Week 40 of Pregnancy: A Pumpkin, and Your Due Date

If your due date has arrived and you’re still waiting, week 40 is the milestone this entire series has been building toward. For our own daughter, this date came and went after she’d already been with us for a few weeks — a reminder that a due date is genuinely just an estimate, not a fixed appointment.

What’s actually happening in your body

The baby is now around 51.2cm long, roughly the size of a pumpkin. Despite how much weight this date carries, only a minority of babies are actually born on their exact due date — most arrive somewhere in the week before or after it. Signs that labour may be starting include lower backache and period-like cramping, in addition to more established signs like regular, strengthening contractions. If your waters break before contractions start, labour may need to be induced, since the risk of infection increases the longer labour is delayed after that point, according to NHS guidance on week 40 of pregnancy. As a general guide, you’re usually advised to contact your hospital or midwife once contractions last at least 60 seconds and come around every 5 minutes.

What this week actually meant for us

By the time our official due date arrived, our daughter had already been born for a few weeks. Reaching this date meant something different for us than it does for most people reading a week 40 article — it was less “any day now” and more a quiet marker that the pregnancy, on paper, would have been considered complete right about now. It gave me a strange kind of perspective: due dates are estimates built around averages, not promises about any individual pregnancy.

If you’re at week 40 and still waiting, that waiting is completely normal, even if it doesn’t feel that way in the moment. And if, like us, your own timeline looked different from this one, that’s normal too — the destination matters far more than hitting this particular date exactly.

Nutrition focus this week

If you’re still pregnant, the same fundamentals continue to apply — your prenatal vitamin, and the general guidance in our foods and drinks to limit or avoid during pregnancy.

What to discuss with your doctor or midwife

If your due date has passed without labour starting, ask what your provider’s specific plan is for monitoring and, if needed, discussing induction — most maternity units have a fairly standard approach to going past 40 weeks, and it’s worth knowing what to expect rather than being surprised by it.

Frequently asked questions

Is it unusual to still be pregnant at week 40?

No — most babies are not born exactly on their due date, and arriving anywhere within about a week either side is considered entirely normal.

What are the early signs labour might be starting?

Lower backache and period-like cramping can be early signs, alongside more classic signs like regular, strengthening, increasingly frequent contractions.

What should I do if my waters break but contractions haven’t started?

Contact your midwife or maternity unit — labour may need to be induced at that point, since waiting too long after your waters break can increase the risk of infection.

When should I call the hospital about contractions?

Generally once they’re lasting at least 60 seconds and coming around every 5 minutes, though your own maternity unit may give you more specific guidance to follow.

Does a due date ever really predict the actual birth date?

Not precisely — it’s calculated as an estimate based on averages, and individual pregnancies vary meaningfully around it in both directions, as our own experience showed.

References

1. NHS — Your Pregnancy and Baby Guide, Week 40. nhs.uk