JumpyTheFrog Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130806203327.htm Once scientists were able to determine exactly when a woman ovulated and conceived, they were surprised to find that the length if pregnancies varied by five weeks. Previously they had thought most of the variation was from not knowing when the pregnancy had actually begun. While there is a lot of variation between woman, it seems more consistent from birth to birth for the same woman. This makes me wonder even more about the number of doctors who want to induce women who are "overdue," even if there is no evidence the baby is under stress. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 My oldest was 11 days overdue and my second was 4 days early. I figured my second would be way overdue as well. At the time, though, I had been sick for a few weeks and my midwife thought that all my coughing may have led my water to break earlier than it otherwise would've. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 A 5-week variance would correspond with the definition of term as between 37 and 42 weeks. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 How is this a surprise? It's been known for years. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Both girls were 10 days early. I was induced with dd1 but I was 4-5 cm when I went to the hospital. My water broke with dd2 :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 And let me tell you if you deliver your first one 5 weeks early, any subsequent pregnancy that goes full term will seem like it goes on forever. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 And let me tell you if you deliver your first one 5 weeks early, any subsequent pregnancy that goes full term will seem like it goes on forever.Yes! I had one born just before 35 weeks and all pregnancies since then have dragged on after 35 weeks! A good reason to get everything ready very early though! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Once scientists were able to determine exactly when a woman ovulated and conceived, they were surprised to find that the length if pregnancies varied by five weeks. Previously they had thought most of the variation was from not knowing when the pregnancy had actually begun. How is this a surprise? It's been known for years. The scientists should have asked the moms. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 The scientists should have asked the moms. Nothing is proven until a PhD with 10 graduate student demonstrates that women aren't lying about their experiences. :001_rolleyes: 21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Interesting that it is consistent from birth to birth in the same mother. It certainly holds true for me. All four of my babies were due the 10th-12th of their birth months (according to the traditional calculations). Three were born on the 25th, one on the 23rd. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 And let me tell you if you deliver your first one 5 weeks early, any subsequent pregnancy that goes full term will seem like it goes on forever. LOL! The flip side of that is that subsequent babies who are early really look early to you! All of mine were spontaneous labors, no inductions. First was 40w6d. My mom had all of her babies at 37-38 weeks (all spontaneous), so I kind of figured I'd go early too. Hahahaha, no. Second was 41w1d. The last two days of waiting, after the point at which his sister had arrived, were very long! He was 9 lbs. 10 oz. Third was 40w5d. By that point, it's about what we expected. He was 9 lbs. 5 oz. So we figured the fourth would come sometime after 40 weeks. Yeah, no. 38w3d. I spent his first two weeks just completely shocked that he was even here. He was healthy and full-term, but he looked early to me. And he was definitely little, for me. He was the same length, 21", with the same 14" head, as the first two babies, but he was "only" 8 pounds exactly. I felt like half the baby was missing, haha! All bets were off for the fifth, but nobody was terribly surprised that he came at 40w4d and that he was 9 lbs. 3 oz. All of my boys were right in line for gestational age, size-wise. Going by the "babies put on about half a pound a week," DS3 (baby #4) would have been a bit over 9 pounds if he'd come a little after 40 weeks like his brothers. I make one model of boy. They're all rather identical as well. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UncleEJ Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130806203327.htm While there is a lot of variation between woman, it seems more consistent from birth to birth for the same woman. Not for me! First was 39 weeks. Second was 35 weeks. Third was 37 weeks. But they were all "ready." Even the 35 weeker was fine, they kept I'm in NICU for 5 days but he was fine. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmseB Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 All I know is I'm tired of being 38 weeks pregnant. I guess the good news is that on Friday I will be 39 weeks pregnant. First came on time-ish 2nd was 41w 3rd was 40w6dI didn't have prodromal labor with any of them. They were all spontaneous labors. This one has been making signs of making an appearance since last Tuesday and it is driving me crazy and making me an ogre. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 All three conception dates known. Scorecard: right on time, five days late, 3 weeks late. So I quit having babies. :smilielol5: 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 I believe it, but man when you are at the end you feel like you'd be willing to rip the kid out yourself to get it over with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Except that 41-42 weeks isn't considered term by most mothers and practitioners, but overdue or over term, where that definition and associated risks making induction necessary would better be placed in the 42-43 week range. Ther isn't a significantly higher risk of complication in otherwise healthy pregnancies by going to 42 weeks, but you'd be hard pressed to get an OB to acknowledge that when they're starting to pressure you to induce with no other factors than the day on the calendar. /personal grudge attached. You are right, of course. I had all my children at home, and being very much into the crunchy homebirth side of things at that time, I knew a lot of mothers who went to 42 weeks and more. I sort of forgot that over 40 is virtually unknown in mainstream circles. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 LOL, I had three of my four on my due dates (knew their conception dates too so note that I said MY due dates, not the medical profession established ones), and one two days before my due date. Midwives were great, they trusted my dates. The one delivered by a doctor (the first one) was quite certain I was looney and could not possibly know when she was born, and was quite certain no baby in the history of the world had ever been born on his or her due date. He was literally annoyed when I showed up at the hospital in heavy, active labor on my due date with dd. He did not like being proved wrong. Sigh... So, I agree with the sentiment that it takes a PH.D and 10 grad students to prove what women have known all along in order to get the attention of some medical practitioners. My CNM's though, they were AWESOME! Many of my friends were not allowed to go even one day past their due dates, and ended up with high intervention births. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imagine.more Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Interesting. I think my normal gestation is 40 weeks-ish. My second was born 6 days early and he seemed ready but a tiny bit early, didn't have fingernails that needed cutting and still had that yucky white stuff on him. My third was born at nearly 42 weeks however and she didn't seem overdue at all when she came out. Her skin was good, coloring good, placenta looked like a normal 40 week placenta according to the midwife, and DD wasn't really too big at 8 lbs. And I know my dates on all of them because we use NFP and I chart even when we're TTC cause I'm a dork and like numbers :) My doctors never believe my dates because my babies heads' measure big but I'm always right. My first DS was born on his due date even. The third I think only went so long because they stopped labor at 31 weeks when I was contracting a lot (I told them it was my pattern and I was definitely not in real labor but they wanted to be 'safe'). I figure babies know how long they should be in there, scientists should start listening to moms more often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 Many of my friends were not allowed to go even one day past their due dates, and ended up with high intervention births. Yup. It is extremely unlikely a doctor would've let me go 11 days past my due date with my oldest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 My first was a c-section so I couldn't really use him as a measuring stick. The next was 5 weeks early. The third was three weeks late and finally induced. That last week was brutal and I finally ended up sitting in my doctors office crying and asking him to help me out. An 8 week difference from one pregnancy to the next feels like a lifetime. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 What is all this "letting" people talk about? What is the doctor going to do? Tie you down and induce without your consent? Induction or augmentation is just like any other medical intervention: health professional advises it. Then the patient should ask a series of question, such as: What at the medical indications for this? What are the risks and benefits? Are the other treatment options? What are their risks and benefits? What are the risks of doing nothing (watchful waiting)? Then if there is no medical indication (ie, the induction is being proposed only on account of 'post dates'), the woman can state that she has considered the advice and decided not to consent to intervention at that time. Maybe I was unusually lucky to be dealing with health professionals who didn't put pressure on me. I'm guessing that things would be more challenging if I'd had complex health issues, or major pregnancy risk factors, or if I had employed an obstetrician instead of a midwife. But I honestly still find it hard to understand why perfectly well-educated, intelligent, assertive women can say "Oh, I wanted to .... but my doctor wouldn't let me..." 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 What is all this "letting" people talk about? What is the doctor going to do? Tie you down and induce without your consent? Induction or augmentation is just like any other medical intervention: health professional advises it. Then the patient should ask a series of question, such as: What at the medical indications for this? What are the risks and benefits? Are the other treatment options? What are their risks and benefits? What are the risks of doing nothing (watchful waiting)? Then if there is no medical indication (ie, the induction is being proposed only on account of 'post dates'), the woman can state that she has considered the advice and decided not to consent to intervention at that time. Maybe I was unusually lucky to be dealing with health professionals who didn't put pressure on me. I'm guessing that things would be more challenging if I'd had complex health issues, or major pregnancy risk factors, or if I had employed an obstetrician instead of a midwife. But I honestly still find it hard to understand why perfectly well-educated, intelligent, assertive women can say "Oh, I wanted to ....but my doctor wouldn't let me..." Here in Florida they will either drop you as a patient (unethical, but it happens) or rarely, call CPS on you, or get a court order for whatever procedure they decided you "need". It's ugly, but more than one woman has been threatened this way, and I've seen the documents to prove it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 ...and the scare tactics. Do you realize your baby could DIE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serenade Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Both of my boys were born 5 days before my due date. Maybe it wasn't a coincidence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 My first was 38 weeks 2 days, but the last two (who share a father, different from the first) were both 41w5d. On the nose. One I tried to "get moving" with membrane sweeps, evening primrose oil, etc etc. The other I did nothing. Came exactly the same gestation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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