21 weeker going home!!!

Mimi2RN, ASN, RN · Feb 22, 2007

It makes much more sense to think of her as a twenty three weeker, IUGR. I can understand the way the docs are counting, but hope we don't have to explain that too many times. I noticed in the pics how bruised she was. Hope she is one of the few, with a brain, lungs and gut. And no CP.

preemieRNkate, RN · Feb 22, 2007

The article that Prmenrs posted says that the baby has had some respiratory problems (well, duh), a very mild brain hemorrhage and some digestive problems. I wish they would tell us more!!

prmenrs, RN · Feb 22, 2007

Well, the hospital isn't going to put it in the paper that she's got CP, not thaat I'm saying she does... For her sake, let's hope for the best!

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Feb 27, 2007

Thank you Gompers! That makes sense. Although counting the first day of your last period does not make sense. If you ovulate around day 14, then the baby would be approx two weeks younger. But I guess in this case that's a moot point d/t IVF.

Most women don't Ovulate on cycle day 14 anyway. To be clear, the first day of your period IS the first day of your pregnancy, regardless of what day you ovulate on. In general they add 2 weeks since that is the average length of time it takes to mature an egg.

Women during IVF are placed on a protocol and know exactly what day the eggs will be retireved and transferred back in. That's what the expensive medications are for, so that there is no question about what the body will do. It has no control over itself at this time.

Given what I know about IVF (too much), and being a person dealing with infertility (for too long), the pregnancy is counted from the first day of your period.

In this case, I believe that the dates are from the blastocyte transfer...(so not including these 2 weeks). I think they are talking about the gestation of the fertilized egg, and not the time it took the woman to actually create the egg.

I still don't understand WHY they start counting when they do, but it's the universal way of counting gestational days. So if you find out you're pregnant 5 weeks after the start of your last period, you'll be told that you're 5 weeks along even though you only conceived 3 weeks beforehand.

Because that is the true age of the baby. The one egg that made it through the maturation and was selected to grow. That egg is around 2 weeks old when it becomes fertilized.

But that's ok, because the sperm is 73 days old!

Gompers, BSN, RN · Feb 28, 2007

Because that is the true age of the baby. The one egg that made it through the maturation and was selected to grow. That egg is around 2 weeks old when it becomes fertilized.
But that's ok, because the sperm is 73 days old!

A 2 week old and a 73 year old??? Scandalous!!!

Thank you for the explaination.

The first thing I thought of after reading it, though, was...so the egg DID come before the chicken!

3BABES · Mar 18, 2007

i agree c you.

crissrn27, RN · Mar 19, 2007

Hi all, had to tell you about this. We had a 21 weeker come in and del. yesterday, and THE DOCTOR said well, maybe if you had gone to a bigger hospital they could have saved the baby...uggggggg....anybody else had this since this "21 weeker" baby survived?

dawngloves, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2007

Hi all, had to tell you about this. We had a 21 weeker come in and del. yesterday, and THE DOCTOR said well, maybe if you had gone to a bigger hospital they could have saved the baby...uggggggg....anybody else had this since this "21 weeker" baby survived?

Nice bedside manner. :trout: And an idiot to boot!

JeanettePNP, MSN, RN, NP · Mar 19, 2007

Because that is the true age of the baby. The one egg that made it through the maturation and was selected to grow. That egg is around 2 weeks old when it becomes fertilized.
But that's ok, because the sperm is 73 days old!

I thought the period is when last month's egg that *didn't* make it is flushed out of the system... Are you saying that the new egg starts maturing from the beginning of the period? I gotta brush up on the menstrual cycle.

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Mar 19, 2007

Are you saying that the new egg starts maturing from the beginning of the period? I gotta brush up on the menstrual cycle.

Yep!

The egg dies withing 12-24 hours after ovulation if it isn't fertilized. That happens mid cycle. So the result is that the lining of the uterus sloughs off and dies since it is no longer receiving progesterone from the ovaries to keep it alive (end of the cycle). This is your period. However, the egg selection for a new cycle begins again on the first day of your period. Several follicles get chosen and grow, and then eventually your body selects the best one (or two) out of the dozen or so, and fully matures that one. The rest die...

So, the first day of your period is the first day of your pregnancy ~technically!