According to Hauser, most pregnant people experience a "lightening" feeling (also know as their baby dropping) or change in the appearance their baby bump, which indicates their baby has started to make its way towards the birth canal. "For first-time moms, if your baby is still high, and their head is not dipping below your pubis at 40 weeks, they are more likely to go past their due date," she says.

Both Farid and Hauser noted that going past your due date is more common for first-time moms. "In general, many first-time mothers tend to go past their due date," Farid says, "Interestingly, women carrying a male fetus may also have an increased probability of going past their due date."

She adds that your provider might recommend induction or additional monitoring, to make sure both you and your baby are doing well. At our hospital, we offer additional testing, such as an ultrasound to check for baby's movement, breathing, and amniotic fluid levels,' she says. "For pregnancies that are one week past their due date, I offer my patients an induction of labor. If they decline, I do additional testing and recommend delivery by 42 weeks of gestation at the latest."

Hauser notes that if you haven't experienced any cervical changes at 40 weeks, you may be in for a longer pregnancy. "If your cervix is posterior, firm, long, and closed at 40 weeks, your provider might suggest induction before you reach 42 weeks," she says. "Going past 42 weeks can increase your risk of complications, including problems with your placenta, low amniotic fluid, your baby inhaling meconium, or stillbirth."

Hauser adds that your pregnancy going past your due date might actually be a matter of not having an accurate due date. "Unless you had a first trimester ultrasound, a regular 28-day cycle, or IVF, it's possible that your due date was calculated incorrectly to begin with," she says.

Farid adds that your previous pregnancies may predict how your current pregnancy will go. "If all of your prior pregnancies went past their due date, that's a good indicator that you will probably go past your due date again," she says.

"With people who've had more than one pregnancy, all bets are off when it comes to predicting if they will go past their due date." Hauser adds, "Though a long, closed, firm, posterior cervix would be pretty unusual even in a mom who's had previous pregnancies."

Both Farid and Hauser agree that there are some warning signs later in pregnancy that should not be ignored. "If your baby stops moving as frequently, you should call your provider right away, as it might be a sign of distress." Hauser says. "You should ask your provider about fetal well-being testing, if you can be induced at term and your likelihood of a successful induction, based on a cervical exam."

While it's common for parents-to-be to go past their due date, Farid and Hauser both recommend induction to help things along if your pregnancy continues for too long.

"If you do not want an induction of labor, you should have a discussion with your obstetrician about how to safely monitor the pregnancy while you await natural labor," Farid says. "Most women will go into labor on their own before 42-weeks of gestation, but the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and most obstetricians recommend induction of labor if you go two weeks past your due date."