Would you lie about your EDD to your mw/gp/ob?

[Indadhanu]

Just wondering, after reading LimeSlice's post about EDDs, how many people would lie about their EDD?

By that I mean, if you knew when your LMP was, and knew what your 40 week EDD would be... would you lie and tell them you were due a week later? To save the hassle of inductions etc when you hit smack on 40 weeks?

What would be the risks of saying you are due later? Do you think you'd get the "oh you're big for x weeks" and push for inductions anyway?

Just wondering...

[mrsmac]

No I never would, I think its foolish to possibly endanger your baby but that is just me, I like my obs and I felt completely comfortable with him. I guess if i didn't feel confident about my care providers I might.

[MrsFabuloso]

No way, just in case it endangered my bub some how. I would just try to be strong and refuse any kind of induction from the begining. I would just be honest with them. I think that's betterthan lying to get what you want!

[feeb]

no way as placentas dont keep functioning forever. If you lie and fo to full term on false edd and they let you go 2 weeks over you are really 3 weeks over and endangering babies life. If you went into labour before edd management of prem labour and drugs they give to stop labour or help babies lungs you would be having unnessary.

Silly and irreponsible for people to do that, if you are not 110% comfortable that care provider will do best thing for you then you need to seek alternative care.

[Janie]

No way. But I do feel very comfortable with my care provider, and trust him. What if the baby comes early, and has problems? Do you then fess up that you've lied all along? And what if you're someone who chooses to have scans, and they all show a different date to what you're saying? I know scans are not always correct, but I used to have long cycles, and I knew when I conceived. My Ob was happy to use my EDD, rather than working it from my LMP. And all four ultrasounds I had were within one day of the EDD I predicted.

So no, absolutely not. I think it would be more important to find a care provider you trust, than to start lying to one you don't.

[Inanna]

I think if you have to lie - you need a new care provider. It is our responsibility to seek out a care provider who has values similar to our own. If it's important to you not to be hassled about due dates - you need to find a health care provider that has a similar approach.

It is NEVER okay to lie about your health to someone you are entrusting your health to. It is setting up a really negative energy around the birth.

There are care providers and models of care for everyone out there - and as a health care consumer it is our responsibility to find the right one.

[maz]

I think that would be totally irrisponsable and selfish! How could you possible endanger the life of your unborn child!

Wouldnt people become unstuck anyway due to u/s datings???

[Arimeh]

I think if you have to lie - you need a new care provider. It is our responsibility to seek out a care provider who has values similar to our own. If it's important to you not to be hassled about due dates - you need to find a health care provider that has a similar approach.

It is NEVER okay to lie about your health to someone you are entrusting your health to. It is setting up a really negative energy around the birth.

There are care providers and models of care for everyone out there - and as a health care consumer it is our responsibility to find the right one.

:yeahthat:

Could not agree more.

[Indadhanu]

Hmmm interesting. It was just a thought that lead from the other post saying how your due date is later than you think, I was just wondering how many people would say that that date is their due date IYKWIM?

[Schmickers]

no way as placentas dont keep functioning forever. If you lie and fo to full term on false edd and they let you go 2 weeks over you are really 3 weeks over and endangering babies life.

Feeb, I think the point of the article Limeslice posted was that the idea of the pregnancy being complete, and therefore the placenta beginning to deteriorate is a myth. That a normal pregnancy does actually last 41 + weeks.

Having said that, I agree with Flowerchild. If you can't trust your care provider to practice in accordance with modern evidence, even at your request, then you are better off finding a new case provider than lying. If that is not possible, them arm yourself with the knowledge and the evidence and stand your ground. But I think it's important to be honest with your provider.

[maz]

I Cant get this outof my head now lol.

If I would have lied about M's due date and said it was later I would have ended up having a stillborn..I had to push enough to get him an early c/s as it was...and his placenta was calcified very badly

[feeb]

Feeb, I think the point of the article Limeslice posted was that the idea of the pregnancy being complete, and therefore the placenta beginning to deteriorate is a myth. That a normal pregnancy does actually last 41 + weeks.

.

I have seen many placentas of prem babies or babies at term with pale, calcified, fatty placentas not all do last.

Do we get to the point of saying you are not overdue enought keep going placenta will be ok and then end up with a stillborn?

As maz pointed out mother intuition that things are not right is very very important.

[Trillian]

I wouldn't - you have nothing to gain and everything to loose. I think you would cop the 'big for dates' crappola and have to deal with that and it would defeat the purpose of the lie in the first place. I don't buy into the placenta thing, yep they do fail but I trust that the baby and your body knows what they are doing and labour will start. That's why you have women going past 42 weeks and birthing healthy and robust babies. The 'date' is only a mindset. Like Deb said, if you feel you have to do that, you're not in a healthy relationship with your care provider and I think it shows no respect to them that you would rather lie to them then tell the truth and work through any issues. If anything did happen it makes their job so much harder to treat both yourself or your baby - treatment decisions could be based on the fetal age of the baby and if they are earlier or later than what they think it is, then it can complicate things and I couldn't live with that on my conscience.

[Lisa]

I wouldn't.
I have a great health provider though who listens to me. This time around I am due Sept 15-16 according to the dating scans etc... but I feel like I am due Sept 23 going by the times that I know I O'd and by when we DTD. My midwife agrees with my dates although we need to go by the scan dates anyway... but if I do go over, it isn't like it's not expected.

[Inanna]

for all of those that had placental issues - I understand the fears there - when Imogen was born her placenta was an absolute mess - it was infarcted in multiple places and due to her lack of detectable movement and it's hideous state she had not long to go before it was too late... So I do get that placentas don't always last...

In a healthy mama, with growth = dates (obviously the correct EDD is needed here!) the "normal" gestation is 37-42 weeks + or minus a week! If you are from a scandanavian country or have this origin you statistically will gestate up to 2 weeks longer than your sisters from other parts. (I am one of those freaky folk who looove interesting stats! )

Movement, fetal growth an some pathology can help track how that placenta is functioning. In a well Mama with the aforementioned going well it is highly likely that your placenta is motoring along fine. This is why that recent evidence suggests that women should be closely watched post dates but not necessarily induced due to the very large variation in "normal"...

Leasha - the key to a fabulous birthing experience is to engage a practitioner that you trust, who can educate you, who you can learn from. You are having a baby - the relationship needs to be very very pure for the best outcome.
Misleading a care provider is disaster - you need a clear relationship. There are fabulous models of care and practitioners who trust in birth, women's bodies and marry this with awesome knowledge and professionalism...

If you need some names - I'd gladly steer you in the direction of homebirth midwife or obstetrician who would honour your values in the Sunshine Coast area...

[Rouge]

I wouldn't lie, but my own Ob told me he would go by the date that allowed me to go longest over (it was only a week) and interestingly DS was born the day before the longest EDD. He would have let me go 42 weeks but with monitoring from 40 weeks. So I don't think I would have been in any danger.

But I agree if one feels they need to lie, then IMO they shouldn't be with that carer. I would never allow myself to be pressured into an induction though, so maybe I feel more secure because of that?

[Schmickers]

I have seen many placentas of prem babies or babies at term with pale, calcified, fatty placentas not all do last.

I agree, but given that you are seeing these on premature or term babies, then it suggests that the problem is with the placenta, not with an overdue pregnancy. In particular with prem babies, knowing the EDD would have made little to no difference, because their placenta had started to break down before they even reached it, whether you called it 40 weeks or 41 weeks.

Do we get to the point of saying you are not overdue enought keep going placenta will be ok and then end up with a stillborn?

No, I don't think we should, but once more, what you are talking about isn't really related to EDDs. Detecting an early placental breakdown comes down to good antenatal care and assessment, and that should be happening no matter whether you are 20, 30, 40, or 40+ weeks.

Mittendorf's Rule is based on evidence and is well known (although sadly not universally accepted) to provide a much better estimate of EDD and a better yardstick to base decisions around induction, etc. than Naegele's rule does.

As maz pointed out mother intuition that things are not right is very very important.

I agree wholeheartedly.

[Willow]

I think if you have to lie - you need a new care provider. It is our responsibility to seek out a care provider who has values similar to our own.

Couldn't agree more. With a history of delivering 10 days post dates, one of the reasons I am with my ob and not the midwifery clinic at the hospital is his views on induction.

I wouldn't lie about my EDD. This time around having no idea about our dates, I've found it doesn't matter, they'll find an EDD to work with anyway.