There is quite a lot of evidence to suggest that when an ultrasound scan in the first trimester is used for the estimate instead of calculating from the last monthly period, the number of apparently вЂњpost-termвЂќ births (those which occur 15 days or more after the estimated date) is reduced. In that case, if the EDD is later than it should be that could mean that the birth is delayed unnecessarily. Sometimes there are medical reasons such a pre-eclampsia which mean it may be better for a baby to be born as soon as they reach вЂњtermвЂќ (37 weeks of pregnancy). Induction of labour is routinely offered at 42 weeks of pregnancy (or in some circumstances even earlier) but if the EDD is too early, the baby might be born before s/he is fully prepared for life outside the womb.

There is a tendency for midwives and doctors to talk as though the EDD written in your maternity notes is something definite, rather than an estimate which may or may not be accurate. The EDD will be used to decide things like whether your baby seems to be growing too fast or slow, or when you will be offered induction to prevent a long pregnancy, so itвЂ™s important to understand how firm a prediction it is. Why does the accuracy of the 'due date' matter? estimating your baby's size from various measurements made during an ultrasound scan.Д¬harting temperature, monitoring mucus, using ovulation test kits and knowing times when you could have conceived, or having conceived by IVF may mean you have your own information about when you became pregnant.counting 280 days from the first day of your last monthly period.There are two methods doctors and midwives use to estimate a EDD:

For more information you might like to have a look at the 'AIMS Guide to Induction of Labour' which is available from the shop. For some women this will be the right decision, but it is important to know that this is your decision to make. Many women with longer pregnancies find that everyone is asking whether they have had their baby yet, and that health care workers start to suggest inducing labour. It may be more helpful to be prepared for you baby arrive some time after 37 weeks, and to focus on 42 weeks as the time by which you have a good chance of having given birth. Only about 5% of babies will arrive on their due date and focusing on this single date can make the end of pregnancy quite stressful. It is common to be given a single 'estimated due date' (EDD) which corresponds the point at which it is estimated that your pregnancy will have lasted 40 weeks. pp.Please note that this page is awaiting updateДЄbout 90% of pregnancies will naturally last between 37 and 42 weeks, and this period is referred to as 'term pregnancy'. New England Journal of Medicine 340 (23): 1796вЂ“1799Дў) Beckmann CRB. ReferencesДЎ) Wilcox AJ, Baird DD, Weinberg CR (1999) Time of implantation of the Conceptus and loss of pregnancy.

The date of conception depends on the female body menstrual cycle dates as the fusion between the egg and sperm can only take place when the egg is matured and released from the ovary and this only happens during ovulation. This process leads to the development of an embryo that during the pregnancy, after 38 weeks time will develop into a new born ready to be birth.Д¬onception usually occurs during the 5-7 fertile days at the middle of the menstrual cycle with the highest chance to conceive, during the ovulation day. What is conception?Д¬onception is also known as fertilization or fecundation and represents the moment of fusion between the male sperm and female egg. Or a pregnant woman with a cycle length of 29 days and first day of last period Apis likely to have conceived May 12 th 2014.

в– Second tab: For instance, someone born on Mais likely to have been conceived around June 22nd 1985. в– First tab: Example calculation for a cycle of 28 days started on November 10 th 2014: (the first 5 months depicted) Ovulation date There are two tabs from which you can choose to you keep track of your menstrual cycle and important dates such as the ovulation date for the following 12 months together with the pregnancy due date or it can find the conception date.Д«y the 1 st tab the conception calendar uses your first day of your last menstrual cycle and the menstrual cycle length in order to display an analysis of the following menstrual cycles in terms of fertile days when you can conceive, with a particular interest on the ovulation date and on the estimated pregnancy due date in case of a pregnancy.Д«y the 2 nd tab you can get the estimated conception date. This useful tool can determine 3 types of information from various perspectives as just a few clicks away.

Conception to due date calendar