After hearing about a woman who had police show up at her door for failure to come in for an induction she told her care providers she was uncomfortable with, we thought we would revisit the idea of the due date. For many women, carry a baby "post dates" is physically uncomfortable, but they are also getting pressure from their care providers to deliver "on time". When exactly should you worry? Are you really "overdue"?
By Lucy Myers in Associated Content:
"Pregnant women and their care providers, as well as society in general, put a lot of stock in due dates. But in reality, a due date is only an estimated date of delivery (EDD). Mothers-to-be, midwives, doctors, families, and others would do well to remember the following reasons why due dates are often inacurate.
1. Length of the menstrual cycle. Every woman's due date is calculated with the assumption that she has a 28-day menstrual cycle. In addition, it is assumed she ovulated on day 14. Then, the due date is 40 weeks from her last menstrual period.
This method of calculating due dates is extremely out-dated, presumptuous, and flawed. First of all, not all women have regular menstrual cycles. Secondly, one woman may have a 28-day cycle, while a second woman's cycle is 35 days, and a third's is 40 days. Healthy women have menstrual cycles of various lengths, and the length can even change throughout a woman's life or from one pregnancy to the next.
As a result, due dates are often inaccurate."
To see the other three reasons, click here to read the full article.
One more thing... If people continue to ask you, "Have you had that baby yet?", you can always send them here.
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