So for those of you hanging on the edge of their seats, dying of suspense for news of a new baby Heerema, no news yet :) Nancy is doing really well, the baby is doing really well, apparently, it’s just not time yet.

If you want the news as soon as anyone is going to get it (outside of immediate family of course…), you can sign up for our announcement E-mail list. I will E-mail vital stats and hopefully a picture as soon as we have one.

Until then, check out this enlightening article making a case against labor induction.

About “due dates”:

Actually, the percentage of babies born exactly on their predicted due date is so small it’s a wonder we bother with due dates at all. It’s perfectly normal for 80 percent of healthy babies to have anywhere from a 38- to 42-week gestation. Several generations ago, a physician might tell an expectant mother that she was due “sometime in late October or early November”; today, women are given a “precise” due date, often determined by ultrasound testing. Many instances of so-called postmaturity result from nothing more than an inaccurate due date.

How labor starts:

Up until recently very little was known about how natural labors actually begin. Scientists knew that the release of oxytocin resulted in both uterine contractions and milk production. Pioneering research by scientists at Cornell University, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and the University of Auckland, New Zealand, suggests that it’s the baby’s brain that initiates birth.

These researchers discovered a pea-sized region of the fetal sheep brain called the paraventricular nucleus, which actually serves as a biosensor designed to trigger the events leading to a birth. Two hormones, corticol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), reach peak levels in the fetal bloodstream just before birth. Peter W. Nathaniels of Cornell University suggests that the “fetal brain may act as a tiny monitor, tracking its own development.” When the baby is ready for birth, the paraventricular nucleus signals the fetal pituitary gland to increase ACTH secretion. The pituitary, in turn, tells the fetal adrenal gland to secrete more cortisol. These hormonal increases cause changes in the mother’s hormones, including the release of oxytocin, which lead to uterine contractions.

Of course, this is just one set of research. I just found it interesting.