Dr. Changed Due date by 4 weeks, is that ok?

Question

My job switched insurance companies on us but made special arrangments for me to still have health care being that i'm already pregnant. But I did have to switch dr. which was not so much of a biggie because I don't get attached to them like that, but you know. So yesterday was my 1st visit with the new dr. accoriding to them "they do they're practice different" i tell them i'm 17 weeks pregnant. The dr. stops me and says no by your LMP you're 22 wks along, i said well I have an irregular cycle a lot of things happened that month i'm 17 wks give me an ultrasound. she says u/s are most accurate early so there is no point in doing that unless you have complications. I said ok, then feel my uterus, it's no where near my belly button which should indicate to you that i'm not even 20 wks yet. She says back to me, oh, so you're the dr. now? I'm like no but I read up on this alot, not to mention that I had an u/s @ 7wks, 8w5d, 13wks, and 14wks3day (level 2) and they all matched my due date. she said this is a different practice and i'm putting you due MArch 28 instead of April 28th. OK thats a whole month off. That's not even safe. one week maybe even two would not upset me, but a whole month. So now i have to argue with me job and try to find yet another dr. or try to see how i can go back to my orginal. What should I do? and who should I trust?

Answer 1

well if your 22 weeks you should feel the baby moving really good. and that is a 5 wk diff usually the first ultra sound is most acurate on the due date if your not comftorble with this dr. then do what ever you have to to get a new dr. and if you had an ultrasound already you could have your doctor send all your prenatal info to your new dr maybe that might help but if your un sure about your new dr, change dr.s my main consern for her having your due date 5 wks ahead is what if sh thinks your baby is over due when really its not be safe for you and your baby find a dr. you trust and feel is safe

Answer 2

First of all it would be illegal if you didn't get covered after an insurance switch when you are pregnant. It is not a pre-existant condition. Secondly you should not be getting so many ultrasounds unless there is a problem with the baby; too many ultrasounds isn't good for either you or the baby. Thirdly, almost all doctors do go by the day of your last period even if you are irregular until an ultrasound proves otherwise. However, if you just switched doctors they will go by the start date of your LMP and not what the last doctor says until the test otherwise.
I know these things because I just went through them myself. My LMP was a full month before I got pregnant and if you go by just the date I would have been a full 11 months along (44 weeks and 6 days) instead of the regular gestational term of 40 weeks.
Your new doctor is just doing the normal thing and you should stop worrying about it. They really do know what they are doing.

Answer 3

Switch your doctor, I'm sure you have another choice in the same insurance.
You remember your LMP clearly? Just go with that date.
The doctor switched mine too based on the ultrasound and not based on what I told them was my LMP. Well, I had a scheduled C-section only because I had one before and sure enough they were wrong. My baby was 3 weeks early, which wasn't such a bad thing because she is 8 weeks now and she is fine but it just annoyed me that they didn't trust me.
You could not make a big deal unless you are planning on having a C-section, because they are scheduled one week before due date and if they're due date is wrong that would mean you are having the baby 5 weeks early! But if you're really 17 weeks then you'll just go into labor and give birth but if you go into labor 2 weeks earlier than your 17 week due date then they might think you are 6 weeks early and think the baby is premature! Oh this is too complicated to write, just see another doctor or email me.

Answer 4

Here's a suggestion you may not want to hear. Tell him fine that your "due date" is the 28th of March, then tell him that you do not want to be induced to just let you go until you go into labor on your own. You'll go past the 28th of March which will be healthier for the baby. Another suggestion you could do is call your old dr. and have them send your records over to him. Or, if you have any pictures from the previous ultrasounds show him. When all of my ultrasounds were done they had the date they were taken and the estimated due date printed on all the pictures. I'm not sure you're insurance is going to let you keep switching, in fact most dr.s won't even take you after 10 weeks because they don't want to be liable for complications that could have been detected early on. It is not safe to have a baby that early before the due date so try and push for waiting for the baby to come on his/her own if the dr. is too stubborn.

Answer 5

Find a new doctor that one sounds crazy.

When i first found out i was pregnant the doctor says i was 17 weeks but then by the ultrasound i was only 12 weeks but thats going by an ultrasound. I think ultrasounds are quite accurate.

Good luck and i hope your able to get a new doctor i would take the due date you were originally given by your ultrasound and NOT that doctor.

Answer 6

I wouldn't trust what the new Dr. is saying. But to be on the safe side, I would plan for a March baby but not expect the baby to come until April.

If you can go back to your other Dr, that would be great... or just find a different Dr. that will go with your original Due date. You don't want that baby to be delivered early becasue your Dr. can't count!

Good luck!

Answer 7

Well first thing, and most importantly, get a new doctor! This is too important and you should have a close trust relationship with your doctor...and they should make you feel comfortable. I had a similar situation happen to me...my original doctor is only practicing gynecology now, but used to be an OBGYN, he performed my first ultrasound and told me that I was already eight weeks pregnant. Then I had to start seeing a new OBGYN and at my first appointment (three weeks later) they told me that I was eight weeks pregnant...I thought how can this be that these two doctors are telling me such different things. Therefore I have a three week difference in my doctors opinions too!

Answer 8

If your not comfortable with you new doctor - tell you company you would like to see someone else, and tell them why. There should be someone else you can go to, hopefully not in the same medical practice. This doctor may be right though. Figuring due dates is not an exact science. Anyway you look at it, when that baby is ready to come, whether when the old doctor said or when the new one said, or sometime in between, it will come. Good luck!

Answer 9

Oh I would definately find another Dr. Or atleast get a second opinion. When I went to my first OB appt. I thought I was 10 weeks according to my LMP, but they did a Vaginal Ultrasound and found I was only 7 weeks. My Dr. said that it was due to me ovualting later than usual. Hope this helps. Trust your instincts. Find another Dr.!!!!!

Answer 10

That's really weird. Plus your new doctor sounds rude. I would try to see a new doctor based on her snappy retort alone. You especially don't need that while you are pregnant and full of hormones. You should trust yourself and perhaps find an OB/GYN practice that has nurse-midwives. They are typically more interested in what you have to say and how you feel as opposed to just being right like your current doctor.