With my third (a homebirth after two cesareans) I only had two cervical exams before going into labor. First was on my due date & second was at 41 weeks, both not dilated. . . my 41 week appointment was on a Tuesday. I started early labor that night, regular but painless labor during the day Wednesday, & real labor Wednesday night. He wasn't born until Friday afternoon. Long labor, 41 1/2 weeks. No dilation before labor. Dilation means *nothing*. It does say when you're going to go into labor; it doesn't say how long you'll take to progress; it doesn't mean anything. You could be 0 cm dilated & have your baby in your arms 2 hours later, or you could walk around 5+cm for weeks. Your body is doing whatever it needs to do to birth normally for your body & your baby. It has nothing to do with your body's abilities- it has everything to do with your care provider's patience. In a normal healthy pregnancy, iirc the risks associated with being 'over'due don't significantly increase until after 42 *completed* weeks, & even then it's thought that often the problems aren't caused by postmaturity, but rather the problems cause postmaturity. Hope that makes sense. With my third, my midwives said that if I reached 42 weeks we'd do a non-stress test & keep a closer eye on baby, but we wouldn't induce just based on dates alone unless there was an actual reason. Anyways, your body is doing whatever it needs to do. Hang in there mama!