Millennium Baby?
Dateline: 04/09/99Ah, the millennium baby... Or is it Baby2K? Millie? Otto?
Who knows?
The pressure is on. You must ovulate today or really soon to be in the running!
Pregnancy is considered 280 days from your last normal menstrual period (LNMP), or 266 days from conception.
If you take this information, that we commonly use to determine due dates and use a little formula we call Nagele's Rule, you get:
EX: ((March 26, 1999 + 7 days) - 3 months) = January 1, 2000
This would mean that the average woman would ovulate 14 days into her 28 day cycle, around April 8th or 9th. The egg lives for up to 24 hours. This isn't a big window of opportunity. The good news is that sperm can live for up to 96 hours inside the woman's body, meaning that you can have sex before ovulation and still get pregnant!
I know that looks really nice on paper but we have a few little problems with our theories.
The first being that the average pregnancy lasts 280 days from LNMP. Although recent studies on the length of uncomplicated human pregnancies indicate that it should probably be listed as 274 days for first time moms on average from conception and 169 days for women who have given birth before. This means that the average woman will go beyond her due date. However, the normal length of gestation is also listed as being from 37 weeks gestation until 42 weeks gestation. This adds more people to the race!
The second complication is that not everyone ovulates on day 14 of their cycle. Some women ovulate earlier, while others ovulate later into their cycles.
Many women have shorter or longer cycles than the average of 28 days. This means that they will also have a differing "due date" dependent upon their cycles. Remember that everyone is different!
There will also be unfortunate families who will suffer with preterm labor and possibly preterm delivery. Women, who for medical reasons, may require induction of labor, either prior to their due date or after.
Many people are questioning, "What's the big deal with a millennium baby?"
The history making. The fame, even if it is only five minutes. Maybe it's just a fuzzy news story to throw on the 5 o'clock news. Whatever the reason, the millennium baby race seems to be in full force.
Others wonder what type of parents would do this to a child that they will have to raise. Leaving them wondering if these pregnancies are wanted for reasons other than a child. Many question couples intentions when they go over some imaginary lines. For example, the California couple who is looking for sponsors to fund their millennium baby's birth in a hotel by the international date/time line via cesarean surgery, just to ensure that they are the first. Obviously there are major safety concerns not being considered in this scenario. While I have no doubt that they will find a practitioner to aid them in their quest, I certainly have to question the motivation of both parties.
Some point out that the millennium is almost two years away. That makes it a pretty long pregnancy...
No matter what your stake in the millennium craze, remember that making babies is supposed to be fun. It doesn't happen overnight. (Day time conceptions occur too!) Sometimes the road is longer or harder than you originally anticipated. There may be stones in your path. Whatever the outcome, hopefully you will have learned something from your trip, and maybe you'll have a baby at the end of the journey. Possibly even the millennium baby.
Helpful Info:
