Expectant mothers often cannot wait to meet their baby. This is especially true in the last few weeks of pregnancy. The excitement all comes down to when. Most moms who have gone on their OB GYN visit after finding out about their pregnancy will be given a due date. If you’ve just found out about being pregnant through a home pregnancy test, here are the easy steps to calculating your due date!
Step One:
Look back on the dates of your cycle. If the pregnancy was intentional then you should know your cycle well. The first day of your last period is the beginning of your cycle, and your ovulation date is usually the 13th or 14th day following that first day of your period. It is in the two days prior to the ovulation date and the day after the ovulation date that you can become pregnant.
Step Two:
Remember that there are 40 weeks of gestation. What does this mean? It also means that you have to start counting based on the first day of your last period. Let’s say that day was the 1st of January. That means 40 weeks following the 1st of January (approximately the 6th of October or the first full week of October) is when you are due.
Despite due dates, you can give birth as early as two weeks before or as late as two weeks after the calculated date.
Step Three:
Keep in mind that you can give birth as early as 37 weeks and as late as 42 weeks, although most doctors will not let pregnancies run as long as 42 weeks. Usually before then mothers will be induced into labour. Following the example given in Step Two, that means you can give birth as early as the 15th of September or the third full week of September and as late as the 20th of October or the third full week of October.
Step Four:
Be ready! Typically, mothers give birth at 38 or 39 weeks into their pregnancy. Again, following our example, that’s around the 22nd or the 29th of September, or the last two weeks of September.
Once a visit to your OB GYN is made, a firmer due date can be determined. If your periods were irregular, due dates will have to be estimated by the doctor based on the development shown in the ultrasound. Work with your doctor so that you can get your due date, stay healthy, eat right, exercise, and enjoy the wonderful 9 months of your pregnancy!
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