Something that many people will now ask you is when you are due. You will also be wondering when your due date is. This is just a rough guide on when your baby will arrive and is calculated to be at week 40 of your pregnancy. However, babies will arrive when they want and some are born around 37 weeks while others are born at 42 weeks.
Calculating Your Due Date
Working out your due date is relatively simple. The first thing that you need to do is work out when your last menstrual period was. From there, you can add 40 weeks – or nine months and seven days – to get the rough date that your bundle of joy will be making an appearance. However, this calculation is usually based on the average menstrual cycle lasting 28 days.
You may have an irregular cycle or you may have gotten pregnant while using contraception – unfortunately, nothing is 100 percent effective. Because of this, it will be difficult to determine when your due date is and this is something that you will need to wait for your dating scan.
Using Websites and Pregnancy Tests to Help You
Many websites will now have online calculators to help you work out your due date. This is a great and easy way to get a rough guide on when your baby will be making its appearance. You will also find that your midwife will calculate your date for you when you have your first appointment. This date will then be written in your maternity notes and there are chances that it will be written as the “expected date of delivery” or even “EDD”.
If you do have irregular cycles or you are not entirely certain when you conceived, there are some home pregnancy tests that will now offer a rough idea of how far along you are. However, these are not 100 percent accurate and will measure from the date of conception and not the date of your last menstrual period. This is something to remember so you do not miscalculate your dates. Most of these tests will only be able to give you a rough guide of one to two weeks, two to three weeks or three plus weeks, so it will not be as accurate as you may need.
The Dating Scan
When the midwife is unable to work out how far along you are, the dating scan is something to wait for. This will usually take place between weeks 10 and 14 of your pregnancy – most of the time it is at week 12 since this is when your chance of miscarriage drops. The scan will be able to give you a due date that is more accurate.
At the same time as finding out your due date, the midwife looking at the ultrasound will also be able to determine whether you are having multiple children and will also check to make sure that your baby is healthy and growing well. You may be offer some tests at this time, which will test for the possibility of your child having Down’s Syndrome. You do not need to have these tests if you do not wish to, but it is something to talk to your partner about.
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