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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to change the date on my pregnancy notes?

19 replies

TotorosOcarina · 26/04/2011 21:45

from day 1 my scan made no sense at all.

When i explained to her my due date was XYZ she said 'we have to go by scan dates they are acurate'

but by my scan date I got a BFP on the day I concieved Hmm

So now I am 39+1 by my dates.

But they just see me as 38+1.

which isn't too bad but considering they have booked me in for my next appointment at may 11th, i'll be 9 daysoverdue by my own dates then (they aren't concerned as its only 2 days by theirs)

With my last 2 pregnancies I've had sweeps now (at 39 weeks) for SPD and my daughter was born in like 3 days time.

Shall I just leave it and wait to see someone next may 11th, or change the date on my folder and request to be seen as I'm approaching my due date and planning a homebirth?

OP posts:
QueeferSutherland · 26/04/2011 21:58

Scans are more accurate.

It's worked out that your day 1 is the last day of your period I think. Something like that.

In France, term is 42 weeks, so it's not set in stone.

Everyones dates are finilised with US, so treatment will be the same for all women at your point of pregnancy.

Are you suffering with SPD in this pregnancy?Sad

RoyalFucker · 26/04/2011 22:04

no, don't tamper with your notes

that is madness

just keep reiterating you are sure they are out by a week, but tbh, scans done under 12 wks are very accurate within a week, so your true due date is probably somewhere imbetween

by the end stage of your pg, other factors will be taken into consideration wrt induction etc, not just your due date

ChristinedePizan · 26/04/2011 22:08

Sweeps only work if your baby is ready to come out - I had two and nothing happened. I knew exactly when I conceived because I had fertility treatment but not all embryos implant at the same rate so scans are actually more accurate than conception dates.

SugarLemons · 26/04/2011 22:08

Term is classed from 37-42 weeks, your EDD (ESTIMATED due date is exactly that estimated)
Scan are more accurate than LMPs as conceiving and implantation can differ from 5-6 days. Scan looks at the growth of the fetus and other measurements. Yes it is not accurate but neither is your LMP.

I know it can be frustrating but i can assure you a week here or there will not make any difference. Your baby will come when its ready.
Good Luck
SL x

SugarLemons · 26/04/2011 22:09

Sorry that was meant to say. Yes it is not ALWAYS accurate...

takethisonehereforastart · 26/04/2011 22:10

I'd change the date if you want to.

Scans are not perfect and I know they make mistakes with them. The put my dates back three weeks rather than listen to my reasons why that was impossible (DH in armed forces not actually in the country at the time they said I got pregnant etc) and in doing so I believe they missed the fact that something was wrong with my baby until much later, much too late actually.

My cousin was very overdue with her baby and my friend, who they insisted was further along than she actually was because her baby was measuring big, was induced as overdue and only after the baby was born did they decide he might actually be early (as he was much smaller than expected). Both times the doctors admitted they should have listened to the mother rather than the machine.

RoyalFucker · 26/04/2011 22:13

yes, a couple of personal anecdotes means you should ignore all obstetric advice forthwith Hmm

OP, don't tamper with your notes

imagine something (God Forbid) did go wrong, you would never forgive yourself

Tangle · 26/04/2011 23:16

They are your notes and you are at liberty to amend them with whatever comments you see fit. You would not be "tampering" with them by doing so. Whether or not those amendments will be heeded or not is another question altogether...

Do you know when they recommend induction in your PCT? How would you feel about, potentially, going 7 days beyond that point? Depending on your view point you might be relieved not to have to fight off induction and hospital birth (which is more likely if your EDD has been moved forward) or worried about going too far post dates. If you got to 42 weeks (by your dates) would you still be confident to go for a HB? Or would you be wanting intervention at that point?

An EDD from your LMP assumes a gestation of 40 weeks from the first day of your Last Menstrual Period (assuming an "average" cycle of 28 days, with ovulation on day 14)

Scans should be accurate but they're not perfect. I used to work with similar technology, although in a very different field, and the number of variables are huge. There will be an error bar in the calculations, in the resultant measurements - and that's before you get to the range of measurements that are considered "normal" at 12 weeks. Last time I was pregnant (2 years back) the policy here was to only amend dates from LMP if the discrepancy between LMP and scan was >7 days.

To blindly follow any medical advice is, IMO, rarely a more prudent course of action than to stubbornly ignore it. Obstetricians/MWs may be experts in their field but they do not have intimate knowledge of any given woman as an individual (and neither are they infallible). The mother has that knowledge but not the medical experience. In an ideal world the mother and her HCP would work together to pool all knowledge and come up with the best individualized care - but we're not in an ideal world and that level of care is not always available within the NHS.

Ocarina - if you feel strongly that your EDD has been shifted back inappropriately and your DC is being put at risk because of that then you may need to fight hard to get the date put back to where you think it should be. AIMS may be able to advise you on the best way forward. Putting in writing that you believe the scan EDD to be incorrect (because...) and that you will be holding the hospital responsible if harm comes to your child due to inaction on their part might provoke them to reconsider. Ultimately, work out what you want to achieve and then try to plan the strategy that is most likely to reach that goal - different people have different attitudes to risk and place different weights on the different benefits. Choose the risk/benefit set that you are most comfortable with and work towards that point.

Good luck - fingers crossed your LO arrives safe and well, well within the bracket of "term" by both sets of dates :)

mouseanon · 26/04/2011 23:27

This pg I've been given 2 dates, that are 10 days apart, from 2 scans (one private, one NHS). The only thing this proves to me is that scans are not nearly as accurate as people think. Of course you can't have had a BFP on the day you conceived, that's nonsense, though you could have a BFP as little as a week after conceiving depending on the test you used. Were you charting or anything to know when you did ovulate? I would worry in your situation if I went more than 2 weeks over the date you think is right. Otherwise I don't suppose it matters really.

pineapple70 · 26/04/2011 23:28

It's fine, it's only a week.

I made them change mine back to the IVF date from the scan date as I'd have missed out on a grand's worth of maternity leave.
Glad I did it as I'm overdue now by both dates...

nappyaddict · 27/04/2011 00:13

If day 1 is the first day of your last period, what day did you have sex on and what day did you get your BFP?

It is possible to get a BFP about 6 days after you ovulated with a very sensitive test.

It is possible to ovulate and conceive early on in your cycle. My friend conceived on day 5. So techincally could have got a BFP on day 11. Due dates work on the average that everyone ovulates on day 14, so my friend was actually pregnant for about 9 days longer than her due date suggested.

nappyaddict · 27/04/2011 00:30

Sorry she conceived on day 4 not 5.

HauntedLittleLunatic · 27/04/2011 00:39

I wouldn't change them. It doesn't make an awful lot of difference UNLESS you get to 42 weeks by your dates, at which point I would start shouting a little louder because most that is the point at which they would start to worry about health of you and baby from an overdue point of view.

If you go into labour between now and then, which is more.likely, I don't seen any serious issue.

Original poster
TotorosOcarina · 27/04/2011 09:19

nappy i get my 1st positive at 13dpo, i always do (4th child) nothing before then,

also I've had 5 scans since the dating one and all show him to be big for the dates and My fundal height is always a week or two ahead.

I really do know I am right.

OP posts:
xstitch · 27/04/2011 09:33

I see where you are coming from. I worry about this happening to me as I am supposed to be having a planned section at 39 weeks. If they put my dates back by 2 weeks that means I conceived on the day my period started when I hadn't had any intercourse for the previous 2 weeks (DP works away) and if they put them forward 2 weeks then I conceived after BFP. I suppose a weeks not too much though.

valiumbandwitch · 27/04/2011 09:41

I see your concerns, I'd be concerned about the placenta breaking down at 16 days OD and the mw saying don't worry you're only 9 days overdue. I'd be horrified.. So NO I don't think it would be 'madness' given that a baby is considered full term at 37 weeks. And if you are over due then you will be 40wks.

(Obviously changing your notes is going to be frowned on. but rather than following the rules which are for the greater good I would put concern for my own pregnancy first)

I guess if you demand it they will induce you when you know you are 9 days overdue. I wouldn't want to go too overdue either. Think there are lots of problems that go with that.

I calculated my own due date like you adn then was given a new due date! She came closer to 'my' due date.

nappyaddict · 27/04/2011 10:04

Do you know what CD you ovulated on and what CD you had sex?

What I was trying to say was my friends scan date wasn't "wrong" it just didn't allow for the fact that she had ovulated and conceived earlier than the average norm. She also has a short 21 day cycle and the measurements are worked out on a bang on average 28 day cycle.

EssexGurl · 27/04/2011 11:25

At my first scan they couldn't make their mind up between two dates (27 and 28 April) and plumped for 27 April . This was 6 days earlier than my own date (by period and dtd date). At second scan they also couldn't work out whether it was 27 or 28 April and so also went for 27 April. I did check 3 May - but no, it had to be 27 or 28 April. I talked to midwife about it and she wouldn't put a different date down - it had to be the scan date. I wasn't sure about this at all, but was quite happy as it meant I could get some extra time off work! They were a bit funny about me leaving 4 weeks before due date as it was, they would never have gone for more than that - even though legally I could have.

Anyway, DD was born on 2 May - so whilst not on my own date, much much closer. I knew I was right!!

Anway, no real point in trying to change it. You will know if your heart of hearts when the date is. I also quite liked the fact that the scan date was not conclusive, meant I could be vague when asked when I was due. Basically just told everyone it was anytime late April/early May and even the doctors didn't know. Made life a bit less stressful.

beingsetup · 27/04/2011 11:47

I would NOT change your dates but for 2 of my kids i was told they were large and the due dates put forward 2 weeks..... so of course they turned up on the ORIGINAL due dates....

btw I'm tall and so is their dad so "being large" was to be expected....

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