Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Sometimes I can be smart

I still think my u/s tech was confusing and mixing different ages, but I think I may have figured out the whole gestational age thing!! Here's a quote from a website:

Week 1 & 2 Gestational Age - (Conception)

At this stage, the menstrual period has just ended and your body is getting ready for ovulation. For most women, ovulation takes place about 11 - 21 days from the first day of the last menstrual period. During intercourse, several hundred million sperm are released in the vagina. Sperm will travel through the cervix and into the fallopian tubes. When conception takes place, the sperm will penetrate an egg and create a single set of 46 chromosomes called a zygote - the basis for a new human being. The fertilized egg, called a morula, spends a couple of days traveling through the fallopian tube toward the uterus and dividing into cells (this dividing process is where many chromosomal abnormalities occur). The morula becomes a blastocyst and will eventually end up in the uterus. Anywhere from day 6 - 12 after conception, the blastocyst will imbed into the uterine lining and begin the embryonic stage.


So I think they're counting development of the egg as part of the baby's age and not just fertilization. So NOW I get it more. I think the u/s tech just was mixing up terminology because from my opinion, she was switching from fetal age, to gestational age and back again without either realizing or perhaps making clear that they were separate things. So yes, in this case, I am right about when we conceived. If you go by gestational age (which I think the u/s machine was.. the whole 2 wks extra thing) then 7 wks makes sense because it would be 7 wks old gestationally, but conceived 5 weeks ago. I feel so much better!! Now just how to figure out which the books are talking about... hmm...

Am I right or completely off? Maybe pregnancy hormones are making me crazy? Maybe I'll just go take a nap and wait for my repair guy who could come any time between now and forever.

10 comments:

Steph said...

Sounds right.
The books will all likely go by gestational age to stay on par with the doc. Right now you are seven weeks as far as any pg books would be concerned.

HereWeGoAJen said...

Yes, I bet that's it.

And you should also go by seven weeks too, that's how most of the world sees it. Forty weeks is counted from the first day of your last period. (Well it is for those people with 28 day cycles anyway.)

Mommy Shoes said...

Yes, just like Jen said they usually go by last menstrual period to figure the forty weeks of pregnancy. so, in effect, you are two weeks pregnant when you ovulate (given theoretical ovulation on day 14ish).

Kristin said...

You are exactly right. The 2 weeks before O count

AwkwardMoments said...

i have been meaning to respond to these - yes you are right, now. It's so confusing because you get 2 weeks "free" because they consider the start of your first cycle as being pregnant even though We as infertiles understand No not possible.

I mean how can you be pregnant before ovulation right ... Just doesn't make sense. But take the 2 weeks ..it moves you closer and closer to the "safe zone"

Barb said...

You guys are WONDERFUL!!!! Thanks!

Christina said...

You're right now. Like for me, I'm 15 weeks but I O'd 13 weeks ago but I'm still considered 15 weeks. It confused me at first too.

Heather said...

Yeah that's what I was talking about. I remember being in the throes of morning sickness and realizing that I got a "bonus" two weeks, and remember feeling thrilled that I had two weeks down without even knowing it. :-)

Jamie said...

I think they make it complex on purpose. I still think it's crazy to add two weeks of pregnancy to account for the time leading up to ovulation. That would make us all pregnant for two weeks every cycle!

Me said...

I believe you are correct. The age the OB gives you should always be 2 weeks greater than the actual, gestational age since that is from Ovulation but they're counting from LMP.