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Gestational Age?

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nemt4paul

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Joined: 29 Feb 2008
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Gestational Age?
Posted: 02-29-08 16:25pm

Here is my dilemma:

I found out about 1 1/2 weeks ago that I'm going to be a dad......of twins. The mother of the babies just found out as well, even though she is around 5 months pregnant.

She was on the birth control shot and the Dr.'s told her that her period would be very sporadic and absent for up to a year so she wasn't alarmed about missing her menstruation cycle. She also didn't have any morning sickness to speak of. Another important point is, she doesn't drink or smoke (thank god).

She is 20 years old and we had a short relationship that ended on good terms. We are now in a pickle.

I'll give you the exact details about her Menstruation cycle and the date we were together and hopefully you can let me know if I have reason to be concerned about her honesty.

1.) We were together on 9/2/07 Sunday and she claims this is the first day of her LMP. I do know she was on her period that day, 100% positive, although I'm not sure if it was her first day.

2.) We had unprotected sex on 9/15/07 Saturday.... (Probably right smack dab in the middle of her ovulation cycle...so based on this I'm thinking they are mine). I did not ejaculate in her. If I did impregnate her on this night the gestational age of the baby would be about 23 weeks 4 days, 165 days from her LMP. Based on a 40 week pregnancy the due date would be around June 8th.

3.) She got an ultrasound on 2/13/08 and everything looked healthy and no problems to speak of.
Here, however, is my dilemma. The report and analysis of the ultrasound reports that the big twin baby's gestational age is estimated to be around 19 weeks 4 days...and the smaller twin almost 1 week behind that and the probable due date being early July. That puts them at almost a full cycle behind where they should be.

In the research I've conducted, I realize that the accuracy of ultrasounds in determining gestational age can be sketchy at best the further along the pregnancy but they are usually only + or - two weeks.....not four weeks as in my case.

I also realize that growth rates may be different for twin babies as compared to singletons, however, that usually isn't recognized until the third trimester and twins usually grow comparable in the first two trimesters.

She swears that she wasn't with anyone else around this time. Should she be trusted and should I be concerned about the health of my babies or both. Oh.....I do plan on getting a paternity test to make sure.

Question #1- Is it possible for the ultrasound to underestimate my babies gestational age by 4 weeks?

Question #2- If they are my kids and are small for gestational age (maybe due to malnourishment) what can be done now to catch up....if anything.

Question #3- What other concerns should I have?

Thank you so much for your time.

nemt4paul
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Ingi

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Posted: 02-29-08 16:36pm

Are you 100% for sure she is pregnant? Being pregnant with twins is not the same as being pregnant with a single baby. It would be a lot more difficult to 'hide' it or not to know you were pregnant.

Have you seen the ultrasound pictures? ALL doctors give ultrasound pictures, it would be fishy if she didn't have some. Especially with a twin pregnancy, they like to keep track of what is going on in there. At 5 months, you should also know the sexes of the babies!

The dating is probably correct. Twins grow at different rates and it is not uncommon for one twin to be considerably smaller than the other.
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nemt4paul

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Joined: 29 Feb 2008
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Update
Posted: 02-29-08 16:36pm

**Update 2/28/08**

Well, we went in yesterday day and came out quite disappointed. The midwife was very short with me and didn't answer my questions sufficiently. I tried to ask her about the difference between the LMP and ultrasound and she just wouldn’t have it.

She kept saying they are going by the ultrasound because it’s more accurate than LMP. I wanted to scream and say “listen here….if 9/2 is the LMP there is no way these babies will get into June.” She just kept reiterating that the babies due date is set for the beginning of July.

She basically said we won't know if they are Small for Gestational Age until the next ultrasound.

I did talk to another midwife (very experienced) about our situation, however, and she said unequivocally that these babies were conceived on her next cycle. My girl friend, however, swears that her LMP was on 9-2-07.

The only problem with that is......I wasn't with her during her next cycle.

My gut and instinct are saying that these are my babies, but the ultrasound results aren't jiving when we were together.

I'm very confused. I hope to find out a lot more on March 13th......the next scheduled ultrasound.

On a positive note, the babies and the mother appear to be healthy. No problems to speak of.

Thanks
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nemt4paul

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Joined: 29 Feb 2008
Posts: 3
100% sure
Posted: 02-29-08 16:39pm

Ingi wrote:
Are you 100% for sure she is pregnant? Being pregnant with twins is not the same as being pregnant with a single baby. It would be a lot more difficult to 'hide' it or not to know you were pregnant.

Have you seen the ultrasound pictures? ALL doctors give ultrasound pictures, it would be fishy if she didn't have some. Especially with a twin pregnancy, they like to keep track of what is going on in there. At 5 months, you should also know the sexes of the babies!

The dating is probably correct. Twins grow at different rates and it is not uncommon for one twin to be considerably smaller than the other.


Since I found out exactly two weeks ago....I've spent a lot of time with her.

She has grown a lot in those two weeks and is noticeably pregnant.

I've seen the ultrasound, ultrasound technitions report and been to the OB with her since my initial report.
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Ingi

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Posted: 02-29-08 16:41pm

You need to get a paternity test. Don't sign the birth certificates until you do.
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