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When Is Your Baby Due? |
By:
Rosamond Gaven |
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For an expectant mother or father, there is nothing more exciting than counting down the days until the baby's due date.
A pregnancy is considered full term at 40 weeks, so your estimated due date is calculated 40 weeks from the date of conception. Unfortunately, this system of calculation can lead to a somewhat inaccurate due date.
Many women have irregular menstrual cycles, which can often lead to an incorrect due date estimation. Generally, a baby's due date is calculated with a 28-day menstrual cycle, and it's assumed that ovulation has occurred midway through the cycle. This formula just doesn't work for all women. In fact, the estimated due date can be off by as much as a month, so don't rely too heavily on this initial date. Your pregnancy may be longer or shorter than forty weeks, and it's not uncommon for some mothers to have a true due date up to two weeks longer than the initial estimate.
A rough pregnancy due date is enough for most women to plan when they are going to go on maternity leave. Even if the due date isn't entirely accurate it can be used as a good indicator of when the women can decide to stop working. As the pregnancy progresses the pregnancy due date can be estimated much more accurately by either a blood test or an ultrasound scan.
The amount of hCG in a woman's blood will tell her healthcare provider how far her pregnancy has progressed. Therefore, a blood test can be a more accurate way to gauge the due date than a simple estimation of conception and menstrual cycle. The date determined by a blood test is considered to be the first "true" due date, and you should be able to start planning with this date in mind. It's important to remember that sufficient levels of hCG are not present in the blood early in pregnancy, so this test is not available during the initial stages.
The most reliable means of determining your due date is with a series of ultrasound scans. Your baby will grow at a fairly uniform rate during the second trimester, and measurements taken at this time are valuable in gaining a true estimation. The ultrasound technician will record images of your baby and will use measurements, such as the length of the body and circumference of the head, to estimate a due date
As your pregnancy progresses, your due date should remain fairly consistent, give or take a day or two. Remember, any date that you receive is to be used as a guideline only. Most babies are born at least a day or two before or after the due date.
There is no way to guarantee the exact date of your baby's arrival. After all, life's most precious moments are often left to chance.
Writer Rosamond Gaven loves writing for numerous well-known online magazines, on health plan and health and wellness issues. Click here for other unique 'pregnancy' articles.
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Article Source: http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article54090.html |
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