My due date or doctor's due date ~ which is correct

[Cyndii]

I would be very interested to hear what your opinion is.

On my last pregnancy my dates were spot on with my scan dates.

But this time they differ ~ but only by six days which is not too much but I'm really interested to see what other mothers think!

Thanks

Thanks Pamina3 ~ yea delighted with the news too!!!!

If you are sure of your last period then I would go by your date. A difference of 6 days is not that significant and we would go by your own date. Where it becomes a problem is when you go past your due date. You would get more leeway by going with your own date which is what we do ay our unit.

When I fell for my Natasha, I had a date in my mind. However, the scan was different and because it was by more than two wks they went with the scan. When she was born they realised that my dates were the right dates....proves a mum knows best!

Not that it helped Flame....and she will follow with her rant as I am of on the school run now!!!

First the facts...

I came off the pill in the July. Fell pregnant in August. We had had sex ONCE (were contemplating splitting up... was the make up sex ). Tested positive about 1st September.

Had my booking in at 12 weeks, and heard baby's heartbeat on doppler (she showed us the difference between mine and baby's, so I know it was baby's, not just mine and a crazy midwife).

Had severe sickness and a car bump that week, and was sent for "reassurance scan" (no dating scans in our area if you know your dates). Was told that I was only 7 weeks (about 7+6). I was confused, so saw midwife again, who again found heartbeat.

She said I felt 12-13 weeks too, so sent me for another scan cos she was baffled. Scan said again I was 10 weeks (had to wait 2 weeks for the scan to come through), and I was made to feel like sh*t for "wasting" scanner's time!!! .

My midwife was still believing me, as she couldn't explain having found a clear easy heartbeat on a doppler that early, on several occasions, and my test was positive from about a day after conception by their dates.

Unfortunately... she moved away. I was left with a midwife who hadn't had the whole start with me, and would only believe scan dates.

DD was born 2 days after scan dates.... but she was born peeling from head to foot (like she'd been dropped in acid), and every midwife that saw her (except my own of course) said that she was clearly a minimum 2 weeks late, more like 3 or 4. I was very ill for the first few days after having her too, we think as a result of my placenta packing up and toxin-ing me.

I am now very very unhappy about only believing scans, to the extent of considering not having a scan next time round - no-one will believe me if there is a difference, and I think I would rather live without the stress of worrying what happens if they ignore me and let me go that much over again (if DD had not come on scan dates, I would have been left 6 weeks over my dates before induction. )

OMG Flame!

That's awful. My mum was 10 1/2 months pg with my sister coz they didn't have scans 30 odd years ago, and the doctor's/MW said she must have got her dates wrong, even though she maintained that if you only did it once in 4 months you ought to really know!!

I knew the date of my last period as we were actively trying to get pregnant. By my dates I should have been due on May 3rd and my GP said the same. When we went for the scan the Dr said I was due on May 13th. I argued over this at every visit, explaining that I knew my dates, I knew how long my cycle was and it all fell on deaf ears. The scan said May 13th and they go by the scan date.

Dd2 finally arrived on May 21st. Her skin was very dry but not peeling and they all said that she only looked like she was a week overdue. within days of her birth her skin did start to peel but other than that she was healthy and happy and she was here. But I was annoyed that the dr's wouldn't take me seriously. My dd1 was a small baby only 6lbs 9oz and 10 days late so I was expecting a small baby again this time around. They didn't seem to take into consideration that I'd had a small baby before and maybe that she was measuring smaller in the scan because of that. dd2 was 7lbs 12oz, ok not huge but she seemed huge after dd1.

Thanks ladies for that but poor psychoflame that sounded awful for you............

On my ds my dates & the scan dates were spot on and he arrived 4 days early which was great..... as mears said 6 days is not an awful lot out so I think I'll just go with the scan dates for now ~ who knows they might tell me something different at my next visit which will be when I'm 15 or 16 weeks...........

Thanks for your replies

Cyndii,

in my first pregnancy, i was absolutely convinced of my dates (sex once (accident), regular period and early test) but the first scan showed the baby was small so they put my dates back a week (this was at 8ish weeks). then i had the normal scan at 12 weeks and they put me back another few days. at 20 weeks they changed the date again - back again so that i was now nearly 2 weeks out. it turned out that the condition my son had was associated with sever growth restriction, but the refused to listen to me and dh about dates and continued to change them without raising the alarm.
my baby was born with a rare genetic condition at 750g at 33 weeks by emergency cs after he stopped moving.
i am not telling you this to panic you, but stick to your guns. if you are absolutely sure, then DON't let them change your dates on your notes. if they do, they will never again quesiton whether the baby is smaller/bigger then it should be for YOUR dates.

I am now pregnant again and this baby seems to comply much better with their definition of average! i have had 5 scans so far (am 17 weeks) and the next is on Friday. one of the first things that my consultant said was that once you have had your dating scan they should NEVER change your dates again. it implies that the baby's growth between two scans is different from expected, which is not the same as just having dates wrong.

having said all of that, the dates you get from a scan are only accurate to plus or minus 4 days, so it sounds like your baby could only be 2 days worth of smaller (if you see what i mean!!). either way, stick up for yourself - if you know your dates, then you know!!!! argue your corner.

rant over...

Thank you Joseyjo ~ glad that all is working out well for you now.

I think I'll wait until the next scan ~ you never know I might be surprised and bring my dates nearer............ but anyway it's only 6 days for all I dknow I could go over on my dates this time any way.

Recently I younger sister had her first baby ~ 13 days over due and he was a whopping 12lb 1oz ~ ohhh my God.............. so I don't want to go over as my ds was 4 days early and was 9lb 7 oz!

Take care

Go by your own date if sure of your last LMP date. Having said that, this is what happened to me:

ds2 - sure of last LMP but scan brought due date forward one week - ds born just before scan date (so a week before mine)

ds3 - sure of last LMP but scan brought due date forward one week - ds born on my due date

Because gestation and due dates are not exact, being a week out is probably no big deal unless you are looking at induction. With ds3, I was very reluctant when they started arranging inductions as I got 5 days over their due date because I was certain of my own dates (planned pg) - I would have waited at least a week after my due date if he'd not come on time!

My friend had just phoned me with a concern about her dates:

Her dates going by her last AF say she is due 5th September. She had a scan 3 weeks ago and they said she was 16+5days and due on September 15th. She went for another scan today and they said she was 18+5 days and due on 22nd Sept!!! She asked why her baby had only grown 2 weeks worth over 3 weeks and the Consultant said that the baby was growing fine and there was nothing to worry about.

However, she has a heart shaped pelvis which was discovered in her last pregnancy. She developed severe pre-eclampsia at 34 weeks and her Ds was born by C section a few dayas later weighing 4lb12oz. He was fine and they came home after a couple of days.

She will be scheduled for a section again, but the policy at the hospital is to do sections between 38 and 39 wks....... BUT if her date are correct they could potentially leave her until she is 41-42wks before sectioning her (unless her BP goes up again)!

She is TERRIFIED about going into labour, but they will not listen to her dates.

What do you all think?

I've reassured her that the minute she goes into labour, if that happens at all!.... they will section her. She is afraid they will leave her to try to give birth naturally.

Toothache....can you show her this thread???? Tell her she needs to beat them with sticks and not to back down. If she is sure of her dates then she must stick to them, it could well prove sadly dangerous if they try to insist that they are the experts and that they are right and ONLY they are right!!!!

Unfortunately, too many of these health proffessionals have a 'God' complex and think they are superior to us mere mums who want the best for our babies and aslo have an inbuilt sense of when something is wrong!

Psychoflame - Apart from the potential danger of leaving her until passed her due date.... what happens if she goes into labour? Is it quite simple to section her immediately if they find she is contracting? Are they likely to leave her jeee-ust in case her pelvis might be wide enough?

Maybe I should start another thread about that.