Here at cocobabybox.com we’ve been exploring the ins and outs of the mysterious 40 week milestone.

There is so much emphasis around this magic number, D-Day or due date. As a parent to be, there are so many questions surrounding this magical date… Should my baby be born on this date or by this date? What does it mean if my baby does not arrive by this date?
There is so much pressure and expectation to parents anxiously anticipating their baby’s arrival and the birth.

40-weeks itself is a date which was coined as a rough average, around which time a woman is expected to give birth. Now the focus here is the word ‘around.’ A full-term pregnancy is between 37-42 weeks. So, an ‘overdue’ or ‘post dates’ pregnancy, is a date which is after 42-weeks. Many women give birth after 40-weeks.

The question is, how accurate are these dates? A scan must give a correct due date right?
Not exactly. The most accurate time for a scan to estimate your D-Day is between 10-14 weeks, and even then, it is only accurate to within a week of the actual date. Estimating D-Day outside of this four-week window is not particularly reliable. If a woman has been having regular periods or is confident of the date of conception, then this can sometimes give a more accurate date than a scan.

There are lots of important changes happening within the body during these final few weeks and days. Your body, baby and placenta are all working together to prepare for birth. Each person can experience this process differently and we should avoid the temptation to compare. Birth will happen when your body and baby are ready.

So, our advice to parents preparing to meet their baby? Consider pregnancy as 42 weeks and enjoy the final weeks of your pregnancy with love, comfort and relaxation.