Instructions

o 1 Calculate your due date so you can prepare for your baby's arrival. The information is also
important for your health care provider, especially in cases where women develop
complications of pregnancy. Examples of complications include diabetes or preeclampsia.
Knowing your due date can help your health care provider manage the care of your
pregnancy. For example, the management of preeclampsia (high blood pressure of
pregnancy) will differ depending upon the age of your fetus. If you were to develop
preeclampsia at 38 weeks gestation, frequently the treatment will call for delivery. However,
if the gestational age of the baby is only 28 weeks, your health care provider will most likely
manage your pregnancy more conservatively in an attempt to delay delivery until the
gestational age of the fetus has progressed further.

o 2 Start with the date of your last period or the date of conception. The more you know about
your monthly cycle, the more accurate will be the estimation of your due date. On average,
pregnancies last about 267 days from the date of conception. So if you know your date of
conception absolutely, then you can simply add 267 days to it to figure out your due date.
o 3 Use the following formula to help you figure out your EDD:

Naegele's rule adds seven days to the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP). Then
three months are subtracted from that date.

It is easier to use this rule if you substitute numbers for the months and days. One precaution:
use the actual numbers of the days in the month of the LMP when you cross over to another
month, as the actual number of days in a month will vary. An example of the use of Naegele's
rule follows:

5/28(LMP of May 28)

+7 days
-----------------
6/4 (June 4 -- May has 31 days)
-3 months
-----------------
=3/4 (March 4 of the following year, as nine months have been added)

o 4

Add 281 days to the first day of your LMP, to figure out your due date.

Both of these methods are based on an average menstrual cycle of 28 days. If your periods
are irregular, if you conceive while breast-feeding and ovulating but without an actual period,
or if conception occurs before your regular menstruation has been reestablished after you
have either had a termination of a pregnancy or have discontinued birth control pills, then it
will be useless to attempt to calculate your EDD using these methods. In these cases, your
health care provider will use other methods to determine an approximate EDD.
Calculating the date

Pregnancy due dates are said to be 40 weeks long. The '40 week' estimation was first developed by a
German obstetrician called Naegele in the 1800's (hence it is called 'Naegele's Rule'). He declared that a
woman's pregnancy should last 10 lunar months (or 280 days), being about 9 calendar months. However,
because Naegele used the first day of the woman's last menstrual period as a definite 'starting point' to base
his calculations on, and conception typically happens 2 weeks after this time (or two weeks before the
woman's next period is due) a pregnancy is really only 38 weeks long (or 266 days), being about 8 ½
calendar months. Therefore, one week after conception, a woman is said to be '3 weeks pregnant'.
Caregivers today still use Naegele's rule to calculate a baby's due date.

Naegele based his calculation on the woman having a regular 28 day menstrual cycle. Therefore, if you
have a regular 28 day cycle and you know the date of the first day of your last normal period, you can use
Naegele's rule to calculate your baby's due date, which is:

9 months + 7 days after the first day of your last NORMAL menstrual period (or 280 days after this day).

However, not all women have a regular 28 day cycle. Therefore, if your cycle was longer or shorter than
28 days, Naegele's rule needs to be adjusted. You can do this by first using Naegele's rule (or our BIRTH
calculator ) and the first day of your last menstrual period to find the date, then add or subtract the
appropriate amount of days, depending on your cycle. For example:

If you have a 26 day cycle you would subtract 2 days from the Naegele's estimated due date.OR
If you have a 32 day cycle you would add 4 days to the Naegele's estimated due date.

Some women are not sure about the date of their last menstrual period, but are certain of their baby's
conception date. To calculate your baby's due date from their conception date, you add 266 days to your
conception date. (This is essentially the Naegele's rule date, minus 14 days, or 9 months minus 7 days after
the first day of the last normal period). Bear in mind that it is possible to have sex 3 to 5 days before you
ovulate (or release an egg), making your 'conception date' 3 to 5 days later than the day you had sex
(unless you are sure about the day you ovulated).

Factors that can alter the date

The baby's due date can be miscalculated if the woman experiences an 'implantation bleed'. This is when
the growing baby implants in the blood-rich lining of the woman's uterus, about 8 to 12 days after
conception (or about 2 to 6 days before the next period would have been due). An implantation bleed can
sometimes be confused with being the 'last normal period' (although an implantation bleed is usually
lighter and does not last as long as a period). Caregivers will try and confirm what your last period was
like, so that the baby's due date is not calculated from an implantation bleed. (Otherwise the due date will
be estimated as being about 3 to 4 weeks later than it should be)

In some cases, the starting date of a woman's last period and/or her baby's conception date is unknown.
This may be because she has very irregular periods, or her natural menstrual cycle has been disrupted
because she has recently stopped hormonal contraception, or is breastfeeding or has recently experienced a
miscarriage. (These are discussed in depth in variations for conception.) The caregiver may then be guided
by an ultrasound calculation.
 Ultrasounds can be of great help in determining how far pregnant a woman is, particularly if she has no
idea herself. However, ultrasounds are not always accurate at calculating the gestation of a baby, because
they rely on measuring the baby's physical size. (Their 'crown to rump' length during early pregnancy and
their femur (or thigh) length and head size, as they grow older.) 'Due date' estimations are based on the
'middle average' size of babies, but individual babies differ in size depending on their genetic make-up (as
all human beings do). Therefore they are not always accurate. Generally speaking:

...the earlier the ultrasound is done, the more accurate it can be at estimating the baby's due date.

As a guide:

Ultrasounds performed during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy are generally within 3 - 5 days of accuracy.
This is because the baby is growing extremely rapidly, and there is a great deal of difference between the
sizes of a 7, 8 or 9 week old unborn baby. Some caregivers will recommend an early ultrasound to help
calculate the woman's due date (however, if you are sure of your dates, then a dating ultrasound is not
necessary). If you have an ultrasound done before 12 weeks of pregnancy and your baby's age is estimated
to be more than +/- 7 days from the original due date, your caregiver will probably readjust when your baby
is due.
As the baby grows, the differences in their growth stages from week to week become less obvious,
reflecting the individuality of each woman's baby. Ultrasounds from 12 to 22 weeks are regarded as being
within 10 days of accuracy (or up to 10 days earlier or 10 days later than the woman's calculated due date).
If you have an ultrasound during this time and your baby's age is estimated to be more than +/- 10 days
from the original due date, your caregiver will probably readjust your due date.
Ultrasounds performed after 22 weeks can be up to 2 to 3 weeks out, and as a general rule should not be
used to estimate the due date of your baby (unless this is all you have to base your due date on). If you have
more than one ultrasound during your pregnancy, giving you 'multiple dates', then the earliest ultrasound
estimate should be used.

NOTE: If you are sure about when you conceived and/or know the first day of your last menstrual period
(and having a pretty regular menstrual cycle), this is more accurate than any ultrasound measurement!

Calculating a Due Date

How to calculate a due date:

A typical pregnancy lasts, on average, 280 days, or 40 weeks--starting with the first day of the last normal menstrual
period (LMP) as day 1. An estimated due date (EDD) can be calculated by following steps 1 through 3:

1. First, determine the first day of your last menstrual period.

2. Next, count back three calendar months from that date.
3. Lastly, add one year and seven days to that date.

For example: Your last menstrual period began on September 9, 2010. Counting back three calendar months would be
June 9, 2010. Adding one year and seven days would bring you to June 16, 2011, as your estimated due date (EDD).

This three-step method is referred to as Naegele's Rule and is based on a normal 28-day menstrual cycle. Therefore,
dates may have to be adjusted for longer or shorter menstrual cycles. However, even with adjustments made, less than
10 percent of women actually give birth on their calculated due dates. Delivery two weeks before or after the
estimated due date is still considered normal.