Your Due Date

Life would be a lot simpler if you could be certain that your due date is actually the day you will deliver, but life isn’t that simple very often. According to most studies, only 1 in 20 babies is actually born on his or her due date. Because a normal full-term pregnancy can last anywhere from 38 to 42 weeks, most are born within two weeks either way of that date – which keeps most parents guessing right up to delivery day.

That’s why the medical term for “due date is EDD,or estimated date of delivery. The date your practitioner gives you is only educated estimate. It is usually calculated this way: Subtract three months from the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP), then add seven days – that’s your due date. For example, say your last period began on April 11. Count backward three months, which gets you to January, and then add seven days. your due date would be January 18.

This dating system works well for women who have a fairly regular menstrual cycle. But if your cycle is irregular, thesystem may not work for you at all. Say you typically get your period every six to seven weeks and you haven’t had one in three months. On testing, you find out you’re pregnant. When did you conceive? Because a reliable EDD is important, you and your practitioner will have to try to come up with one. If you can’t pinpoint conception or aren’t show when u last ovulated. There are clues that can help.

The very first clue is the size of your uterus, which will be noted when your initial internal pregnancy examination is performed. It should conform to your suspected stage of pregnancy. The second clue  will be an early ultrasound that can more accurately date the pregnancy. ?(Note that not all women get an early ultrasound. Some practitioner perform them  routinely, but others will only recommend one if your periods are irregular, if you have a history of miscarriages or pregnancy complications, or if the estimated due date can’t be determined based on your LMP and physical exam).

Later on, there are other milestones that will confirm your date: the first time the fetal heartbeat is heard (at about 9 to 12 weeks with a Doppler), when the first flutter of life is felt (at about 16 to 22 weeks), and the height of the fundus (the top of the uterus) at each visit (for example, it will reach the navel at about week 20). These clues will be helpful but still not definitive. Only your baby knows for sure when his or her birth date will be… and baby’s not telling.