirth, though rare, becomes slightly more common as the pregnancy progresses past the due date.

If labor hasn't started spontaneously, you'll probably be induced between 41 to 42 weeks. "If your cervix has started to dilate, odds are in your favor for a successful induction," says Dr. Warshak.

Whether or not you'll be induced depends on your own health, the status of your cervix, and the baby's well-being as determined by a non-invasive procedure called fetal non-stress testing.

The conditions inside your uterus past the due date may also stress the baby during labor and vaginal delivery. As a result, says Dr. Warshak, "Even if your cervix is at 8 centimeters and labor is progressing, we'll do a C-section if the overdue baby is not tolerating labor well."

If I'm 40 Weeks Pregnant With No Signs of Labor, Will I Need a C-Section?

An ongoing concern has been whether induction, as opposed to what's known as expectant management (waiting for labor to start spontaneously while monitoring the parent and baby's well-being), might lead to a higher risk for emergency C-section, and research has been conflicting.

However, a comprehensive study funded by the National Institutes of Health found that inducing labor at week 39 is not connected with higher C-section rates, compared with waiting for labor to begin spontaneously. In fact, researchers found that the rate of surgical intervention was lower in the group that was induced by a rate of 18.6%, compared with 22.2% for the expectant management group.

Things To Do While Waiting for an Overdue Baby

At 40 weeks pregnant with no sign of labor, you're likely tired of the aches and pains of pregnancy, and you're eager to hold your baby in your arms. Here are some things to do while you wait.

Get a massage

Some Eastern healers believe that certain pressure points on the hands and feet may stimulate the body's natural labor process, although Dr. Ross says this hasn't been proven. Even if you can't get your tired body to a prenatal massage therapist, asking your partner to give you a rubdown might help your aching back, not to mention your mood.

Eat spicy food

Sadly, there's no magic meal that's guaranteed to bring on labor. Still, Dr. Ross has had several clients report that things, ahem, got moving after they indulged in a spicy meal.

Spicy foods fall into that "can't hurt, might help" category, and we say that once you're more than 40 weeks pregnant with no signs of labor, go ahead and eat your baby's weight in your favorite spicy food.

Have an orgasm (or two!)

The hormone oxytocin surges when you have an orgasm, which can trigger labor in at-term individuals. So, the more orgasms, the better!

Keep moving

We're not saying that exercising is easy when you're 40 weeks pregnant with a baby overdue, but try to stay active. Although stretching, doing prenatal yoga, or going for a short walk isn't likely to bring on labor, they're all good for you and your baby. (But don't overdo it: If you do go into labor, you don't want to be tuckered out from the get-go!)

Make good use of your time

If your baby is overdue, take advantage of the time to rest, finish the nursery, and stock your freezer with ready-made meals. Also, consider addressing birth announcements and thank-you notes.

Key Takeaway

It can be frustrating or disappointing when your due date comes and goes, and you're still pregnant. But don't worry, you'll be in labor—and your little one will be in your arms—before you know it. In the meantime, enjoy your last days of pregnancy (as best you can) and consult your doctor and/or midwife about any concerning symptoms or questions you have.

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Sources
Parents uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Methods for Estimating the Due Date. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 2017.

  2. Constructing the uncertainty of due datesHealth Communication. 2014.

  3. Pregnancy and Birth: When Your Baby’s Due Date Has Passed. Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG); 2018.

  4. When Pregnancy Goes Past Your Due Date. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Updated 2021.

  5. Sonography Evaluation of Amniotic Fluid. StatPearls [Internet]. Updated 2023.

  6. Stanford Medicine Children's Health. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

  7. Risk of stillbirth and infant death stratified by gestational age. Obstet Gynecol. 2012.

  8. Labor induction doesn’t always reduce caesarean birth risk or improve outcomes for term pregnancies. University of Michigan Medicine. 2023.

  9. Labor Induction versus Expectant Management in Low-Risk Nulliparous Women. N Engl J Med. 2018.

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