Due Date Confusion...

[chely7425]

The 1st day of my last period was April 6th, when I put that into EDD calculators I get a due date of January 11th and I am 4.5 weeks along.  But then I see other people saying they are due right around then and are 5.5 weeks?  I am so confused.... and yes, I should get this stuff after 3 kids :P

[Kindermama]

I'm due January 6th and today I'm 5 weeks 1 day pregnant. My last "period" (it was really still part of a miscarriage because I was still testing +)  was April 1st but my due date is based on ovulation (April 15th). 

I bet some are basing their due dates on the first day of their last period and others on ovulation! 

[asprague]

I think that you are right on. My last period was Apr 6th too, so my EDD would be Jan 11 (if I ever find out if I am preggo...argghh..). At least that is what the EDD calculators say. Like the PP said, some people calculate by LMP or conception date. Everyone has different length of cycles and the EDD is not usually right on. I know that I have babies at 42 weeks, not 40.

[Kindermama]

Originally Posted by asprague 

I think that you are right on. My last period was Apr 6th too, so my EDD would be Jan 11 (if I ever find out if I am preggo...argghh..). At least that is what the EDD calculators say. Like the PP said, some people calculate by LMP or conception date. Everyone has different length of cycles and the EDD is not usually right on. I know that I have babies at 42 weeks, not 40.

when are you testing!  Is AF late?

[Kindermama]

well now I'm confused...I just used this calculator based on conception and it said: Congratulations! Your estimated due date is Friday, January 06, 2012, which means you're in week 6 day 1 of your pregnancy. 

Hmm.....maybe it's the IN my sixth week thing that's important even though I'm 5 weeks 1 day along. Clear as mud? 

[Mommyofalmost6]

Ok that calender, the what to expect is just off. I its telling me I am in week 6 day 5 of my pregnancy when I know for a fact with out doubt that I am in week 5 day 4.

[Mommyofalmost6]

http://www.babymed.com/pregnancy-calendar-and-calculator-week-by-week 

this calculator is pretty cool!

[chely7425]

I know EDD is jsut an estimate of course but anyone due on a certain day should be the same amount along as anyone else due on that day... ya know?

[thorn]

an EDD of 1/11/12 would be 4w4d along today

I am 5w6d and I am due January 2nd.

[mariacm]

Here's another good calculator, by conception or by LMP.  It tells you how far along you are now, and when each trimester starts/ends.  The what to expect one is confusing.

http://www.justmommies.com/duedate.shtml

[Celticqueen]

Now I am confused too! First day of my last period was also April 6th, and midwife said my due date is January 15th! Hmm....Oh, and too funny that so many of us started on the same day, lol

[mariacm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Celticqueen 

Now I am confused too! First day of my last period was also April 6th, and midwife said my due date is January 15th! Hmm....Oh, and too funny that so many of us started on the same day, lol

If they ask your LMP to calculate by that, they may also take into account your normal cycle length if you know it.  Obviously, the whole thing would make a lot more sense if all of us were taught to know when we ovulate and the docs used that information, instead of using the LMP and generally assuming all of us ovulate on day 14 of every cycle. 

Also, when I was preg with DS, the midwife said she had 2 different wheels to calcuate due date (based on ovulation) and one said I was due one day later than the other.  Must be a brand thing?  Go figure.  Not that one day matters, but it doesn't make sense.

We, the MW and I, chose to use the later date on paper.  This was important, bc if their patients go past 42 weeks, they have to induce or transfer to the OB, so one day can make a difference with that.  (A friend's OB induced automatically at 40w exactly if you hadn't delivered on your own!)  So if you have a choice of more than one due date, I would always choose the *later* one officially to give yourself more time to avoid automatic interventions.

[doulawoman]

I am confused too...because on the calendars posted I am anywhere from 3 w to 5.5 w? Because my cycle length changes each month....can be 45 days or 21 days...I know I ovulated about 2.5 -3 weeks ago though...but I didn;t record the exact date this time. I ahd been using homeopathics from my homeopatht hat made me ovulate much earlier than usual...and my luteual phase is usually only like 9-11 days but I was using vitex for two cycles and am assuminh since this bean stuck it was longer this cycle....confusing!!!

ETA: 1st day of LMP was april 8th and I believe it was a very early m/c and I bled over ten days...but seemed to have ewcm much earlier and think I o'd by the 22? ahh!

[thorn]

Both for LMP of 4/08/11 and O date of 4/22/11, your EDD is 1/12/12 and today you are 5w0d

[doulawoman]

thanks...different calculators were giving me different numbers...I am not 100% on the o date...

[Adaline'sMama]

Im having problems too, figuring out theh EDD. It doesnt really matter that much to me and all the calculators are saying either 1/25 or 2/1. I just want to know which DDC to sign up for

[Devaskyla]

EDD is confusing. It depends partially on what method of calculation you use, too. Using the standard ones (which use Naegle's rule, which is WRONG, & which is sadly the ones the drs use) my due date is January 6th or 7th. Using Mittendorf-Williams, which is much more accurate, I'm due January 16 or 17. Using Naelge with ds3, my due date was Feb 27. Using Mittendorf-Williams, it was March 1. Ds3 was born March 3. I'm going with the Mittendorf date.

It's really easy to calculate for yourself. Count back 3 months from your LMP date. Add 10 days if you've had a baby already or you aren't Caucasion. Add 15 days if it's your first baby & you are Caucasion. I find it's easiest to look at a calendar to do it.

If you don't know the history, Naegle's rule is from the 1830's years ago & used a sample of just 34 women. Mittendorf-Williams is from the 90's and used a much bigger sample.

http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/961107/pregnancy.shtml

A retrospective study by Mittendorf and colleagues (Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1990; Vol. 75) determined that white women with single-birth pregnancies receiving private care averaged seven days longer gestation than Naegele's Rule predicts. A second study by Mittendorf (American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1993, Vol. 168) concluded that there are several factors -- including number of previous births, age and race -- that can be used to determine the length of pregnancy more accurately than Naegele's Rule, which does not take other factors into consideration.

Few women deliver exactly on their due date. A prospective study comparing Naegele's Rule with the Mittendorf-Williams Rule(TM) found the latter to be twice as accurate as Naegele's Rule in predicting gestation.

Sorry, I'm kind of interested in due dates. So many unnecessary interventions could be avoided if drs used a more accurate dating method. I have no idea why they don't..probably because pharmaceutical companies don't make wheels using anything but Naegle's.

[doulawoman]

This is really interesting. I've never heard of this. It is very close to my edd...it givesme the 18th jan and my edd is the 13/14th jan...how does this factor in u/s dating? my early us said jan 14th, my edd by lmp is the 13th....this gives me the 18th, dd1 was born feb 19th, due feb 6...
 

Originally Posted by Devaskyla 

EDD is confusing. It depends partially on what method of calculation you use, too. Using the standard ones (which use Naegle's rule, which is WRONG, & which is sadly the ones the drs use) my due date is January 6th or 7th. Using Mittendorf-Williams, which is much more accurate, I'm due January 16 or 17. Using Naelge with ds3, my due date was Feb 27. Using Mittendorf-Williams, it was March 1. Ds3 was born March 3. I'm going with the Mittendorf date.

It's really easy to calculate for yourself. Count back 3 months from your LMP date. Add 10 days if you've had a baby already or you aren't Caucasion. Add 15 days if it's your first baby & you are Caucasion. I find it's easiest to look at a calendar to do it.

If you don't know the history, Naegle's rule is from the 1830's years ago & used a sample of just 34 women. Mittendorf-Williams is from the 90's and used a much bigger sample.

http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/961107/pregnancy.shtml

Sorry, I'm kind of interested in due dates. So many unnecessary interventions could be avoided if drs used a more accurate dating method. I have no idea why they don't..probably because pharmaceutical companies don't make wheels using anything but Naegle's.

[Devaskyla]

Well, even though early ultrasounds are the most accurate ultrasound for dating, they can still be off by a week or 2. I know women whose husbands weren't even around when the ultrasound said they must have gotten pregnant. All it takes is the tech being off by a millimetre or 2 to make a big dating difference.

Personally, I go with the latest dating I can. It's always going to be a guessing game, but the later the date, the less pressure there is to induce andthe less risk of iatrogenic prematurity. If I had a provider, I'd figure out the latest due date for me & figure out what LMP to tell based on that date, so it works on their little wheel. As far as I'm concerned, I'm correcting for their non evidence based issues.

Since you've had a dating ultrasound, I'd just keep the later date in mind if you go "over". It might help to resist interventions, knowing that you could actually be due a bit later than they think.

[waluso]

I'm so torn by the due date. On the one hand, I want a later date to avoid any unnecessary interventions or stress. On the other hand, my maternity leave is based on my due date - I get to go out on leave 4 weeks before my due date. I think I will stick with the earlier date and argue against any intervention later if I need to. I'm really looking forward to some time off work to spend with dd before the baby comes.