Pregnancy Calculator and Other Methods for Calculating Pregnancy dates
Posted on | October 12, 2011 | Comments Off
Online pregnancy calculators are there to help pregnant women determine the following:
- Gestational age, or in other words, the age of the unborn baby (sometimes referred to as fetal age). The counting to determine the gestational age begins from the first day of the woman’s last menstrual period to the current day. The measurement is taken in weeks rather than in days. An ultrasound, a type of screening test routinely carried out after the 14th week can often give a fair idea of gestational age.
- The due date. Once you have calculated the gestational age and know when you conceived your baby, you just need to count 42 weeks after that date to know when you are expected to give birth. It is important to know that babies are often born after or before their due dates so do not expect your due date to be an exact calculation. In fact, it is likely that you will not give birth on your due date but a few days before or a few days after. A pregnancy lasts from anywhere between 38 and 42 weeks.
Knowing your gestational age and your due date are of course very important. It helps the expectant mother be prepared for the birth at the right time. Moreover, planning is an extremely important part of the whole pregnancy affair. It is indeed lucky that pregnancy calculators are readily available and free online. Have you thought of when you are going to request paternity or maternity leave? Your maternity leave is an important time to (as is paternity leave) to bond with your child- you need to put your career on hold and take on a full time roll as parent- if you do not know your due date you cannot get organized and inform your boss.
Ultrasounds vs Pregnancy Calculators
You will undoubtedly be doing an ultrasound at some stage in your pregnancy as this is a very important screening test to check that the baby you are carrying is developing healthily. From an ultrasound certain measurement can be taken which will enable the doctor overseeing the ultrasound to determine many months old the child is (gestational age). These detailed and rather complex measurements are called fetal biometric measurements and include measurements of the skulls and femur.
A pregnancy calculator is more at hand and convenient as you can work out the date of conceptions, trimesters, due dates and the likes from the easy and comfort of your home. These calculators can be used very early in pregnancy.
Pregnancy calculators are useful if you plan doing a gender prediction test or a prenatal paternity test as these tests can only be done following a certain number of weeks of gestation.
