I had a long menstrual cycle. I don’t think I’m as overdue as they say. Can nature take its course?

The ‘due date’ is calculated from the first day of your last period, and assumes you have the average twenty-eight day cycle. If you have, for example, a thirty-five day cycle, you due date would be a week later.

If you had an ultrasound scan during the first twenty weeks of pregnancy, this would have given you a more accurate idea of your due date.

Current guidelines recommend inducing labour, if it has not begun on its own, between forty-one and forty-two weeks of pregnancy. If you choose not to be induced, you should be offered regular monitoring of your baby’s wellbeing.

NICE guidelines for induction of labour