When you are pregnant, it is common to wonder when the baby will be born and use different tools to obtain answers. Do you think you have already done all the possible calculations? In Madres Hoy we share with you 3 ways to calculate the probable date of delivery, do you know them?
These tools to calculate the probable date of delivery are a good approximation to what could happen. And we say could because only 5% of babies are born on the official delivery date, the one stipulated by the doctor. But let's calculate!
open the calendar
A calendar is all you need to calculate the probable date of delivery. You can do it using as starting data the day you conceived or if you don't know this, the date of your last period. And from there, what?
From the date of your last period
The probable date of delivery can be calculated adding 280 days (40 weeks) from the date of the first day of the last rule. Pregnancies are about 38 weeks, but 40 is calculated because conception normally occurs two weeks after the date of the last period, which is when we usually ovulate.
We women tend to remember when our last term started, even more if we plan to get pregnant, so this is always a good reference. The resulting date, however, is only a forecast, since the delivery can be delayed or advanced.
From the day of conception
Do you know approximately what day you conceived? And we say approximately because although you may be clear when you had sex, the day does not have to coincide with the date of conception, as it could take a few days for the egg to be fertilized by a sperm.
But let's leave the technical data aside, if you know what day you conceived you will only have to count 38 weeks from that day and you will know when your baby will be born approximately. As simple as that! Mark the date on the calendar so that when he is born and you come home you can see how close he has been.
Using an online calculator
Don't feel like adding weeks on a calendar? If you're not up for the job, maybe online tools that we propose below will convince you more as a method to calculate the probable date of delivery. And there are several free options on the internet to calculate the due date that do everything for you. These are some of the ones we like the most.
- WebMD. It is one of the simplest online tools. you will only have to mark on the calendar This tool presents the date corresponding to the first day of your last period and hit "calculate" to see the expected date of delivery and the weeks you have been pregnant. ohDo it now!
- What to Expect. What to Expect is a somewhat more complete tool that offers you three starting points to calculate the delivery date: Last period, conception date or ultrasound. In the case of choosing the first, you will have to mark the first day of your last period, as well as the number of days that your menstrual cycle lasts or that elapse from the first day of one period to the first day of the next. And in the case of doing it using ultrasound you must enter the date of the ultrasound, weeks and days. In addition to the delivery date, this website will show other data about the moment of pregnancy in which you are.
- Baby center. It is very similar to the previous one but offers some more calculation method and returns more information such as a timeline of your pregnancy. you can try it clicking here.
As we have mentioned, these tools serve to kill curiosity since even the one that the doctor gives you through the information obtained in the ultrasounds may not be fulfilled. And it is that children are born when they have to do and sometimes even before. Patience and encouragement!