You went to your first Obstetrician’s visit and they pulled out their handheld computer, spun around to a desktop computer, or pulled out some fancy calculating device to come up with your baby due date. Did you know they are guessing? You can probably guess just as accurately. It is important information you must know.
Your baby due date is being calculated, or guessed on your first visit by simply taking the date you claim as the first day of your last menstrual period, and then adding 40 weeks. Those fancy calculators are only doing one thing, counting the weeks. They speed up the Doctor’s estimates by figuring the date, instead of the Doctor counting 40 weeks on the calendar. Go ahead, count it out for yourself, you will come up with the exact same date.
When you will discover a closer estimate of your baby due date is when you start getting a sonogram or ultrasound done. The technician will measure many different aspects of your baby including length, head size, and other important measurements. The computer system then uses those measurements, along with known statistics, to approximate your due date. This normally will readjust your due date a few days, or weeks, one way or the other. You will discover most times the original estimates were close.
Why is it so important to know a due date? You may be thinking about all the different factors of getting the nursery ready, buying clothes, planning the baby shower, and choosing a name. Those are all important, but to your Doctor it is critical to know to monitor the progress of the growth of you baby, for checking measurements of your womb, and to keep aware of the baby’s developmental stages. It is critical for deciding when certain tests, injections, and other actions need to take place.
Knowing your baby’s developmental state helps the Doctor make snap decisions if an unexpected labor begins, or you are developing health problems. They will know instantly the chance of the baby’s survival at this stage of development, and what measures they need to either keep labor going, or attempt to stop it quickly.
There is one other important reason you want this information. You can use a book, magazine, or online site which shows the week by week development of your baby. It is fun to see how your baby is changing each week. It lets you monitor if what you are feeling is similar to other mothers or not. This knowledge can make you feel more comfortable, and ready to ask better questions.
Use your baby due date as a very rough estimate of when to expect your baby. The average delivery time ranges widely between 37 weeks to 42 weeks. This is over an entire month of difference, and all of that range is considered normal, healthy, and full-term. As you can see, your due date is simply a best guess. Your real due date will only be discovered when you feel the contractions begin, and hear the beautiful cries of your new baby.