Saturday, March 26, 2011

How many weeks pregnant am I ?


Many IVF patients get very confused about how the doctor calculates the age of their pregnancy
( = gestational age, in medical jargon). Logically, shouldn't it be from the day of the embryo transfer ? After all, it's only after the embryos are transferred that a woman can be considered to be pregnant !

However, doctors are not always logical, and we usually use the menstrual age when talking about the length of the pregnancy. This is because obstetricians usually see women who have got pregnant after having sex in their bedroom. Very few of them will know the exact date they ovulated , which is why we use the menstrual age in clinical practise. This does not change just because you have had an IVF pregnancy - the clinical rules remain the same !

This creates a lot of confusion in patient's minds - especially when they are trying to make sense of their ultrasound scan results or their HCG levels.

Remember that your OB is always talking about the menstrual age - not the age of the
embryo ! This is purely for clinical convenience and is a well-accepted universal convention.

So how do you convert the date of embryo transfer to menstrual age. This is very simple ! The key reproductive event you need to focus on is ovulation ! It makes much more sense to talk about the pregnancy in terms of DPO ( days post ovulation), rather than the menstrual age or the day of the embryo transfer. This is because we can use this landmark for all situations
( including IUI pregnancies; and for Day 3 embryo transfers and Day 5 embryo transfers as
well !)

Since every IVF patient knows the date they ovulated ( = the day of egg collection), it's easy to calculate your menstrual age. Just subtract 14 from your date of ovulation. This is your
" corrected LMP" ( last menstrual period) .

( Corrected) LMP = Date of egg collection minus 14

The reason we do this is simple - it's because text books assume the follicular phase is exactly 14 days ! Once you know your corrected LMP, it's then easy to use this as the anchor, based on which your OB can calculate your gestational age.

This means that the menstrual age will always be 14 days more than the actual age of the embryo.

Confused ? Let's look at an example.

Let's suppose your LMP was 5 Jan; and your egg collection was done on 24 Jan ( let's assume you took a long time to grow eggs); and your embryo transfer was done on 29 Jan ( Day 5 transfer). The HCG pregnancy test will be usually done about 14 days post ovulation ( DPO), which is 7 Feb. If it's positive - say 120 mIU/ml, the doctor will confirm you are pregnant ! This means that even though you are only 14 DPO ( and your embryo's age is only 14 days ) , he will calculate your corrected LMP as 10 Jan ( date of ovulation , 24 Jan, minus 14 days) - which means your clinical gestational age ( or menstrual age) will become 4 weeks ( 28 days) ! Once you understand this " 2 week gap" and the rationale behind it , you'll find it much easier to date your pregnancy !
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21 comments:

  1. Anonymous3:15 PM

    I am one week pregnant and my blood test of hcg resulted 10.4...is it bad or normal result

    ReplyDelete
  2. There are several ways on how to determine how many weeks in a pregnancy you are in. Of course, the best way to learn your pregnancy date is by consulting a medical doctor. Doctors can easily how many weeks you’re in. With the apparatuses and equipment available in clinics, they can tell whether your pregnancy is healthy or not and if it is on the right track. Another way to learn how many weeks in a pregnancy you’re in is by getting a pregnancy calculator. There are plenty of calculators online that can assist you in estimating how many weeks you’re in. This should provide you with an excellent estimation if your pregnancy is on the right path.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I don't believe online calculators...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Aliya4:41 PM

    My last periods my med was on 26 th feb, eggs retrieval was on 12 th march, transfer was in 17th,today was my first Bhcg it was 600. How many weeks preg am I??

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous2:52 AM

    I had my egg retrieval on the 17 of July and my egg transfer on the 20th. I took a clear blue digital pregnancy test 11 days after embryo transfer and it said pregnant. Could I be pregnant? I took 10000 iu of novarel trigger on the 15th of July. I was on follistem, ganerelix, chrinone cycle. I had 12 received 10 fertilized. 2 excellent embryos transfered.

    ReplyDelete
  6. A positive pregnancy test is a good sign and suggests you are pregnant - congrats !

    Do a blood test for HCG to confirm this.

    Read more at www.drmalpani.com/hcg.htm

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous8:16 PM

    I got my last period on 20th June. I got five day frozen blastocyst transfer from a donor on 7th July. Two weeks later HCG level was 363 and three days layer it was 1103. I just want to know how many weeks pregnant am I right now. The IVF fertility Calender's online say I am seven weeks plus but my doctor says its not possible. Please help me. Thankyou

    ReplyDelete
  8. You are now 6 weeks pregnant

    You need to do a vaginal ultrasound scan to confirm the pregnancy is healthy

    Read more at http://www.drmalpani.com/early_pregnancy_scans_atlas.htm





    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous2:32 PM

    I had a frozen transfer. My first hcg level 12 days post 3 day transfer was 69. 48 hours later it was 120. Am i pregnant? Are levels lower in frozen embryo transfers?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, you are pregnant - this is a positive HCG

      However , I am worried that it's not rising as fast as it should

      Read more at www.drmalpani.com/hcg.htm

      Repeat the test in 2 days. If this is a healthy pregnancy, it should double

      We look forward to helping you to have a baby !

      Dr Aniruddha Malpani, MD
      Malpani Infertility Clinic, Jamuna Sagar, SBS Road, Colaba
      Mumbai 400 005. India
      Tel: 91-22-22151065, 22151066, 2218 3270, 65527073

      Helping you to build your family !

      PS Watch our infertility cartoon film at http://www.ivfindia.com

      Read our book, How to Have a Baby – A Guide for the Infertile Couple,
      Online at www.DrMalpani.com !

      Read my blog about improving the doctor-patient
      Relationship at http://doctorandpatient.blogspot.com/

      Delete
    2. Anonymous9:35 PM

      Thank you for the reply Dr.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous5:38 PM

    Hi Sir, my iui was performed on 19th may I got my beta yesterday its 602.i am how many weeks pregnant? My LMP is 8th may

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous12:10 AM

    My iui was done on 19th may and last period was on 8th may.how many weeks I am pregnant?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. On 8 June, you are 4 weeks pregnant. This is the menstrual age of your pregnancy

      Please register at www.hcgexpert.in so you can track and monitor your pregnancy

      We look forward to helping you to have a baby !

      Dr Aniruddha Malpani
      Malpani Infertility Clinic, Jamuna Sagar, SBS Road, Colaba
      Mumbai 400 005. India

      Clinic Mobile: 9867441589

      Tel: 91-22-22151065, 22151066, 2218 3270, 65527073

      Helping you to build your family !


      Watch our infertility cartoon film at http://www.ivfindia.com

      You can add a google review for us at https://plus.google.com/102706636605134081909/about


      Read our book, How to Have a Baby - A Guide for the Infertile Couple,
      online at www.DrMalpani.com !



      Delete
  12. Anonymous8:35 AM

    My FET done on 20th of august..did my blood hCG on 5th of septemper that came out to be 95..is it too low..?my dr is sayin it is low and should increase..m worried..plz guide

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Was this a Day 3 or a Day 5 transfer ?

      Read more at www.drmalpani.com/knowledge-center/articles/hcg

      Repeat the test in 2 days. In a healthy pregnancy, it should double

      We look forward to helping you to have a baby !

      Dr Aniruddha Malpani, MD
      Malpani Infertility Clinic, Jamuna Sagar, SBS Road, Colaba
      Bombay 400 005. India
      Tel: 91-22-22151065, 22151066, 2218 3270, 65527073

      Helping you to build your family !

      PS Watch our infertility cartoon film at http://www.ivfindia.com

      Read our book, How to Have a Baby – A Guide for the Infertile Couple,
      Online at www.DrMalpani.com !

      Read my blog about improving the doctor-patient
      Relationship at http://doctorandpatient.blogspot.com/

      Delete
  13. Im 15dp3dt my beta hcg in 11dp was 1,122.14 they transfer 2 embryo last august 26. How long im pregnant now?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your corrected LMP = 9 Aug 2016
    EDD = 16 May 2017

    Please register at www.hcgexpert.in so you can track and monitor your pregnancy

    12:06 PM

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous8:19 AM

    My 5 day embryo transfer was on august 19th.. 10 days later my hcg was 500, 2 days later 839. How many weeks pregnant am I?

    ReplyDelete
  16. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi I did my egg retrieval February 5th and my fresh cycle 5 day blastocyst transfer February 12. February 21st my first beta was 162 and 23rd my second beta was 368 how many weeks am I ?

    ReplyDelete

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