QuestionQUESTION: My last period was March 27, 2009..I was having unprotected sex with my boyfriend about everyday. I took a pregnancy test on the 30th of April and it came up positive immediately. Problem is, approximately 2 1/2 days before I took the pregnancy test I had a fight with my boyfriend and passed out at someones house. I don't remember having sex with anybody but I can't be certain and it is killing me inside. However, this incident happened on the 28 of April and I was already 6 days late for my period. Both my ultrasounds put me as conceiving around the 9 or 10 of April. They put me 2 1/2 weeks ahead of this incident. But I just keep wondering what if. Is there anyway to find out ur pregnant if u r just 2 1/2 days pregnant? I just had her and she really does favor my boyfriend very much as far as looks goes. But I just keep thinking what if. I was hoping you could help me. Could i be that my ultrasounds were way off and I got pregnant 2 1/2 days before I took the pregnancy test? (By the way it was just a generic pregnancy test)(By the way, the another reason I ask this question is because my boyfriend was 35 with no kids until I got pregnant)
ANSWER: Hi Katie,
Hopefully I can help put your mind at ease - there is no way that a pregnancy test would show a positive result 2-3 days after conception. It just isn't possible.
And 2 ultrasounds showing a conception date of April 8-9, especially if they were in the 1st trimester, are not going to be off by 2 1/2 weeks.
The reason your baby favors your boyfriend is because he is the father. There is absolutely no way that you got pregnant on April 28th.
Congratulations on the birth of your baby - enjoy her and put aside those stray thoughts of "what if", because there is no way that you got pregnant that night.
Sincerely,
Dorothy H, LCCE
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QUESTION: There is no way an ultrasound in the first trimester can be off by 2 1/2 weeks? I thought sometimes they could be off by a month? And it is possible to be 35 with no kids and to conceive one so easily (we were only together for 2 months before conceiving her)? Sorry if it sounds obsessive I just want to make sure because I have been worried sick for months.
ANSWER: Hi Katie,
Yes it is possible and happens quite a bit that a man can father a child easily at age 35, even if he had never fathered a child before.
OK - let me explain with the ultrasound. In the first trimester, certain body parts and systems develop at certain times. Let's say you had an ultrasound at 9 weeks. They are measuring certain things - the crown-rump length, the heartrate, etc. - things that look very very different at 6 1/2 weeks. And they see certain body systems, etc. that weren't developed and certainly not measurable if the embryo was 2 1/2 weeks younger.
In the very rare event that a 1st trimester ultrasound is off by more than 3-5 days, it goes the opposite way than yours - it's never a younger embryo being mistaken for an older embryo - it's an older embryo being mistaken for a younger embryo (because they miss seeing a heartbeat that is really there, etc)
You can take a look at these 1st trimester ultrasounds,
http://www.baby2see.com/development/ultrasound_sonogram/first_trimester_scans.ht
and even though you aren't trained in reading ultrasounds, I'm sure you'll see the differences in development that happen in two weeks. A trained ultrasound technician can see even more differences.
Plus there is NO way that ANY pregnancy test can detect a pregnancy 2-3 days after sex. (not even a blood test!) The fertilized egg hasn't even implanted yet 2 1/2 days later, let along started releasing hCG (which is what the pregnancy test detects) And you said "it came up positive immediately" - another confirmation that you were pregnant well before April 28th - even if it had been 10-14 days since conception, it would have been a very faint barely visible line. The longer you are pregnant, the darker the line is and the quicker it appears.
I know you have been worried about this and regret that night. But there is really no way you conceived that night. The positive pregnancy test only 2 1/2 days later as well as the ultrasounds confirm that.
Let that night go, and look at your baby as a chance for you and your boyfriend to strengthen your relationship and confirmation of the love you have for each other.
Sincerely,
Dorothy H, LCCE
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QUESTION: Okay, I know I'm sounding super obsessive but I have one more question. Sorry, it's just nice to have answers after 10 months of pure anxiety about this. Anyways, I was thinking that every baby probably grows at a different rate though. Is there a such thing as a baby just rapidly developing? I know there is a process, but it seems to make sense in my head that maybe some babies could just grow fast??? I don't know. They had to induce me at 40 weeks and 3 days and I thought maybe if it naturally happened I wouldn't have gone for a couple more weeks and that maybe I was early...but I don't think so because my baby was 8 Ibs 3 oz so I would say I was overdue...I dont really know I just keep thinking that maybe it's possible for a baby just to rapidly develop?
AnswerHi Kate,
For the first 8-10 weeks of pregnancy, all babies grow at pretty much the same rate, give or take a day or two. AFTER that time, there are various rates of growth.
If they didn't induce you, you probably would have had your baby within a week of that time.
Moms can go into labor at any time between 38 and 42 weeks (a 4 week window!) although most babies are born between 39 and 41 weeks. It has nothing to do with when you conceived.
I know this is something you have been worrying about for a long time, but there is nothing to indicate that it is even a possibility that you conceived April 28. The pregnancy test only 2-3 days later is the biggest indicator (because it would be absolutely impossible for a test to show a positive pregnancy that soon, even if the baby developed rapidly) and the ultrasound confirms it. Plus your baby was born full-term, with no signs of prematurity (which you would expect to see if you had really been less than 38 weeks)
I know you've had a lot of anxiety about that night, but please try to forgive yourself. There is no way that your baby was conceived that night.
You can try writing out your regret over that night, and burning the paper, and letting those regrets and fears and concerns go.
And you've been worried about this for awhile...it can take a little time to let it go. But really - there is NO WAY you conceived that night. And I don't say that to someone unless I know it's true.
Sincerely,
Dorothy H, LCCE
