It?s a question you?ll hear over and over until you?re holding a baby in your arms: ?When are you due"? Everyone wants to know that magic date, and you?re probably more than a little curious about how far along you are, too. Your due date may become a beacon (my belly will stop growing in three more weeks, right") or a deadline (I better paint the nursery ASAP), but it?s important to remember that your ?due date? will only ever be an estimate of the week you?ll give birth (the vast majority of women deliver between weeks 37 and 41).
That said, there?s one big reason why an accurate estimate is important: in case of complications. ?If a woman goes into labour early, then we really want to know how far along she is, as best as we can tell,? says Carol Scurfield, medical director of the Women?s Health Clinic in Winnipeg. ?A week can make a big difference as far as the health of the baby is concerned.? Do your best to calculate your due date as soon as you discover you?re pregnant. Here?s how to do it.
1. Calculate using your last menstrual period (LMP)
By far, the most common and accurate way to figure out your estimated due date is to take the start date of your last normal period and add 280 days (40 weeks), which is the typical length of a pregnancy. ?Make sure that the period you?re tracking was the same number of days as usual and the same amount of discomfort, meaning that it felt like a normal period,? says Scurfield. ?Sometimes women bleed after they?re pregn...