Pregnancy is a great time for every woman. Waiting for the long-awaited baby is happiness for parents. Everyone is looking forward to, when a person sees a new world for him.
There are currently many ways to determine the expected date of birth of a child. However, the most accurate and used until today is to determine the month and date of birth of a baby by the date of the last month.
What you need to know for the correct calculation of the term of labor by the date of the last menstruation
Of course, there are automated calculators on numerous online resources that can easily calculate the X date. However, according to the observations of many expectant mothers, many of them show different results.
Therefore, the best option would be to calculate the DA (estimated date of birth) on your own through simple arithmetic manipulations. In order to make such a calculation, you need to know certain data:
- the exact date when it was the first day of the last menstrual period before conceiving a baby;
- the formula for calculating the da in this definition.
As practice shows, most often, if the pregnancy proceeds as expected, without complications and deviations, then the date of birth according to this calculation almost always coincides with reality. The spread can only be 1-3 days.
Calculate the date of birth by the date of the last month
How to calculate the date of delivery for the last month? So, it would be better to present everything with a concrete example. So, suppose that the first day of the last monthly period was August 15, 2014.
Now you need to subtract from this indicator 3 (three) calendar months. Thus, we get a new date - May 15. Now it is necessary to add exactly 7 (seven) days to the obtained value. As a result, we will receive on May 22.
Knowing that the pregnancy will move on to the next calendar year, it turns out that the expected date of birth in a specific example is May 22, 2015.
However, this approach is based on the average duration of the menstrual cycle for most women - 28 calendar days. But even with a different period, such a method is more than reliable for pregnant women in the beautiful half of humanity.
What is the accuracy of the calculation
As mentioned earlier, the accuracy of this calculation is quite large. This method of determining the date of birth is used by many gynecologists in antenatal clinics, maternity hospitals, and perinatal centers.
From it repel in the production of ultrasound examination of the fetus.
Based on these data, the specialist identifies possible deviations in the development of the baby inside the womb and draws appropriate conclusions.
Some mothers, it happens, are surprised that their DA did not coincide with the actual date of the birth of the child. Once again, we can say that a variety of external and internal factors can influence the day a baby appears.
If the expectant mother has a planned cesarean section for various health indicators, it is almost always performed in the PDR on the basis of a preliminary ultrasound scan.
Other ways to determine the number and month of birth
So, you can calculate the coveted day by the date of conception. However, this option will be extremely unreliable, since knowing when the fertilization took place can only be found on ultrasound at the very beginning of pregnancy planning. This method is used in artificial method of fertilization or IVF.
From the first smoothly follows the method of determining indicators of ultrasound. This method helps those who for various reasons do not remember the date of the last menstrual period.
What determines the duration of pregnancy
Not every pregnancy is perfect. It happens that according to certain indicators, babies are born before the due time. Such reasons may be:
- medical indicators: internal and external edema, fetal pathology, which do not guarantee further preservation of the normal course of pregnancy. So, for example, the lack of oxygen to the child (oxygen starvation) can be the basis for induction of labor artificially. This may also include premature aging of the placenta, when an acute shortage of nutrients begins for the normal development of the baby inside the womb;
- external factors, such as car accidents, unsuccessful falls, injuries of varying degrees, a sharp deterioration in the health of a pregnant woman, when the life of the child and mother can be saved only by provoking the onset of preterm birth.
In such cases, childbirth is provoked artificially, taking inside special medication. They can not be bought for free access. They are under strict control of the medical institution.
Or the birth of a baby occurs through an emergency caesarean section. In any case, doctors, professionals know and use many ways to save the life of the newborn, who were born a little earlier than normal, as well as the mothers of such children.
Additional information on the topic of the article can be found in the following video.
