In episode 29 of Oh Mama, we’ve officially made it past the 40 weeks pregnant mark! We’re here - actually, we’re four days over, and that’s what I want to talk about in today’s episode.

See, there’s a lot that comes both mentally and physically with hitting the official "40 week" mark. There’s big mindset shifts, there can be a lot of pressure from hospitals to try and “speed things up” and you can be starting to feel a little impatient as you wait for your little one to arrive.

And if you’re feeling any of that - you are totally not alone. I feel like the last few days have been a whirlwind of ups and downs, trying to ‘surrender’ and let go of expectations while also being wildly aware of every labour symptom that I feel might be the start of something. It’s a ride, let me tell you. So I want to share my experience honestly so that if you’re going through it, or getting close to your estimated due date, you hopefully feel a little less alone.

Okay mama, here’s all the things we’re talking about:

• 40 weeks pregnant update
• Why your due date is actually just an estimation
• Mindset around hitting your "due date"
• How to feel less stressed about going into labor
• The importance of being informed around labour and birth
• Why evidence based research is CRITICAL through pregnancy and birth (including resources that have helped me)
• My experience at my 40 week antenatal appointment
• Pressure I felt around induction and how I navigated that as a first time mum
• Natural methods to try and start labour
• Things you can try to dilate naturally
• What you can do to naturally induce spontaneous labor

OH MAMA MANTRA: My baby is on their way to me in perfect timing

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*Please note: this podcast is not medical advice. Instead, think of it as having a pregnancy chats with your BFF, where we keep things wildly honest, and we share what we're really thinking and experiencing as we grow a tiny human. If an episode is helpful, amazing, but it's in no way here to tell you what to do or how to be/feel/act/think. Your experience is unique and perfect to you. No comparison necessary here, but we hope hearing the experiences we share makes you feel a little less alone in the moments when you might wonder if it's only you that's going through it. I promise you mama, it isn't. You're not alone, and we're in this together - one big mama squad.