The ever-changing due date

Congratulations Roger! Somehow I missed the announcement? Same story for me, I had three different due dates, starting with Dec 3, then Nov 22, and then my midwives stayed with Nov 30. On December 14, I was induced and my daughter barely made it out before midnight! I know she wasn’t ready and at that point, I didn’t care, I just really wanted to have a natural childbirth – oh well.

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There is a lot of fiddling with due dates these days. Basically a due date by LMP is said to be good within 2 weeks (so a 38-42 weeks range of normal). Ultrasound before 12 weeks is supposedly a little more accurate about 7-10 days, ultrasound after that doesn't get better than the 2 week range before and shouldn't really be used for due date calculations after 20 weeks. March of Dimes and others have suggested that the wiggling due date is one potential cause of the rise in late preterm births.

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Many midwives and other birth experts recommend you think of potential due dates as the "birth month" rather than the day--so just say "early to mid-May, most likely." Focusing on a specific day is a real stressor for moms, esp. first timers.

This article

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/timely.asp

has a good breakdown of the research on gestation length, and also mentions the important fact that the later you get into pregnancy, the less accurate sonogram measurements are in terms of baby weight, something to keep in mind before demanding a c/sec because you're scared of a huge baby, or just tired of being pregnant. Some OBs have caused premature births by being too hasty to induce or c/sec at 38 weeks or so, leading to health problems for underdeveloped babies and time in the NICU. Hopefully yours is not one of those.

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Previous comments are all correct, and for the most part the date doesn't mean much. The only thing that would worry me, is that they've moved the date up- meaning that they will start wanting to induce your wife earlier (most doctors are unwilling to let moms go past 41 weeks because they are afraid of getting sued). You might want to find out where your wife's team stands on induction and how long they are willing to let her go.
And congrats from another Rachel with a mid-may baby!!

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Go with the latest due date. You're less likely to be annoyed (or annoying, as in, "Haven't you had that baby YET??") when you expect it later.

Also, I wouldn't let my doctor move a due date forward, but I would let him move it back. You're less likely to get induced, etc. if you go with the later date.

Even if everyone agreed, though, you'd still have no idea when the kid was coming. Only 4% of babies are born on their due date.

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My OB told me that the ultrasound dates were the most accurate because the LMP date is an approximation, and it doesn't tell exactly when conception happened. The actual size of the baby at the early ultrasounds was a better indicator. ... That all being said, I had a five week early baby and a six week early baby. They were both on the big side of six pounds. Due dates are great, but when they told me that my daughter would be born around November 19th, I automatically subtracted a month in my head. She came October 14th. :) -- Be ready for anything. And congratulations!

Cheryl and http://redpens-diapers.blogspot.com

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My second baby had 3 due dates. According to LMP he was due December 12th. According to an early ultrasound he was due January 6th. According to the 20 week ultrasound he was due December 28th.

He was born on December 30th. I was still nursing when I got pregnant so I hadn't a clue when I conceived. If you have an idea when your wife conceived you can figure the date pretty easy. If not then you have to rely on what the doctors say. In that case I would definiately go with the later date. We did and so according to the doctors he was a week earlly. Who really knows for sure!

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Same here.. but the most correct is the ultrasound measurements if it was done before 14 weeks, after that babies grow at diff rates and it's not easy to predict the exact age.

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