Children are happiness and the meaning of life. Without exception, all mothers remember the day on which they learned about their interesting situation. An excess of feelings, alternating experiences and joys overwhelm the expectant mother, but at the same time many questions arise. When to go to the doctor, how to lead a new lifestyle, and, of course, on what date and month will the future birth?
As for the doctor, you should go to him right away to determine the exact pregnancy, exclude any pathologies and register, he will also be able to give many useful recommendations regarding your new condition, determine the approximate date of birth and answer all your questions.
How to determine the gestational age?
Using the pregnancy calendar, you can calculate the date of birth yourself. You need to make simple actions: from the first day of the last menstruation, subtract 3 months and add 7 days, and you will get an approximate number.
For example: (date of the first day of the last menstruation) November 7 - 3 months + 7 days = August 14 (estimated date of birth).
All these calculations are valid if the pregnant woman had a regular 28-day cycle, otherwise only the doctor can determine the date of birth by ultrasound and other related methods.
We calculate the date of ovulation
On average, a normal pregnancy lasts 40 weeks, but childbirth can occur at any time, starting from 38 weeks to the 42nd. In fact, using the calendar, it is impossible to calculate the birth dates up to one day, everything is purely individual. The obstetric period of pregnancy implies the beginning of the calculation from the first day of menstruation, and yet it is slightly different from the real age of the fetus. To calculate the date of ovulation, you need to add 14 days to the first day of the cycle (menstruation), and you will understand when the baby was approximately conceived.
Possible difficulties and their solution
The average duration of a natural pregnancy can vary, they tried to connect this factor with the race and the difference in the nutrition of pregnant women, but the data obtained did not give any exact results on this score. In any case, you should maintain your own birth calendar, which is easy enough to calculate; this will prepare you mentally and financially for the birth of the baby.
Using the birth calendar, not every woman can calculate the exact date, and there are a number of reasons for this:
- Irregular menstrual cycle.
- Different duration of the menstrual cycle in different women (from 21 to 42 days).
- A woman simply can not remember the exact start date of the last menstruation.
To calculate the gestational age, doctors use the concept of "amenorrhea week", so the report is maintained starting from the first day of the cycle, that is, the last menstruation. However, sometimes calculating a date can be difficult. In the case of an unstable cycle, ovulation can occur at a very unexpected time, in this case, the estimated date of birth can be determined by ultrasound during the period from the 6th to 14th week of the delay. Determining the age of the fetus is undoubtedly important, as this gives doctors the opportunity to assess the development of the baby and his state of health.
When exactly to wait for childbirth, and whether they always occur right on time?
Even if the day of birth was determined using ultrasound, this does not give a full guarantee that the baby will be born on this date. Only a small percentage of the calculations is confirmed in practice, in most cases the birth is +/- for several days and even weeks around the appointed time. This is explained by the fact that the fetus is considered ripened from 38 weeks, and it can be born at any time, up to 42 weeks.
Estimation of the estimated date of birth by ultrasound
Ultrasound examination allows you to most accurately determine the age of the fetus and MDP (estimated date of birth).
In the first trimester, pregnancy is determined on the basis of measurements of the diameter of the fetal egg or in determining the heart rate of the fetus. The first heartbeats in the baby are observed already at 5-6 weeks of pregnancy.
During the third trimester, the doctor calculates the gestational age based on the largest value of the head circumference, the width of the fetal head and the length of the femur.
In most cases, the easiest way is to use the conception and birth calendar, which is easy to calculate, but in 20% of cases the approximate birthday determined using ultrasound and the calendar is very different. In the event that the difference in dates is no more than 10 days, doctors are based on estimates from the first day of a woman’s menstruation. If the difference is more than 10 days, ultrasound results are taken as a basis.
Establishment of gestational age during gynecological examination
If the necessary information is difficult to find out using the pregnancy and childbirth calendar, the doctor can also calculate the term by examining on a gynecological chair, having felt the dimensions of the pregnant woman’s uterus and abdomen. This method is quite inaccurate, because depending on the physiology of a woman it is quite difficult to measure the exact height of the uterine fundus, therefore this method is rarely used by specialists, and ultrasound is most preferred.
Pregnancy and fetal movements
Using the birth calendar , you can also calculate the date of birth based on the first movements of the baby noticed. Using these two methods together, you can achieve the most accurate calculations. However, it is impossible to focus only on movements, since this gives only approximate information about the date of birth. Studies have shown that for the first time pregnant women notice movements at 19-21 weeks, while mothers with experience feel the baby's movements 1-2 weeks earlier.
Birth calendar: calculate the gestational age from the time of intercourse
The date of sexual intercourse, after which conception probably occurred, can be used to calculate the gestational age only if the woman is sure that the conception occurred at that moment and in no other way, for example, if she had only one intimate relationship once in a few months. In this case, 40 weeks should be added to the date of the last sex, then it will be possible to find out the estimated day of the birth of the unborn child.
Judging by the above methods, the most convenient and quick way to find out the gestational age is the birth calendar, with which any woman can calculate the date of birth and, accordingly, prepare for the birth of the long-awaited baby.