Re: is the scan accurate?

No it does not mean that. The usual computation is to take the first day of the last mentrual period and deduct 2 weeks to get the conception date. Not all women have 28 day cycles and not all women ovulate on Day 14. Thus not all women have equal gestation periods. Usually women with longer menstrual cyles tend to gestate longer. So let's say you have your period every 32 days, likely you will be one of the women who has a "late" baby. The scan dates are usually just about right but hardly ever to the day. Some docs are so c-section happy they will not wait and will start giving you all of this about the baby getting too big etc because you are past 40 weeks. As long as baby's environment is not deteriorating and mom is not overweight/diabetic, passing the 40 week mark is not an abnormality.

I have also heard midwives say that things are busy around the new and full moon. This may contribute to some slightly early or delayed births. For the most part, babies come out when they are ready. I have heard of some terrible stories about women going in for exams close to their due date and the dr stripping their membranes without their permission which leads them to a premature labor and complications. In today's culture, where every second is planned, people can become very fixed on dates. Often times docs will not even ask the woman if her cycles are longer.

Also mother's intuition counts for something. I have heard of many women knowing that their baby would be born earlier or later than the given due date.

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