Friday, 19 October 2012
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Due Date Math
So yesterday was officially my due date. I have really tried hard not to put too much into it, as I hear a lot of first timers go over. But I wish I wasn't prego any longer. It got me thinking some. The due dates are usually based on the first day of your last menstrual cycle. But what if you don't have an average cycle? What if you are normal, but not average?My cycle lasts an average of 35 days, not 28. And my period lasts an average of 8-9 days, not 7. My last period was 10 days long. It is frustrating that the one month I didn't keep track of the times hubby and I were together was the time I got pregnant. So I can't tell you exactly when I ovulated. But I probably ovulated a little later than 14 days after the beginning of my last period. I have heard of adjusted due dates depending on your period length. That they usually add one day for every day longer your cycle is. I remember and wrote down when I started to get cramps, thinking that I should keep better track. I got a lot of cramping around February 16th. I don't think I ovulated till closer to the 27th of January. A full week later than predicted, according to LMP based on a 28 day cycle.
For a while, Hubby and I did natural family planning (before we slacked off and I got pregnant). Generally, I ovulated about a week before my next period would start. So I wonder if we put way too much into due dates. If your cycle is not average, then you probably don't ovulate when the average woman does.
When I was 22 weeks according to last menstrual period, and I finally got in to see a doctor for an ultrasound, the tech said that the baby looked about a week behind age wise. But knowing that ultrasounds past the first trimester are not very accurate, I just tucked away the information to ponder later.
Now I wonder more if a lot of women are having inductions for overdue pregnancies when in reality, their due dates are wrong. Women are all so different from one another. Average isn't necessarily the only normal. They are ranges that have been mushed together and split apart.
If in fact I am correct that the baby is actually younger than we think, and I went to 42 weeks and doctors wanted to induce me, and the baby wasn't really overdue, then he might not be ready to come out at that point.
I'm just pondering things. My midwife told me that the baby looks like he will be on the small side. So that is another reason I wonder.
And unless there is medical reason for it, even if I really want to be unpregnant, I'm not getting induced. Not that anyone has suggested it to me at this point anyway.
Yep... life continues on.
What do you think about Due Dates?
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About the Author
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- From: HazelBug1@xanga
- Name: HazelBug1
- About Me: Right now, I am a young woman who is about to have her first child. This is a blog about my thoughts and struggles related mostly to pregnancy. Though my blog may change a bit when little one is here.
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Comments (11)
This post really struck a chord with me. We were pressured to "medically induce" when I was 10 days "overdue" with my first for no other reason that calendar watching. I didn't know better at the time (it is one of my greatest regrets, and I ended up with a cesarean).
I am like you, a 35 day cycle. And when my daughter was born she weighed 7lbs 14oz. That is not an almost 2 week "overdue" baby by weight. She did not have the appearance of an "overdue" baby either - she still had vernix on her skin, she still had that newborn hair on her body, her fingernails and skin were healthy and not peeling, there were no meconium signs, and my amniotic fluid was plentiful.
We get too caught up in exact timing, forgetting that pregnancy is not like baking a cake where you can get it down to a science for "perfect doneness." Even the same mother will have very different pregnancies, my second child was born on his own at 38 weeks (almost a full month earlier than his sister) and still weighed 7lbs at birth.
I really applaud you for doing your homework and your research during your first pregnancy. You obviously have, by the way. And I hope your little one makes his appearance soon. I know for sure that this is the hard part. It's like the ride up the giant hill of a roller coaster. The anticipation, some fear, some excitement...and the ride up seems like it takes forever while you are on your journey, like it'll never end. And you want it to end, but at the same time, are a little scared for it to.
I think the due date is a reasonably educated estimation of the baby's birth date. Our cycles vary as you mentioned. Of course, when I was using birth control pills, my cycle was 28 days. When I am not on it, it is 28-31 days. For some odd (unknown to me), my period would appear the same date it started last month, but the months vary in length. I agree with your thoughts on this. While the dates and weights are great guidelines, they are not the end-all facts. Congrats on your little one
my best bud's wife averages 2 weeks over due with her babies... She has an amazing midwife who's policy is "Baby will come when Baby is ready. Unless there is a problem there is no need to go get them or rush them out". All of her babies (5, number 6 is on the way) have been very healthy, good sized and the longest labor she had was an hour, and that was with the twins.
I think that's why they say 'full term' is 38-42 weeks.
I know that I ovulate later than would be expected, so I wouldn't even bat an eyelash until I were at 41 weeks.
With a midwife, it's more likely s/he won't pressure you unless it becomes an actual problem for you or your child than it would be with a doctor.
Well, I did talk to the midwife about due dates. From the earliest ultrasound I had, the baby was small for the week they thought. So along with my cycle being not the average came to the conclusion that the due date was indeed off. But yeah, so long as baby and I are doing fine, I am willing to wait. I hear that first timers tend to go late anyway.
Isn't educating oneself a great thing? It has certainly been a journey. And at least I know that the pressure will be off for now. I think that my midwife has to refer you to an ob after 41weeks and one day. I wonder why that is considered 42 weeks when they aren't complete. I still think my dates are a little off, so that makes me nervous.
But baby and I are healthy. And so long as that is the case, I won't birth on the clock. I am very glad that I have a supportive husband. He rocks!
Oh definitely, my old OB always talked about a 3-4 week "window" being more useful than a due date. What's the statistic? Something like 5% of women deliver on their due date? It's not a super meaningful date. Anytime between 38 and 42 weeks is "normal". The interesting thing- if you look at place where inductions for non-medical reasons aren't pushed, there are a lot more 41 and 42 week babies than in mainstream medicine, where lots of doctors start pushing inductions early. We gotta learn to trust the process a little more, I think. That all being said- I'm currently one day away from my "due date" (midwife calls is "due guess") and I am super ready to not be pregnant anymore...so I may be eating my "42 weeks is normal" words here soon ;)
I believe that ovulation happens 10-14 days BEFORE your period starts. That section remains constant and if it does shorten, that raises the risk of infertility and miscarriage tremendously. THe length of bleeding doesn't matter.
However...like all things in life....averages and "usually"s etc are only words :)
They generally count it 14 days after the beginning of your last menstrual cycle. That is why when you are 6 weeks along, you are generally 4 weeks pregnant. But if you have a 35 day cycle, then you probably ovulated closer to day 21 after the beginning of your last period. Every day longer your cycle is usually off sets your ovulation by about a day. By cycle, I don't mean the time that you are bleeding. I mean the whole thing.
And if you have an unusual cycle, it is harder to tell about the time you ovulate because you can't predict with as much accuracy how far away your next cycle would have started. You wouldn't know your fertility window, unless you were keeping close track of basal body temperature and other signs of fertility.
That was what I was trying to say with the numbers thing.
I've heard too many horror stories of inductions... right down to doctors not wanting to miss tee-times and hospitals wanting the room emptied for different clientele, not to mention the multitude of health stories. I applaud you for waiting. My mother had five children, four of whom were very healthy, and one who needed surgery as an infant. The one who needed surgery was the only one delivered within two weeks of the projected due date. Hmm... I think my sister (who is currently a happy and healthy middle school teacher) would probably object to me using her as an example... =P but please, stick to the schedule you and your baby decide upon!
Before i got pregnant with my first son my periods were pretty much like clockwork. They weren't every 28 days, but if i got it on the 2nd of the month, i would get it on the 2nd of the next month, etc. So i'd say it was roughly every 30 days. My last period was on June 27th, 2010 so they said my due date was on February 28th, 2011. I had TONS of false labor and was constantly being told i probably wouldn't make it to my due date - but sure enough i went over by one day. My son was born March 1st, 2011 after 7 hours of labor and weighed 6lbs 5oz and was perfectly healthy. I was SO ready to have him, and was really considering getting induced as soon as my dr would allow but i'm glad i didn't.
Now this time my period's never really went back to normal before i got pregnant with my 2nd son. Some months they'd be every 28 days, other months they'd be every 32-35 days. My last period was on March 22nd so they say i'm due December 27th. But he's measuring about a week ahead. I "should" have ovulated around April 8th, but i think it was sooner than that seeing as i got a positive test on the 15th - less than a week later. So i have a feeling i will go into labor a few days earlier than my due date. But who knows? I don't want to get my hopes up like i did with my first, but i REALLY don't want to be induced unless i have to. We'll just have to wait and see. But i do know my OB doesn't induce unless there is a medical need (fetal stress, pre-eclampsia, etc.) until you're over 42 weeks - so hopefully he'll come before then. :]
I think the expected date of baby born.