Is It Normal for a Doc. to Keep Switching the Due Date?

Could be that she didn't know the time of her last period. The initial date is just what is estimated from what she tells her doctor... he has nothing else to go by. Once you get closer and with other test and especially once she's had a sonogram, they should be able to give a very good estimate based on size and development... but, if the baby is not developing at the same rate, the due date will be changed because the idea is, the body will not cast the baby out until he/she is at the right stage. So... it's it depends so much on the body, it's anybody's guess and due dates given should never be taken firmly.

Haha!
With my second...they didn't even give me a due date.
Literally, it was never discussed. I was estimating, myself, on when I thought I was due.
Whenever I asked, they said "roughly XXX".

So while I found that a little weird, clearly a date is insignificant enough that they didn't bother saying anything.

Based on ultrasounds, my date changed every single time the machine read me. And with my second, I was having weekly ultrasounds (high risk)...so it was anybody's guess.

Yes. My doctor always told me to stick with the date SHE gave me, and not the sonogram people. Babies are supposed to measure a certain way for each week, and if they are measuring bigger or smaller, it could very well change the "due date." However, my doctor told me the first date was always the most accurate. As long s the doctors are monitoring her, I'd say everything is fine.

I think it's normal. The first date is just an estimate. Most people don't know the exact date they conceived and often can't remember the start of their last period. I know I couldn't remember on my third because I wasn't trying and it was a surprise. So, they take whatever random dates you give them and make a guess.
When you have an ultrasound, and most people have one or more, they will try to figure out the EXACT age of the baby and give you a more accurate due date.
And, as you get closer to the due date, they may change it based upon size of the baby or even your progression.
My son wasn't due until September 10th, but on the 28th of August I was so dialated and effaced at my checkup that the dr sent me straight to the hospital. So much for due dates!
My first was due March 22nd. Then they changed it to April 2nd. She was born on March 22nd. Ooops.
And, my youngest, three weeks early!
So, you just never know.
All of the marvels of science will try everything they can to predict it and give you a good estimation, but only mother nature and God know the truth!

It's entirely possible that your cousin's wife may have misrepresented what her doctor told her. Maybe her due date always was February 27th, but her sonogram estimated her due date to be March 1, so she assumed that her due date was changed, even though the doctor didn't officially change it. It's also possible that they did change her due date. Feb. 27-March 1st is only two days, so that's not really 'jumping around'. My OB never changes the due date unless the LMP estimated due date is drastically different than the due date the sonogram estimates by growth. He usually goes with the LMP date.

Happened to me. I had so many different due dates and it was awful they kept changing it back and forth.

I had no idea when I conceived because my last period was 4 months before I got pregnant. I was very irregular. I had a due date originally as of May 27th, then it was moved to June 12th, then back to May 27th, then back to June 12th, then June 12th came and went. I finally had her on June 23rd by induction. Good thing too, because she was almost out of fluid. I think they let me go a little too long. They were a bit worried during the delivery.

Mine kept getting changed as well. It started out as Jan 20th, then they kept moving it further and further up because she was "measuring big". Well, the women in my family have big babies! At the ultrasounds they kept assuming we must have been off on the original date because she was so big. She was born on Jan 19th. I think it's just relying too much on technology.

Quite normal-everything is fine-medicine, science, nature-not exact-just frustrating and unpredictable-good luck and prayers!

A little weird. For both of my pregnancies, I did not know the exact date of my last period. So, they did the measurements with the sono at around 6 weeks and gave me a due date. At times I measured 2+ weeks "bigger" than my due date would suggest, but they STILL did not change my due date. My OB told me that something would have to be pretty far off for them to adjust my due date - and that they would never change it by just a day or two since as you mentioned due dates are expected to be plus or minus 2 weeks. Everyones experience is different I guess, but based on my experience, I would agree that this seems a bit odd.

You might ask her what tests or exams prompted them to change the date. That might be a clue. They changed my mom's due date for me by a couple of weeks but I was born closer to the first date than the second.

That's especially normal with high risk pregnancies.

Sometimes they'll be looking at a "goal" date (earliest they'll induce or csect out of choice), then as that date gets nearer with few problems, they'll move the date.

Other times it IS because they're doing a lot of ultrasounds. There are 'golden periods' to guess age (if not in that window, its 2 weeks in either direction... A whole durn month-date). If the day of conception was off, then the golden period was off, then the date can be (wildly, like up to 6weeks!) off... But later ultrasounds show the first date was off, and they readjust. Ditto, high risk babies often develop slower (for a variety of reasons) so they may have been dead on with 2/14, but the baby is growing slower than average. Often these slow-moes speed up and are delivered right on time, but it pretty vital if you're inducing @36 weeks, to know its "really" 34 weeks.

Point being... Whether its a goal, an off date, an off measure, or a slow-moe... Its not scary or indicative of anything bad. Super normal.

With my son, they (midwives) told me Oct 5. I told them I thought closer to the 15th. The ultrasound said 14th. They said "since it's within 2 weeks of your due date, we're not changing it since it can go two weeks either way". They had me scheduled for induction two weeks after my due date, but since it was on a Saturday, they moved it to the 17th (instead of 19th). I went in labor on my own late on the 16th going into the 17th and had him that afternoon.

With my daughter, they (doctors) told me Dec 10th. I think the US said Dec. 7th which was pretty much the same and right in line with what I thought and close enough that we stuck with the 10th. Then due to GD, I was scheduled for induction just before (6th) but I went in labor on my own on the 3rd (early labor) and more actively on the 4th. Still less than a week from my "due date".

My sister was pregant at the same time as my 2nd pregnancy. She found out almost immediately that she was pregnant (they were trying) and because of the positive test and her rush to get in with the doctor, they were using her menstral cycle for due date (which is a good starting point). They started checking her levels early and they weren't rising like they wanted. Multiple US...first was showing barely anything so they thought "possible miscarriage" and scared her to death. Rather than saying, based on size, your due date isn't Jan 16th but rather maybe a week or two later. Due to complications (with her, not the baby), they induced her on Jan 2 and had to do an emergency C-section on the 3rd. He had to spend a week or so in the NICU...guess what...he was a preemie. Had his due date really been 16th he may have been small but woulnd't have had the problems he had (still has). I realize that due to her complications they still would have done the C-section but they really put a lot of stress on her early on all because they wouldn't use common sense and adjust the due date.

We actually used the same group of doctors but the one she primarily saw was one that I did not care for. I went in labor on his watch and was in labor all day and they never checked my glucose levels (even though I had a long lasting insulin injection that morning). Due to labor my levels had actually risen rather than dropping but he didnt' know that and my doctor was not happy when he came on duty before I delivered.

My point being that they tend to use your cycle as a guesstimate at first. They confirm with US. If they are within 2 weeks of each other, they don't normally change the date.

One of the things I've learned is that the earlier the US is done, the more accurate it is on determining gestational age/due date (which is still just a guestimate but it often closer than using your menstral cycle). Obviously, there are other factors that can make you go early or late but that is the best way to get your "due date". The ones done later tend to be based on size and since all babies are born at different size and weights are less accurate for due date purposes.

The other thing I have learned is that each doctor has different ways of approaching things.

It could be that the doctor isn't changing her date per say but rather she has latched onto dates that US have indicated.

Do you think she's is moving the date for a reason? Is she trying to hide something? Or do you worry that the baby is not growing properly? I'm wondering why you're wondering. I wouldn't have given it a thought, but you obviously have.

Normal. Mine did it with my youngest. They base on your last period, your possible date of conception, and also the size of the child. Sometimes one of those things is unknown, or they don't match up to each other.

whether she is concerned about it or not - she needs to look at several things:

what is the c-section rate for this practice (nationwide it is 33%. Rather high for a 1st world country, and in fact much higher than other first world countries).

what is the reasoning around the date change? Are they having her do more ultra sounds? Ultrasounds are not 100% safe. They are VERY LOUD for the baby. and had I known, I would not have gotten them.

If she is AT ALL uncomfortable - remind her that she can changer her doctor right up until the moment of birth. As in - you are not my doctor, get out! Not many women know that. I didn't until I became pregnant, but I also forgot that while I was pregnant.

Shop for a decent practitioner if she is at all uncomfortable. She deserves it and so does her baby.

High-risk treatment does not mean ANXIETY-INDUCING TREATMENT. and that is absolutely crazy to go with more than one switch of dates - even just for a couple of days. It's silly.

The more anxious she is, the more likely she will not be able to pay attention to her natural body cues and have a natural birth. C-sections pay a lot of money, even though insurance covers 100%.

And hospitals are all about making money, unfortunately, as well as doctors who work for them.

Good luck,
M.

International Cesaerean awareness network is a website you can get more information from: ICAN.org

blessings!

Honestly - unless you've done IVF or IUI - due dates aren't cast in stone. That's the only way you can know for sure when the point of conception and implantation is. Ultrasound measurements for due dates do have a margin of error for development. Even the quality of machine the OB uses can have affect on that too. It all depends on how the baby is developing. I'd be more concerned if they kept pushing the date further and further or if the baby was showing no progress. In the first ultrasound - your bean is so tiny that it's a bit of a crapshoot.