When women deliver within a couple of weeks of their due date, does that mean the due date was wrong??

Question

For example, if a woman delivers say 2 weeks before, or 2 weeks after the Dr. predicts she is due, does that mean that the original due date was off? (particularly if the due date was determined from an ultrasound as opposed to LMP)

Answer 1

They estimate 40 weeks out from your LMP...that's your due date at your first appt....and it changes as the baby grows....Jackson was always Dec. 7th throughout my pregnancy with him....but my girlfriend who is due to have a girl on my birthday...which is Saturday!!...her doctor changed Ella's due date three times...but only by a few days...first it was August 8th, then August 6th...then it was August 4th. I think it adjusts by how fast the baby is developing and growing....that's just my guess though!

Answer 2

I don't think so...when you go for an ultrasound, and they measure the body parts...it will average out a due date. I am currently reading a book now called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child", and it says that babies usually peak at 6 weeks from their due date with fussiness/crankiness. They note that if you gave birth 2 weeks before your due date, that that 6 week peak is 6 weeks after the original due date. I don't think their predictions are necessarily wrong because they are measuring the babies growth in utero...the baby will just come whenever it is going to. Hope this helps! LMP I don't think is as accurate as when they measure the baby at 20 weeks!

Answer 3

Wrong, how?

It's generally accepted that your due date can be off by two weeks in either direction. With that in mind - nope, the due date was right on time.

The guessed date of conception might be off. Or the LMP.

But if for some reason they thing you're anywhere over 2 weeks off of your due date then they'll schedule a scan and change it if need be.

Answer 4

A due date is a guess. Having the baby within two weeks either way is accurate. Now, if you have a fully developed baby that is born at a normal weight 4 weeks early, the due date was off. Ultrasound predicted due dates are usually very accurate. My first was 2 weeks early, my second was 3 weeks early (and had trouble with her lungs), and my third was one week early. All of them were due on weird holidays, I'm convinced my doctor just liked holidays. :D
With my second pregancy a friend of mine was due the same day, Halloween day, mine was 3 weeks early and hers was 1 week late.

Answer 5

No. The due date is set for the 40 week mark, but a baby is considered full term, and therefore the mother can deliver a healthy baby, anywhere between 37 and 42 weeks. Before 37 weeks is premature, and after 42 weeks is postmature. Before 30 weeks is severely premature. The due date isn't "wrong," it's just not supposed to be very accurate - it's supposed to be a very generalized guess.

Answer 6

As many others have said, a due date is estimated. Look at it this way... You take 3 five year olds, all born on the same day. The first walked by the time he was 9 months, fed himself with a spoon at 13 months, and now at 5 years, can read to himself. The second five year old walked at 11 months, fed himself with a spoon at 15 months, and recognizes some letters at age 5. The third five year old walked at 13 months, fed himself with a spoon at 16 months, and does not know the difference between a 6 and a z on a piece of paper. This does not mean their "birth dates" were wrong, just that everyone develops at their own pace, the same happens with babies in utero. All 3 of my children were very different regarding my pregnancy, and birth. Yet I knew the exact date all 3 were conceived, therefore, they just developed at different paces, and my body reacted differently to each. Hope that helps...

Answer 7

No.

40 weeks is simply the "average" amount of time for gestation to complete. It's actually pretty unusual for a woman to bear a child right on the due date.

What really confuses the issue is that gestation doesn't stay the same from one child to the next. For example, a woman's first child could be two weeks early and the second could be a week late.

Answer 8

Not really. I think different women just have slightly different gestation periods. My daughter was born almost 3 weeks early and yet I knew the EXACT day she was conceived (I am extremely regular and I also keep close track of the calendar!). My due date had been calculated correctly, but she was ready sooner. She was born at 7lbs, 9oz and 20in long, so she certainly wasn't 3-weeks too small.

Some women also go into labor because of other reasons. I know that stress, dehydration, low amniotic fluid, and even baby's position can cause labor to start a little early.

Answer 9

They're only taking an educated guess at the date. It can be any time two weeks before or two weeks after. Since they don't know the exact date of conception the best they can do is an educated guess.
All the docs were wrong about my due date but a doc in training only missed it by two days. lol.

Answer 10

When it comes to delivering there are a lot of factors; gestational age which is pretty acurate but not completely; the type of body, some women's bodies can't begin labor on their own or some can't carry a baby as long as 40 weeks; medical problems, etc. I don't think it means there due date was wrong, you can't predict everything but giving an estimate works fine.