If you were 2 weeks past your due date the first time...should you add a week onto the date of lmp??

[doulawoman]

I don't want to lie, but my cycles are irregular in length (21-45 days) and this last one when i got pg it seems like I ovulated at least a week early....there was so much trouble with me being "post dates" last time, even though my mom ran late the same way and dd was FINE, it was all the inducing and stress that led to exhaustion and eventual c-section....how can I address this with my mw's right off the bat? I was set for a hb last time and then they "weren't comfortable" because I was 13 days past my due date...even though by my calculations I was only 1 week past (TCOYF software based it on my cycle history...) anyway, I'm in BC, canada and there are strict rules about when mw's referr to ob's (whether they like it or not) and when you risk out of hb (14 days if not before) but i did my research and short of anything abnormal, the risk doesn;t significantly rise until you hit 43 weeks... I really want advice, I ended up with PTSD after my last birth...

[Jaimee]

Just to clarify... are you wondering if you should make a "fake" LMP based on your ovulation day OR are you wondering if you should make a "fake" LMP based on one week after your ovulation day?

If the former, I would have zero issue with that.  In fact, I have always told my mw's that I know my ovulation date and not to base my due date on my LMP.  Some have squirmed a bit, but others have had absolutely no problem with that at all.  You could bring in your charts to prove your point. 

If the latter, well, I'm much more up in the air about that one.  I know that a lot of women simply cook babies longer than others and there is nothing at all wrong with that and they end up getting screwed like you did by the fearful medical system.  BUT, I also would be concerned about making sure that I was getting the necessary monitoring after I had gone post dates regardless of a past post date pregnancy that was totally fine.  Since you are hiring a mw to be in charge of your medical care it seems important to me that she is well aware of exactly what is going on so that she can make good decisions about your care.  Can you interview midwife practices and find out their post date protocol before going in for your first prenatal?  Do some have more leeway than others?  Otherwise you could consider a UC.

There was actually another whole thread on this issue a month or two ago.   You might be able to find it if you search.  I'm pretty sure it was in this forum.  Good luck with your decision!

[camprunner]

Would you consider getting an ultrasound done and having them change your due date based on that? I got one at 11 weeks this time after never having had one with the previous two babies. Ultrasound showed I was exactly where I thought I was and I asked them to move the due date.

[ursusarctos]

I knew when I ovulated (charting), and it was many weeks after my lmp. So I made one up. I just didn't want to explain, over and over to different people who might not even believe me, that I knew when I ovulated and the lmp date wouldn't be accurate. My 20 week u/s showed a baby right on track with my fake lmp/real ovulation date. Unsurprisingly. So, if you know when you ovulated, I would go right ahead and make up a lmp to go with it.

On the other hand, if your lmp lines up with your ovulation date I wouldn't make up a later date just to potentially prevent a post-dates pregnancy. My mom went to 42 weeks with me (her first) and then only 38 weeks with her next pregnancy; if she had made up a later date my brother would have been "premature" and she would have lost her homebirth. So you never know.

I'm sorry it's so stressful. One of my major concerns is that I will go over 42 weeks and they will start pressuring me to induce. I plan to refuse until at least 43 weeks unless there is clear evidence that something is wrong. Can you get them to give you non-stress tests, etc. after 42 weeks instead of pressuring you to induce? Then at least if you had to have a hospital birth you could still go into labor on your own.

[Jaimee]

Originally Posted by camprunner 

Would you consider getting an ultrasound done and having them change your due date based on that? I got one at 11 weeks this time after never having had one with the previous two babies. Ultrasound showed I was exactly where I thought I was and I asked them to move the due date.

This is certainly an idea if you just want to make sure they are getting the right due date based on ovulation.  But I wouldn't wait until 11 weeks.  I would ask for one around 7-8 weeks so that it is more accurate (margin of error is lower).

[lookingforaname]

Aren't early ultrasounds supposed to be even more accurate than lmp dating?  That's what I would do as well. 

[Ms. B. Sprout]

***

[sarahtar]

If an early US is out of the question (I'm not familiar with the requirements and restrictions in Canadian health care), I personally have no issues inventing a logical LMP date to come up with a reasonable due date, particularly if you're certain of your ovulation date. I did that with my first - I had longer cycles then, and ended up inventing a LMP date that was 2 weeks before my ovulation date (of which I was certain, I was temping), and that ended up being a full week later than my actual LMP.

If you want to go the early US route, you can always tell your MWs that you honestly have no recollection at all of when your last LMP was. I've had months like that...

[doulawoman]

i had an u/s at 12 weeks and I was right on track last time...I'm really iffy on ultrasounds because of how inaccurate it was for dd at the end last time and how distressed she was by it and how dh wans't allowed in till the end...and they are just not proven safe. I think i just cooked my baby longer...

[Magali]

Originally Posted by camprunner 

Would you consider getting an ultrasound done and having them change your due date based on that? I got one at 11 weeks this time after never having had one with the previous two babies. Ultrasound showed I was exactly where I thought I was and I asked them to move the due date.

I'm in Canada and my doctor refused to go by the ultrasound date, even though it correlated perfectly with my regular 37 day cycles, and when I actually went into labor. 

[klemomma]

Personally, I wouldn't fudge my ovulation date to get a later EDD. There are some risks with this, as pp pointed out, like going a little earlier and being considered "pre-term". While this may seem unlikely, it is a risk.

However, I would and have fudged my LMP to be 14 days prior to my known ovulation date. I have no issues with this at all. It simplifies matters, really, because now they can use the magic wheel of babies with no issues and no fussing back and forth on getting your dates right.

One minor alternative here, if you didn't want to fudge with anything, would be to simply refuse to give them an LMP and only provide them with the ovulation date instead. There's no fibbing at all here, just only providing them with what you know to be the most accurate.