French Bummer #1: Baby Due Dates

As with most pregnant women, I am chomping at the bit already to have this baby. She's heavy, gives me back pain, kicks me hard, blahblahblah, you get the idea. In France, a pregnant woman doesn't necessarily see the actual OB/GYN until the end of their sixth month. Up until that time she is able to see her general practice doctor for all her visits.

Although I'm a few weeks short of the end of my sixth month, I was ready to see the guy who would be delivering this little girl. Given that my first born was two weeks early and that I've had the same frequent fasses contrations (false contrations/Braxton Hicks) as before, I was ready to be introduced in case something comes up.

He was a very kind man with patience with our French. Normally, he said, on the first visit he doesn't do any kind of exam, but because I had complained of contractions already he would measure my cervix and see if there was anything to worry about. There's not...if you aren't the one carrying the baby. It's just that I'm 3.7cm dilated. I was dilated with H to a 4 early-ish too.

I'm not worried I just don't feel like any of these doctors can really understand my particular way of carrying babies in a 15 minute consult. It feels like there is a lack language-wise and in research on their part. I have plenty of papers from my medical file from my first pregnancy that would give him a clear picture of things. He wasn't interested (it's in English anyway).

That's another oddity. My medical file from the States arrived last week and not only do they have a page for every visit, they have a page for every time I called the nurse hotline with a question that details the call. From 9 weeks until my post-birth check up there are detailed notes. Here, I don't know if they take any notes. They barely take my weight. The doc today was stepping out of the norm by checking my cervix on our first visit and I'm in my third trimester!! How can they know anything without looking and how can they remember without taking notes? It's crazy.

But here's the point of the post. French Bummer #1: The French measure pregnancy by 41 weeks instead of the 'American' 40 weeks. That's right ladies, you are officially pregnant longer in France than in the U.S.

This just doesn't work for me.

I had H two weeks early and that was long enough. This one is giving me more grief that he did so I have set the date for her arrival for a time that I can live with and it doesn't touch 41 weeks. Oh no. She's coming early and she has until the 15th of June to get here on her own before I get her out myself. Today I went from being due June 25th to July 2nd. Just saying 'July' makes me want to poke my eyes out. This is just not acceptable.

So, for those of you keeping score here are the due dates:

American Due Date: June 25th

French Due Date: July 2nd

Megan's Will Due Date: (no later than) June 15th

Does that work for everyone? Frenchie? Anyone have a problem with that? Huh? Good.