Planning is a very important part of our life and it becomes very apparent when we find out that we have a baby on the way. We plan so many things in our life, we plan our day, our week and our year.
It is therefore just as logical that we would plan for when our little miracle is going to arrive by knowing the due date. We want to find out when the baby is due as soon as we get a positive pregnancy result.
Continue reading to find out how a pregnancy calculator works and the benefits of knowing your due date.
How To Calculate Your Due Date
The gestational time for a baby is 280 days or 40 weeks. You take your last menstrual period (LMP) and plus 280 days and you have your due date. This might seem weird since you weren’t pregnant when you had your period, but this is the way that it is worked out because it is difficult to pinpoint the exact conception date.
Let’s say you had sex on 1 February, and you are sure that was the conception date. But that might not be the exact date because sperm can live in the female reproductive tract for up to five days! Which means your real conception date might have taken place on 6 February. Isn’t the human body amazing?
Also, it is recommended for couples trying to conceive to have intercourse a number of times during the ovulation period, and it’s near impossible to know which time did the trick.
If you are not good with numbers and if working out the due date seems daunting, there are many websites where all you have to do is type in your last menstrual period and it will work out your due date for you. You’ve got to love modern technology, helping you know about pregnancy.
Benefits Of Knowing Your Due Date
When you know your due date, it will assist your doctor and yourself to monitor your baby’s growth. The measurement of the embryo that your doctor takes when you go for your first ultrasound between week 6 to week 13 is the most accurate method to establish the gestational age. They measure your wee tot from crown to rump to establish the length and dependent on the length of the embryo, the due date can be established.
Always remember that even though the average length of a pregnancy is 40 weeks, baby can make his/her appearance any time from week 38 up to week 42. It is wise to be prepared for the due date but not to fixate on it. Many mums-to-be are disappointed when their baby does not arrive on the exact date.
Knowing your due date will also help you and your husband to request maternity and paternity leave ahead of time. Your husband might take his paternity leave a few days earlier than when your baby is supposed to arrive so that he can help with all the last minute things that need to be done around the house and to simply be there for you when you need him.
When you know your due date you will know what kind of clothes baby is going to need. If your baby is due in winter, you’ll need more blankets and full onesies than when you have a baby in the summertime. You’ll also be able to make sure that your bedroom is nice and warm for those midnight feedings. And if it’s a summer baby you can get him/her that itsy bitsy, incredibly cute first swimsuit.
Planning And Laughing Works
By knowing your due date you can plan ahead and be better prepared for the arrival of your little bundle of joy. If you are a pregnant woman planning ahead and you feel tired, in other words extremely exhausted, like only pregnant women can feel, this quote might put a smile on your dial: “Growing a baby makes me feel like a superhero. A really tired, weak superhero who wants to eat all the time and isn’t allowed to lift heavy objects.”
