Calculating your due date can seem like a complicated process, but your doctor will be able to provide a better estimate of when your new bundle of joy will arrive. You will need to know when your last menstrual cycle occurred to determine your due date. However, keep in mind that your baby may not arrive on the exact calculated date due to a variety of reasons.
Determining Pregnancy
Before you can calculate your due date, you have to ensure that you are pregnant. There are a few different signs to look for such as a missed menstrual period, morning sickness, breast tenderness, swelling and darkening of your areolas, according to the American Pregnancy Association. You can take an at-home pregnancy test but they're not 100 percent accurate and tiny mistakes can turn into huge errors if the test was performed incorrectly or if the test results were not accurately read. Your doctor can perform a pregnancy test in his office using a urine or blood sample. Blood samples are the most accurate as they test for levels of human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG. Only pregnant women have a placenta and the placenta produces hCG.
Estimated Due Date
Now that you're absolutely sure that you're expecting, your doctor will determine your estimated due date, or EDD. Your EDD is determined by your last menstrual period. Your last menstrual period is significant because you conceived your baby after that time. You can also calculate your EDD yourself by counting 40 weeks from your last menstrual cycle, according to KidsHealth.
Time Frame
Your estimated due date is approximately 40 weeks from your last known menstrual period. The time frame that your baby is born is really about 38 weeks from your last menstrual period, according to KidsHealth. The reason your baby is born closer to 38 weeks from your last period is because most women typically conceive about two weeks after their period but since due dates are calculated by your last menstrual cycle, a pregnancy generally lasts 40 weeks.
Misconceptions
Just because your doctor has given you an estimated due date does not mean the baby will be born on that date, according to KidsHealth. Your baby could arrive early or late. Typically, babies are born between 38 to 42 weeks, according to KidsHealth. There's generally no reason as to why babies are born early or late, unless there are medical complications.
Considerations
Keep in mind that you could go into labor around the middle of your last month of pregnancy. Always keep an overnight bag readily available as a backup just in case you should go into labor early or in the middle of the night. You may also want to keep an overnight bag available for your partner in case he stays at the hospital with you once the baby is born.
