When did I conceive, how far along am I?
Question
My question is kind of long and I apologize in advance if it is hard to understand. I am not sure if I conceived before or after my last period. I had sex on March 26th, no protection but we didn’t finish. Then I got my period on April 10th and it seemed normal to me. I had sex on April 15th until the end of the month, took four HPT from May 12th to May 27th and they all came back negative, then went to the doctor on May 31st and found out that I really was pregnant (seven weeks according to them). So if everything is right from my last period I am now at 19 weeks and due January 15th. Is there any chance that I could be farther along and they have not caught it?
Answer
Last Updated: July 17, 2013
First of all, while March 26th is just about the time you should have ovulated if your period followed on April 10th, it is unlikely you conceived then for two reasons 1) you had a normal period since then and 2) the pregnancy tests were negative.
Secondly, when they say you are seven weeks along, they usually mean your period was seven weeks ago. While pregnancy is said to be 40 weeks, it is really 38 weeks from conception, 40 weeks from your last period (assuming a 28 day cycle with ovulation occurring around day 14). Of course, ovulation does not always occur around day 14—-it occurs earlier in shorter cycles, later in longer cycles. But when due dates are calculated based on the first day of your last menses, those are the assumptions that are made. If they said you were 7 weeks along based on the first day of your last period, they estimated your conception to be about five weeks earlier, around the end of April. If they said you were seven weeks along based on an ultrasound, this would be more accurate.
If a woman charts her cycles, she can more accurately identify the estimated time of conception, and an accurate due date. If you had a first trimester ultrasound, it would not be likely they would be an entire month off on your due date. Sounds like you will have to wait til January to me! (And hope my response did not only confuse you further!)
Congratulations!!!
Secondly, when they say you are seven weeks along, they usually mean your period was seven weeks ago. While pregnancy is said to be 40 weeks, it is really 38 weeks from conception, 40 weeks from your last period (assuming a 28 day cycle with ovulation occurring around day 14). Of course, ovulation does not always occur around day 14—-it occurs earlier in shorter cycles, later in longer cycles. But when due dates are calculated based on the first day of your last menses, those are the assumptions that are made. If they said you were 7 weeks along based on the first day of your last period, they estimated your conception to be about five weeks earlier, around the end of April. If they said you were seven weeks along based on an ultrasound, this would be more accurate.
If a woman charts her cycles, she can more accurately identify the estimated time of conception, and an accurate due date. If you had a first trimester ultrasound, it would not be likely they would be an entire month off on your due date. Sounds like you will have to wait til January to me! (And hope my response did not only confuse you further!)
Congratulations!!!
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CANFP
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