Ultrasound Dating. . .What did your doc do? What did baby do?

[Forget-Me-Not]

I'm just curious to hear anecdotes here.

 

By my LMP, I'm due one date. By a very early ultrasound (7 wks) I'm due 3 days later--which is the date my doc went with. But I just had my mid-pregnancy ultrasound and baby is measuring a full 8 days earlier than the 7 week ultrasound.

 

I had to go out to an imaging place to have the ultrasound done and won't see my doc until next month . I'm *very* concerned that she's going to bump up my EDD based on this new info (she's very technology dependent, and yes, she's my best option right now), and I'm not comfortable with that for a few reasons. One being that I'm very, very sure of my dates. Let's just say that I had a major dental procedure at a crucial time and wasn't . . . ahem. . . feeling up to certain activities, and thus there was a pretty narrow window of opportunity. But also ultrasound dating gets less and less accurate the later into the pregnancy, and as I'm a scheduled c-section (stupid VBAC ban :glare:) I don't want to deliver a baby that isn't ready to come.

 

I think if she tries to move it, I'm just going to tell her that I won't consent to a c-section until I'm a full 40 weeks by MY dates. But that could come with it's own set of issues, like she might fire me as a patient for non-compliance and ugh. . . I guess I should quit obsessing and wait and see what happens huh? :D

 

So I'm just curious if anyone else has been in this boat. . . did your doc move your date? When did the baby actually come?

Edited August 22, 2012 by LemonPie

[kokotg]

When I saw the perinatologist, she tried to move my due date because I was measuring something like 10 days ahead. I'm sure of my dates, though, so we kind of wound up in this standoff, with her saying, "well, we really like to change it when it's more than 7 days off...." and then looking at me. Finally I said, "I'm not going to tell you I want you to change it, because I don't." And she left it alone. Of course, next time I was there, baby was measuring just 3 days ahead and everyone was perfectly content with my unchanged due date.

 

Turned out it didn't really matter anyway, though....my midwife told me that she only changes the due date is the mother isn't sure about dates AND the earliest ultrasound is more than 7 days off (I was only 6 days ahead on my first ultrasound. So she didn't care what the perinatologist did anyway :).

[ktgrok]

usually the don't change dates based on a late ultrasound, they are only accurate plus or minus a week. Also...have you contacted ICAN locally to make sure you don't have VBAC options? Showing up pushing is always an option :)

 

Also, if you wait to argue until close to your due date he can't drop you wihtout 30 days notice.

[Kathryn]

If you know when you conceived, she should go by that.

 

My story with DS2:

LMP was December 8 when I went off BCP, leading to an unexpectedly long cycle. I got a positive test in the January 20s and went to the doctor at the end of the month to have a dating ultrasound. Due to various illnesses that month, the last date of the act leading to conception was January 2. The ultrasound dated conception at January 10. I told my doctor that either they needed to study my husband's sperm or that ultrasound was wrong. He went with my date. The twenty week ultrasound actually lined up perfectly with my date. He was 8 days early and over seven pounds, which is good-sized for my family.

[LisaKinVA]

Early US are pretty accurate. In every case I had an early US, my due date was earlier than my LMP. By mid-term, my babies were "bigger" and my EDD was even earlier. They never adjusted my Due Date. With my midwives, they gave me the option of using my LMP or my early US date. I used my early US date (which proved more accurate...in fact, with the one pregnancy I *knew* when we conceived, it was the same, but my LMP still was one week later.)

[cjzimmer1]

My early ultrasounds have always been within a few days of my LMP. For me I always figure the ultrasounds are more accurate because my cycles are 30 days and I've always ovulated on day 17 rather than the usually day 14. However, the doctor have never been concerned and usually just go with the LMP (if I know it, otherwise they will use the ultrasound). I've never had a doctor move a date based on the 20 week scan but than again I've never had a scheduled c-section (my first two were unplanned c-sections and I've vbac the others, sorry to hear they are not giving you that option).

[NatashainDFW]

My doc uses the due date based on lmp even though by ultrasound the baby is dated as a week further along.I am refusing to schedule a csection period. We will see what the doctor thinks tomorrow at my 31 week appt lol

[Dory]

I got into an argument with my doctor over my daughters due date. She wanted to go by ultrasound and put me almost a week behind where I knew the due date was. It couldn't have been on the due dates the ultrasound had because my dh wasn't even around then, and I was traveling. I won. Didn't really matter in the end because dd was born preemie anyway.

[Forget-Me-Not]

usually the don't change dates based on a late ultrasound, they are only accurate plus or minus a week. Also...have you contacted ICAN locally to make sure you don't have VBAC options? Showing up pushing is always an option :)

 

Yeah, that's why I didn't complain when they pushed it later ;) Because if I go into labor at home, you can be pretty sure they won't see me until I'm fairly progressed :leaving: Also why I'm stressing about her trying to push it earlier

 

My VBAC options here are non-existent unless I want to travel 2.5 hours or go the home birth route--which I"m not comfortable with because of some complications I had last time.

[ktgrok]

Yeah, that's why I didn't complain when they pushed it later ;) Because if I go into labor at home, you can be pretty sure they won't see me until I'm fairly progressed :leaving: Also why I'm stressing about her trying to push it earlier

 

My VBAC options here are non-existent unless I want to travel 2.5 hours or go the home birth route--which I"m not comfortable with because of some complications I had last time.

 

Why can't you just decline the c-section? Once you are at the hospital they can't kick you out, and can't do surgery without your consent.

[Carrie12345]

None of my obs or mws ever "changed" my edd. 3 were based on my LMP, and the two that didn't have an LMP were based on measurements in the second month.

 

I can't wrap my mind around why any professional would change dates based on a late ultrasound. If all fetuses grew to the same size at the same rate, wouldn't every baby be born weighing exactly the same? :confused: And 3 days means nothing. There's a reason for the E in EDD!

[Forget-Me-Not]

My doc uses the due date based on lmp even though by ultrasound the baby is dated as a week further along.I am refusing to schedule a csection period. We will see what the doctor thinks tomorrow at my 31 week appt lol

 

Really? Are you going to a hospital that "allows" VBACs, or are you just telling them to go to heck with their policies?

[ErinE]

I've had early ultrasounds (6-7 weeks) with all 3 pregnancies and they measured within a few days of LMP. For all three, later ultrasounds showed them measuring large and none of the doctors opted to change the due date. According to them, early ultrasounds measure more accurately than later ones.

Edited August 22, 2012 by ErinE

[KatieJ]

Our DDIL measured 2 weeks later than her LMP date implied,( Jan 24th should have been her due date) so they moved her due date to Feb 8th. Later the ultrasound tech moved her date back to the 5th of February. Baby arrived on January 15th way ahead of everyone's schedule! Technically she is a premie so she measures on the 95th percentile at all her checkups. We just laugh at the technology. I secretly kept telling my DIL that baby is coming earlier than you think..get ready!

[Forget-Me-Not]

Why can't you just decline the c-section? Once you are at the hospital they can't kick you out, and can't do surgery without your consent.

 

Yeah, I know. I just want to deal with the inevitable hostility for as short a time as possible.

[ktgrok]

Yeah, I know. I just want to deal with the inevitable hostility for as short a time as possible.

 

In that case you could play nice until the end, then cancel the surgery the night before :)

[Forget-Me-Not]

In that case you could play nice until the end, then cancel the surgery the night before :)

 

Don't think it hasn't crossed my mind. . .

 

On one hand, I hate to do that to my doc. But on the other, I'm pretty sure the ONE OB call group up here has probably had a lot of say in the stupid hospital policy to begin with (or at least they sure aren't complaining about it), so I sort of feel like they've made their bed and opened the door for this kind of thing (forgive my mixed metaphors, haha).

[NatashainDFW]

Really? Are you going to a hospital that "allows" VBACs, or are you just telling them to go to heck with their policies?

 

Depends on who you ask lol. This is part of the reason that I refuse to schedule it since the policies keep changing depending on who you ask. The thing is once I show up they can't make me have surgery and they can't deny me service or transfer me until after the baby comes because the ambulance company here won't move a woman in active labor. Helps that the nearest hospital with labor and delivery besides the one I am using is nearly an hour away. You will have to stand up for yourself but even in a no VBAC allowed hospital they can't make you have a surgery you don't want.

[Forget-Me-Not]

Depends on who you ask lol. This is part of the reason that I refuse to schedule it since the policies keep changing depending on who you ask. The thing is once I show up they can't make me have surgery and they can't deny me service or transfer me until after the baby comes because the ambulance company here won't move a woman in active labor. Helps that the nearest hospital with labor and delivery besides the one I am using is nearly an hour away. You will have to stand up for yourself but even in a no VBAC allowed hospital they can't make you have a surgery you don't want.

 

How frustrating! I wouldn't schedule either. Good luck to you!

[Canadianmumof5]

Here are my dates:

 

LMP: October 19th

8 week U/S: October 16th

20 week U/S: October 10th

 

Midwife is sticking with October 19th simply so it gives us more time before having to induce. Since I am of "advanced maternal age" (40), I will have a BPP at 38 weeks and can decide to be induced at 39weeks if I want to. Given how cranky I am at this point, I think I just may do that! All of our babies have been 1 week late and over 9 1/2 lbs so a little 8 pounder would be great :lol:

 

Not sure that was helpful....

[Pretty in Pink]

The same thing happened with my last pregnancy. I was very sure of my dates, down to the date of conception. Baby measured slightly ahead at 9 weeks and by 20 weeks she measured a full 14 days ahead. Against my wishes my official 'due date' was bumped up 9 days. A week before my new due date (so 16 days before I would actually be full term, according to my own calculations) my provider starting talking induction. I refused then and again at 40 weeks after my provider refused to order a NST because, her words, she already knew that my baby would pass. Heh.

 

My daughter was born a few days before my actual due date, no induction, amazingly smooth and quick delivery, and was a whopping 6 lbs 4 oz and 19 inches long.