Should I do a prenatal DNA test??

[Rosebudxcv]

So I’m wondering if I should do the prenatal paternity testing to ease my mind more. I don’t really have the extra money just cause I’m trying to save but could get it if it would help ease my mind. Here is my story. I had my normal period July 15th for 5 days. Then August 14th-20th I had unprotected sex, didn’t end up getting my period on the 15th like I thought I would?? (My cycles are 31 days according to my Flo app) well I ended up getting what I thought was my period August 21st after I got home. It was 5 days I also tracked on my Flo app. I then rekindled things with my ex and ended up sleeping with him September 3-7. Positive pregnancy test September 24th. I didn’t get an early ultrasound I got one at 15 weeks and she told me I was measuring with my LMP in August. I’m just worried that was actually implantation bleeding and the period in July was my actual LMP. Help ! Ease my anxiety ridden mind. My next ultrasound isn’t until 21 weeks and by then I heard it’s too late to determine accurate age ……

[AnnieBrooke]

Rosebud, did you finally get the chance to go over all of this with your doctor, and was she able to explain it to you in a way you could believe? I really don't think you need to spend the money on testing, and if you were to remember that doctors go to school for many years and are trained in this kind of stuff, it might help you ease your mind more than more lab tests anyway. I know docs are busy and are limited to short time periods with their patients, but was she able to help?

[Rosebudxcv]

I did talk to her after my anatomy scan and asked her when I could have conceived and if there was any way it could have been the dates of Aug 14-20th and my “period” was just implantation bleeding. She said not every women gets the bleeding and she thinks I conceived Sept 4-5th. But that’s about it she was kinda shutting me down trying to hurry up the appointment (which took not even 5 minutes) and I got afraid to ask more about it and I guess question her on it so I didn’t even bring up the ultrasound :(

[AnnieBrooke]

Whether she told you quickly or slowly, take all your medical evidence and realize you don't have any need to test. That invented "implantation bleeding" thing is just a big straw man, not a real problem. Your medical information shows who the dad is.

[Rosebudxcv]

Thank you for reply I do appreciate it. Maybe it’s just my mind not letting me see the facts even though it’s all there. Some days I believe it while others I doubt. Even though it was unprotected sex with my ex he did “pull out” or tried to in time each time we did so it makes me doubt a little more.

[AnnieBrooke]

Pulling out is inadequate as birth control, and "trying to" pull out is even more ineffective, because pre-ejaculatory fluid can contain sperm. Again, take your medical data seriously and not your fears.

[ppowb]

I vote for your ex. Your late period in August could have been caused by the turmoil of your break-up or travel schedule. A normal 31 day cycle starting Aug 21 would have lead to ovulation Sep 5th which is when you were active with the ex.  Your 15 week ultrasound is likely accurate to days, not weeks. Your due date will be around the end of May. Good luck!

[Rosebudxcv]

Thank you for your reply. I did break up with my ex early July then moved 3000 miles to live with my crazy huge family and when I went to see the guy I had sex with aug 14-20th I lost a bunch of weight from being sad and not going through a good time so I thought that might be the contributing factor as to why my period was late, cause like clock work once I was back home the 21st it started up went from light to heavy back to light. But everything on the internet tells me you can’t tell the difference between implantation and period so it’s a bit confusing to get a straight answer !

[AnnieBrooke]

"Implantation bleeding" is mostly an Internet myth, spread in posts by women who are scared that their (multi-day) menstrual flow was not a period. But an embryo is smaller than the dot on the letter i in this sentence, and when it embeds in the uterine lining, if there is any reaction at all, it is not going to be days of bleeding. More like a little wisp of blood one time in your vaginal mucus, or nothing.

Discuss the situation again with your doctor, telling her that you want to be sure of when you might have conceived, and use the word "conception" or "conceived," not "how far along am I" or other more vague terms. She should be able to walk you through why you can believe all the ultrasound evidence of the size of the baby.

[Rosebudxcv]

Thank you for your reply. My “period” I had Aug 21st definitely filled a bunch of tampons so I’m guessing that was definitely my regular period. Would guy A (sex from Aug 14-20) speed still be alive to get me pregnant after my period ended on the 25th?? I have my 20 week scan in a couple days and I will definitely be asking that to see if she can help me narrow it down.

[AnnieBrooke]

Are you asking if sperm can live through the 5-day length of time of a menstrual period and pop up out of some hidden corner on the last day of the period and get someone pregnant? No. For one thing, sperm doesn't live that long no matter what environment it is in. And for another, there would be no egg -- you don't ovulate the day your period ends.  

When you talk to your doctor, just ask her to look at the crown-to-rump measurement of the embryo in your earliest ultrasound, and to tell you, based on that and not on when your period was, what your estimated conception date would be. Not your GA ("gestational age,") but "conception," specifically using the C-word. If she insists on telling you a GA, you will probably get wrapped around the wheel over the fact that GA begins two weeks earlier than a doctor thinks conception is. So stick with asking specifically about what date conception might have been based on your ultrasound evidence -- the embryo's size and developmental markers.

[Rosebudxcv]

So I’m going later today to see my actual OBGYN but I got these results for my anatomy scan today. What do you think?? I’m just worried cause I didn’t have an early ultrasound only one at 15 weeks and it didn’t really seem like the doctor took her time to take measurements during that first visit. All I see is a measurement for FL at 1.72 cm on the ultrasound

FETAL BIOMETRY:
BPD: 4.87 cm
BPDGA: 20w 5d
HC: 17.74 cm
HC GA: 20w 1d
AC: 15.5 cm
AC GA: 20w 5d
FL: 3.31 cm
FL GA: 20w 2d
FL/AC: 21.32
HC/AC RATIO: 1.14
CI: 77.93
EFW: 357.95 g EFW range equals [291.0-409.86]
EFW: 0 lb 13 oz
EFW Percentile: 58%

[AnnieBrooke]

I would do as suggested above, ask the doctor to look at the crown-to-rump measurement on record from your earlier ultrasound. And ask her to tell you when she thinks conception was, and to explain why. It will do you more good to hear an explanation from your doctor than the Internet.

[RockRose]

At 15 weeks,  the US is still pretty accurate.  For it to be an entire month off,  and your baby being a month older than 15 weeks at the time of the US is unusual.  Also, your fertility window could coincide with a Sept. 3-7 time frame.

[Rosebudxcv]

Thank you for your reply. I guess I’m just wondering if it’s even possible to have ovulated that late into my cycle even if my period was late for the month of august ?? I’m not sure I’ve read women get pregnant days before their period but still have it ??