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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Still confused about the EDD

23 replies

Lyndz123 · 17/11/2013 14:54

I know that due dates are only an estimate but i cant stop thinking my dates are wrong. I am now 29 weeks pregnant and my EDD is the 1st Feb. The thing is i counted back 38 weeks from the EDD and that was out wedding night and we never had sex that night. We had a lot of sex the week after while we were on honeymoon but according to counting back i ovulated on this date. I am really confused. Could i have ovulated but conceived after? Can the 12 week dating scan tell exactly when you conceive?

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hettienne · 17/11/2013 14:55

The 12 week scan is accurate +/- 7 days.

PacificDogwood · 17/11/2013 14:55

Personally, I'd stop counting and go by the scan.

5% of babies are born on their due date.
95% are NOT .

2 weeks before to 2 weeks after your EDD is normal.
Your baby will arrive when it's ready. Don't overthink.

And yes, 12 week scans are rather accurate.

juicyjuice · 17/11/2013 15:35

I agree with the above- it'll come when it comes! It's also quite difficult to judge by ovulation too- eggs and sperm can survive a couple of days I think so sometimes they can 'meet' slightly before or after you were expecting.

cathpip · 17/11/2013 16:10

According to my scan dates I conceived baby no3 whilst my dh was in London on a work event :), sperm can live for about 5 days after intercourse, we dtd 2 days prior to his departure. Baby will come when baby is ready, neither of my other dc have been on time!

CrispyFB · 17/11/2013 16:14

My babies all measure within a day or so of my ovulation day (I chart, use OPKs etc) at scans before 9 weeks. At my 12 week scans they always measure 5-6 days ahead, and when they're born, they're usually massive.

12 week scans are fairly accurate, usually within a week or so, but the ones before 9 weeks when the embryo grows in a uniform way without the input of personal genetics or the placenta are the most accurate. Anything post 14 weeks bets are off ;-)

The dating only becomes relevant if you go over dates and induction is offered (and you have strong feelings surrounding it) or need an early delivery.

mrsksays · 17/11/2013 16:25

I had my first scan at 15 weeks (I only found out i was pregnant at 14 weeks) and it was accurate to the day!

KatAndKit · 17/11/2013 16:55

If your cycle is longer than 28 days then a due date based on your last period may be slightly early. Often they change the due date at the 12 week scan but only if it is more than a few days out from the last period date. Did you have sex in the week leading up to the wedding? Sperm can live several days so you may well have conceived on your wedding night. As others have said, most babies are not born on due date anyway so i wouldn't worry.

MiserableCowWhenUpTheDuff · 17/11/2013 16:57

My scan gave me a due date of today, which if I really am due today then I was pregnant BEFORE I had my sterilisation reversal... I wasn't!!!

Original poster

Lyndz123 · 17/11/2013 18:14

I cant remember if i had sex leading up to wedding but i really dont think we did. I know that dates arent 100% accurate but we wanted to know of we conceived before or after our wedding. I am still convinced it was the following week but then would my dates not be later?

OP posts:

PacificDogwood · 17/11/2013 18:20

The thing is i counted back 38 weeks from the EDD...

Hang on a minute - the calculated EDD goes by 40 weeks AFAIK.

Are you just curious or is this date a problem one way or another?

Original poster

Lyndz123 · 17/11/2013 18:52

Yes but counting back 38 weeks if from conception?! Counting back 40 weeks is from LMP

OP posts:

hettienne · 17/11/2013 18:55

The dates could be a week out either way, and the actual date of conception could be a few days after sex, so the dating scan isn't able to pinpoint the actual day conception took place - it's basically giving you a rough idea.

KatAndKit · 17/11/2013 19:03

There's no way you will ever know if you were not tracking your ovulation.

Christelle2207 · 17/11/2013 20:54

I KNOW when I conceived because I was tracking ovulation and had scans that told me when I had ovulated. At 12 week scan my edd was 6 days earlier than it should have been and absolutely no way it could be right. Baby came on the due date I had calculated- I think the EDD was an educated guess at best!

hettienne · 17/11/2013 20:57

Yes, that's what EDD stands for - estimated due date.

PacificDogwood · 17/11/2013 21:01

Of course it's an educated guess.

And even with known ovulation, you still cannot be sure when you conceived. Of when the fertilised egg implanted.
Or how long you "cook" your babies .

Like I said, from 2 weeks before until 2 weeks after is normal.

I go a bit when people say "DC was 2 days overdue" - no, they were right on time.

ShowOfBloodyStumps · 17/11/2013 21:14

Actually a normal gestation is 37-42 weeks so you have a 5 week window to have a baby at full term. The EDD is merely an aid to care. So many women get bogged down with the idea of this magical date and end up completely demoralised when they're still pregnant 2 weeks later. Maybe we should start having a due period to prevent this obsession with a solitary date.

OP, as others have said, the scan is accurate to a week either way. Unless you know when you ovulated, you won't narrow it down much more than you already have.

Original poster

Lyndz123 · 19/11/2013 16:46

I just dont think it's right as they have my dates down when we didnt even have sex. I dont understand it all anyway but when they make you feel stupid and think their dates are right it's not nice

OP posts:

hettienne · 19/11/2013 16:58

They are not saying they know exactly when you conceived (or had sex) though!

They can't tell you if you conceived before or after your wedding because scans aren't that accurate. They estimate a date, that can be 7 days out either way.

ShowOfBloodyStumps · 19/11/2013 20:32

Lyndz, have you read the other replies? You conceived somewhere around the date of your wedding, possibly in the week before, possibly in the week after, somewhere around that time. Do you need to know exactly when for a reason?

They give you an 'estimated due date' in order to arrange care. It will enable you to have a 16 week, 20 week, 28 week etc appointment and appropriate scans/checks/tests/measurements at regular intervals.

It is not an exact science.

TobyLerone · 19/11/2013 21:53

OP, I really think you ought to read the replies carefully. They're right. There is a certain window for conception and this is reflected in your EDD, as dated by the scan.

I know I ovulated late because I was using OPKs. My original EDD was 31/12/12, going by my LMP. When I had my early scans, they all dated me at 5/1/14, which fits exactly with my ovulation date.

Why does it matter so much to you?

Original poster

Lyndz123 · 16/12/2013 20:26

It is because my husband wanted it to be after we got married. To me it doesn't matter but he wanted us to be married before we got pregnant

OP posts:

LittlePeaPod · 16/12/2013 21:16

I am confused is your DH upset that you may have conceived before the wedding? Surely all that matters is that you have a healthy baby? Anyway regardless of EDD unkess you have a Cs babies tend to come when they are ready. Hence some arrive a little early and some well over due.

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