Despite the unquestionable facts that inductions and c-sections should be avoided unless medically indicated, as they carry very significant risks not worth taking unless there is a real medical need, there are still many doctors -- and sadly, many moms -- who still take them lightly. We've all heard that 37 weeks is the start of a baby being full-term, but unfortunately, that leads to many women who see that number as their pregnancy 'end date' rather than their actual due date.

The number that medical professionals and now many hospitals want women to aim for as a bare minimum? It's 39 weeks.

And many hospitals have now put regulations in place preventing any form of induction or elective c-sections before that point.

We've all seen her. Maybe walking down the street or sitting in the OBGYN's office. The overdue mama-to-be. Chances are she's not a happy-camper, as there is no way to get comfortable when you are over 40 weeks pregnant. Near impossible to find a position that is even halfway decent. She is beyond ready to get her baby out of her body and into this world.

Aside from offering a place for her to sit down, what do we, as a society, do when we see an overdue pregnant lady? We ask her a bunch of questions that, really, she doesn't want to answer. We pester her with unwanted advice. Basically, we drive her crazy. And remember, she can't move very fast, so she's trapped.

Whether you adored her as this year's Oscar host or thought she and James honked the big one, there's no disputing that  Anne Hathaway is one of the rising stars of Hollywood. Me? I think she's fabu. Loved her in Devil Wears Prada and Rachel Getting Married. Soon we'll see her suit up as Catwoman in the next Batman movie.

So, why is she in a hurry to get pregnant?

In a pre-Oscar interview, Anne revealed she wants to have a baby in about five years. She has no plans to get married, but has Mommyhood with a capital M on her brain.

Really? She's only 28, folks. What's the rush?

Want your baby to have a really cool birthday? Then it's time to get busy. If you want a baby with the birth date of 11-11-11, then having sex this week provides most women with the best chance of delivering that day.

Dr. Jamie Grifo told CNN that this Friday, February 18, is the prime day of conception for women with a typical 28-day cycle, but that chances are good all week. That means if you got in a little Valentine's Day baby-making session last night, come November 11, 2011, you may meet your little love child.

Think no one would be crazy enough to plan conception for a cool birthday? Think again. Dr. Girfo said he's been flooded with couples wanting to deliver on the magical date. And why not?

When I went into my OB/GYN for the first time this pregnancy, she asked the standard question, "When was the first day of your last period?" I had been trying to get pregnant for a few months. I was obsessed with dates. How many days after my period should I have sex for the best chances to get pregnant? How many days after I'm late should I take a test? I don't want to jinx things. If I talk about trying to get pregnant out loud will I ruin my chances? I basically became a psycho and all of that obsession resulted in absolute confusion.

I had played around with dates for so long that I had no idea if the date in my head was the first day of my last period, the day I had sex to try to get pregnant, or the day the season finale of Dexter season 4 was set to arrive. I answered my doctor and said I was either 8 or 10 weeks pregnant. She said, "You must be 8 weeks. There's no way you can be 10 weeks pregnant. You would know." Well, I wasn't convinced then and I'm less convinced now.

"I gave birth to a nine-pounder!" is often met with, "Wow, a big one!" Back before our obsession with scheduling inductions and c-sections, babies used to be born larger than they are now ... without unique complication.

People did the math on the 8-08-08, 9-09-09, 10-10-10 mom and discovered something -- not only had she been pregnant or recovering for three years straight, but her pregnancies were longer than average: 42 to 43 weeks ... 10-month pregnancies.

Why would someone stay pregnant that long?

Easy. They're SUPPOSED to.

So I have a dubious history of bad birthdays. I don’t know why -- heightened expectations? Just an awful character flaw? Everyone remembers me crying at some point on every single birthday, even when I was tiny.

One problem is that I really hate the Happy Birthday song. It’s like a dirge. Everyone stares at you, the lights go off, flickering flames throw eerie light on their faces, and … they SING. Think about it. Who does things like that? Crazy people, that’s who. (I’m not the only one. Fast-forward to 1:18 in this scene from Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. I have friends.)

Anyway. So I had a fantastic weekend! Baby shower, TONS of presents, and a ballgame where my Mets won. And then on Monday? Well, I hit 37 weeks, and stacked up three medical appointments in the afternoon. This, it turns out, does not make for a fun, relaxing birthday. Especially when they suddenly don’t like your BP and there’s protein in your urine.

I rolled past this photo of Golda Meir on my way to deliver Penelope!Now that I’m halfway through Week 35, my visits to the hospital have gotten quite long. I match up my doctor visits with the antenatal testing, which means I am a bit of a logistical nightmare. And there’s so much to tell!

First of all, when the nurse peeked at my babe via ultrasound, GUESS WHAT: She had flipped over! Her head’s still down, so she can peek out my hoo-hoo like a periscope, but now her butt is on my right side, and I guess I’ll start feeling her kicking and punching to my left. Oh. Ow. Yeah, there she goes.

The cool part about that is -- when Randy and I got into bed last night, I noticed there was unusual activity going on in my abdomen. “Check it out,” I said, poking him. Together we watched a mysterious series of lumps undulating across me. “Whoa,” he said. “You’re at the Alien stage of all this, huh.”