January 24, 2011

Due Dates, are they useful?


The more I think about my EDD (estimated due date) the more I know it’s an imperfect, inaccurate date.  When I first went to the doctor, and they confirmed my pregnancy, they gave me an EDD of May 6th 2011.  Mid-way through my pregnancy, and this date has not changed in their charts, something I will bring up in our next prenatal appointment.  



Let’s back up.  When I had my last, mid-pregnancy sonogram, which takes into account the complete anatomy of the baby and its measurements, the technician changed the date to May 3rd according to what she saw in the monitor.  Still, the doctor did not make any changes to her chart.  

Now that I’m in week 25 or possibly week 27, who really knows?  I have the gut feeling
-that self-proclaimed nagging certainty that inhabits your cerebral cortex-  that this child will be born the last week of April instead of the first week of May.  

This gut feeling is further supported by the fact that EDDs are created based on the pregnant women’s first day of their last menstrual cycle, and that cycle is based on the average 28-day cycle.  This measurement is both inaccurate and simplistic.  Firstly because I know the day of conception.  Secondly, because my cycles are not 28 days, but 23 days.  So I may have enough evidence to support my case of an inaccurately calculated EDD.    

For the most accurate due date calculator online visit this link at Discovery Health.

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