Quick referencePast yourdue date

Your due date (errechneter Termin, often shortened to ET) is one day, worked out from a forty-week pregnancy. Most babies are not born on it, and first babies often come later. Anywhere from three weeks before that date to two weeks after it counts as full term.

So passing your date is not by itself a reason to do anything. You are still inside the range where babies are born at term, and everything below is what happens from here.

Once you pass your date, your midwife or gynaecologist will usually see you more often, and check more often on how your baby is doing.

The word you are likely to see on your notes now is Terminüberschreitung, going past the date. Übertragung means something different: it is used from about 42 weeks, not from the day your date passes.

How often you are seen varies between practitioners and hospitals. Two things stay the same wherever you are: more frequent checks, and a conversation about whether and when to help labour start.

The extra checks look at two things: how your baby is doing, and whether there is any reason to bring the birth forward. They usually include:

If the checks are reassuring, waiting longer is a reasonable choice. If something in them suggests it would be better not to wait, that changes the conversation, and your team will tell you what they are seeing.

At some point past your date you will be offered an induction (Einleitung): helping labour to start rather than waiting for it to start on its own. In Germany it is usually discussed in the days after your date, and often suggested somewhere around 41 to 42 weeks. Your midwife or gynaecologist will tell you why they are suggesting it for you, and at what point.

You may also be offered a membrane sweep (Eipollösung) first: a quick examination by your midwife that can sometimes get things going without a formal induction.

Whatever is recommended, you decide, with the full picture in front of you.

There is no single right answer here. Saying yes to an induction is a sound, safe choice, and so is waiting longer while your baby is monitored. The best one is whichever fits you, your baby's wellbeing, and what your team is seeing.

You can ask for more monitoring instead of an induction, if you and your baby are well and you would rather wait. You can ask for time to think, or to talk it over with your partner. You can change your mind after you have said yes. All of that is a normal part of being cared for.

Is the waiting getting to you? The messages asking whether the baby is here yet, the sense that your body is taking too long: those are worth saying out loud rather than carrying on your own.

Your midwife is there for this part too, not only for the checks. If the last days are heavy, that is a reasonable thing to bring to your next appointment.