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Calculate your due date: How to find your baby's due date

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First day of my last period

BabyCenter's Due Date Calculator

Use our pregnancy due date calculator by plugging in either the date of your last menstrual cycle or the date you know you conceived. The calculator will do the rest.

How is my due date calculated?

There are several ways your due date is determined. If you happen to know the day you conceived, you can count 38 weeks from that day to find your due date. (Human gestation takes about 38 weeks.)

But very few expectant moms know exactly when they conceived. Even if you only had sex once during your fertile period, you wouldn't conceive on that day unless you happen to be ovulating. Sperm can live for up to five days inside your fallopian tubes. So, it could be up to five days after you have sex that you release an egg (ovulate) and it gets fertilized by a waiting sperm. That's the day you conceive.

So, without knowing the day of conception, how does anyone determine a due date?

First day of your last period

The most common way to calculate your pregnancy due date is by counting 40 weeks from the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP). And that's how most healthcare providers do it.

If your menstrual cycle length is the average length (28-day cycle), your menstrual cycle probably started about two weeks before you conceived. This explains why pregnancies are said to last 40 weeks instead of 38 weeks.

This method doesn't take into account how long your menstrual cycle actually is or when you think you might have conceived. But generally speaking, women typically ovulate about two weeks after their menstrual cycle starts. And women are more likely to know when their last period started than the day they ovulated.

Conception date

If you do happen to know precisely when you conceived – say, if you were using an ovulation predictor kit or tracking your ovulation symptoms – you can calculate your pregnancy due date based on your conception date. Just choose that calculation method from the pulldown above and put in your date.

Note: Again, you don't necessarily conceive on the day you have sex.

IVF transfer date

If you conceived through IVF, you can calculate your due date using your IVF transfer date. If you had a Day 5 embryo transfer, count 261 days from your transfer date. If you had a Day 3 embryo transfer, count 263 days.

Can my due date change?

Your healthcare provider might revise your due date if your baby is measured during a first trimester ultrasound scan and found to be much bigger or smaller than expected for gestational age. This is more likely to happen if you have an irregular menstrual cycle length that makes it hard to pinpoint the date of conception.

Your healthcare provider will measure your baby during that ultrasound exam to figure out how far along your baby is and then provide you with a new due date.

What if I already know my due date?

If you already know your due date, you can use this calculator to see your pregnancy timeline. It will tell you when you'll hit various milestones, and when you may be due for prenatal tests and prenatal visits. You'll also find what your baby's sign and birthstone will probably be and which famous people were born on your due date.

How likely am I to give birth on my due date?

Of course, a due date calculation is always approximate, whether it's from our tool or from your doctor or midwife. Only 1 in 20 women delivers on their due date. You're just as likely to go into labor any day during the two weeks before or after.

Want more information about how the weeks, months, and trimesters of pregnancy are counted? See our pregnancy timing chart.

How soon can I take a pregnancy test?

With all this talk about pregnancy due dates, you may be wondering when you can take a pregnancy test. To ensure you get the most accurate reading, it's best to wait a few days after your missed period to take a pregnancy test.

At-home urine tests measure the amount of hCG (human Chorionic Gonadotropin) present in your body. If you take a pregnancy test before you miss your period, you may not get an accurate result, despite what some tests advertise.

If you're getting a blood test in your provider's office, you may get results sooner. These tests also measure the amount of hCG in your bloodstream, but they're more sensitive than at-home urine tests. Blood tests may be able to detect pregnancy six to eight days after ovulation.

Read more

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When does a baby have a heartbeat? When you can hear or see the heartbeat.

You may be able to see the beating of cells in the heart tube for the first time when you're about 6 weeks pregnant if you have an early ultrasound exam.

If you don't have a first-trimester ultrasound, you'll probably first hear your baby's heart with a handheld Doppler at a regular prenatal visit.

Your caregiver may be able to find cardiac activity with a handheld Doppler as early as 10 weeks, but the timing depends on a number of factors, including the position of your uterus, your belly shape, and how full (or empty) your bladder is.

When does a baby have a heartbeat?

At 5 to 6 weeks of pregnancy, there's a flickering of cells within the embryo's torso. This flickering is the developing heart tube.

At this point, the heart isn't the four-chambered organ we're familiar with. It's a tube-shaped structure that has a lot of developing to do. The heart tube bends and twists to eventually form the heart, including its chambers.

Because the heart isn't yet developed, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (ACOG) defines this movement as "cardiac activity" rather than a heartbeat.

"What pregnant people may hear or see is the ultrasound machine translating electronic impulses that signify fetal cardiac activity into the sound that we recognize as a heartbeat," ACOG states. The group recommends waiting until the heart is fully formed before using the term "heartbeat."

A baby's heart is one of the first structures to form, because it's needed to deliver oxygenated blood and nutrients to other developing organs.

Some of the important steps in heart development are:

The heart tube twists and bends into an S shape, and the bottom of the tube moves up to form the two upper heart chambers (atria).
The middle of the tube forms the two lower chambers (ventricles).
Walls form to divide the chambers, each with an entrance and exit for blood flow.
Valves form between the ventricles and the aorta (large blood vessel) and pulmonary artery.
At about 10 weeks to 12 weeks, the heart is formed.
Small blood vessels form and fill with blood.
At birth, the opening between the two atria closes. Your baby is now getting oxygen from their lungs and not from the placenta.

What does a fetal heartbeat sound like?

Many women say that the beating of their baby's tiny heart sounds like galloping horses. The embryonic and fetal heartbeat is fast, about 110 to 160 beats per minutes.

If you hear a whooshing noise, that's not the heartbeat – it's probably because of movement or the monitor traveling past your placenta. Also, if you hear two heartbeats, don't assume you're having twins. You're likely hearing your own heartbeat in the background.

If the heart rate of the embryo or fetus is healthy, it's a sign that development is progressing normally. The chances of a miscarriage once you see or hear a heartbeat are less than 10 percent (at 6 weeks) and less than 1 percent at 9 weeks.

What if my provider can't detect a heartbeat?

If your doctor or midwife doesn't find your baby's heartbeat on your first-trimester ultrasound right away, it could be because:

It's too early in your pregnancy. Your due date may be off. (This can happen, especially if your menstrual cycle was irregular.) Your provider will schedule another visit in a week or two.
You have a retroverted uterus. Because of the position of your uterus, the baby can be just a little further away and harder to detect.
You're overweight. Extra padding between the ultrasound wand and the baby may make it harder to detect the heartbeat.
Miscarriage. If there's no heartbeat when expected (and ultrasound measurements confirm the age) or if cardiac activity was detected and now isn't, this may be a sign of miscarriage.
Ectopic pregnancy. In this case, an ultrasound wouldn't pick up heart motion in the uterus because there's no embryo there. Although ectopic pregnancies are never viable, they can sometimes develop enough to have heart motion. An ectopic pregnancy is a surgical emergency that can be fatal if not treated quickly.

How will I usually hear my baby's heartbeat?

Your provider will check your baby's heart rate with a fetal Doppler (a handheld ultrasound monitor) at each prenatal visit after about 10 weeks.

The procedure is completely painless. Your doctor or midwife will cover the device with ultrasound gel and move it around on your belly until they find a spot where the heartbeat can be detected. The Doppler sends and receives sound waves that safely bounce off your insides, including your baby's heart. The returning sound waves are processed and amplified by the device so you and your provider can hear the heartbeat.

You can rent or buy a Doppler for home use. However, some experts think a home Doppler isn't a good idea.

That's because it can take considerable training and practice to find and correctly identify a baby's heartbeat. You may not be able to hear the heartbeat – not because of an issue with your baby, but due to user error. It's also possible to hear the sound of blood flowing through the placenta or your own blood vessels and mistake it for a heartbeat.

There are better ways to monitor your baby, such as paying attention to your baby's movements and attending all of your prenatal appointments.

Learn more:

When will my pregnancy start to show?
Pregnancy in weeks, months, and trimesters

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How to calculate the due date. Calculate gestational age by week

Our online pregnancy calculator will help you calculate gestational age by week and find out when your baby will be born

Last period start date

dd.mm.yyyy

Determine the date of birth

It is impossible to calculate the date of birth with absolute accuracy. The estimated day of delivery is calculated as follows: the first day of the last menstrual period + 280 days . This is an average date, usually delivery occurs in the next plus or minus 10 days . Learn more about the calculation of the PDR.

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How to calculate due date

What is PDD?

EDD is an abbreviation commonly used by physicians for the phrase "estimated due date".

How is the estimated due date (ED)

How to correctly calculate the due date? Pregnancy from conception to the birth of a child lasts about 266 days, or 38 weeks. Since the date of conception, as a rule, is not exactly known, in modern obstetrics it is customary to calculate the gestational age from the first day of the last menstruation, i.e. you need to calculate the date of birth by menstruation. With this calculation, it is approximately 280 days, or 40 weeks, since ovulation and, accordingly, fertilization usually occur two weeks after the start of the cycle. Ultrasound equipment is also set up for the same calculation of the gestational age, therefore, if menstruation is delayed by 4 weeks, the doctor will most likely report 8 weeks of pregnancy (whereas only about 6 weeks have passed from the moment of conception).

Accuracy of due date calculation

How to calculate exact gestational age? You can calculate the approximate date of birth of a child if you know the date of the last menstrual period. The estimated due date (EDD) will be 280 days (40 weeks) after the first day of your last period. However, only 5% of children with normal pregnancies are born on the “calculated” day, another 85% are born within a period of plus or minus a week from this date, and another 10% are “late” or “hurry” for another week. It is believed that a healthy pregnancy can last from 38 to 42 weeks.

Duration of pregnancy

How to correctly calculate the duration of pregnancy? The duration of pregnancy depends on many factors, including the individual pace of development of the child, as well as the duration of the woman's menstrual cycle. So, for example, if the cycle duration is less than 24 days, then childbirth can occur 10-15 days earlier than when calculated according to the formula "1st day of the last menstruation + 280 days", while the child will be fully mature and healthy. And if the menstrual cycle lasts more than 32 days, then the pregnancy can drag on for 10-15 days, and this will not be considered overdose.

The calculator was developed in accordance with the recommendations of Ph.D. obstetrician-gynecologist Tatyana Solomatina, author of the book "Advice to those who have flown."

Baby gender calculator

On this page we present the most popular methods among the people. Of course, these methods are not based on serious scientific developments and do not give a 100% guarantee, so it makes sense to perceive such calculations more as entertainment.

The birth of a child is always a miracle. Whoever is born: a boy or a girl, for the parents it will be the most beloved person in the world. And yet, most potential mothers and fathers, planning the birth of a baby, would not refuse the opportunity to "program" the sex of the unborn child.

Calculation of the sex of the unborn child

Husband's Age

Age of the wife

Month of ConceptionJanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember

Do you have children together? No Boy Girl Boy and girl Two boys Two girls

Does the spouse have siblings? NoBrotherSisterBrother and sisterTwo brothersTwo sisters

Intensity of sexual life 1-2 times a week More often than 2 times a week Less than once a week

Your diet is dominated by Dairy products, vegetables and nuts Meat, mushrooms, potatoes, pickles Mixed diet

You will most likely have:

Chinese calendar

This calculator is based on the famous Chinese table and allows you to calculate the sex of the child by the date of conception and the woman's age. On our own behalf, we can add that the administration of the Nova Clinic website tested the effectiveness of the method by calculating the sex of children born in our center, and in most cases, oddly enough, received the correct answer from the calculator.

Enter the number of completed years between 18 and 55

Calculation of the sex of the unborn child

Mother's age18192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445

Month of ConceptionJanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember

You will most likely have:

This technique, which appeared in the second half of the 20th century, is based on the assertion that spermatozoa carrying the male Y chromosome are more mobile, but less viable. At the same time, germ cells that carry the X chromosome move more slowly, but at the same time they can survive in the female body for a longer time. Thus, if sexual intercourse occurs at the time of ovulation, the probability of having a boy increases, if a girl is born a long time before it. In addition, the change in the vaginal environment plays a role, which gradually changes from alkaline to acidic (that is, more aggressive and harmful to spermatozoa with the Y chromosome).

It is believed that an active sexual life of spouses contributes to the conception of a son, and a more moderate one - to a daughter. We proceed from the fact that spermatozoa with a Y-chromosome are less tenacious. Thus, in the ejaculate of a man after prolonged abstinence, there is a greater number of spermatozoa with the X chromosome. In addition, rare sexual intercourse contributes to a decrease in sperm motility (which is why spermogram delivery requires some preparation, in particular, abstinence for no more than a week), which means that the chances that sperm carrying the X chromosome will be the first to reach the eggs increase even more.

French Diet

It was the experts from France, Jacques Laurent and Joseph Stolkowski, who came to the conclusion that the diet can have a direct impact on the likelihood of conceiving a female or male child. As a result of the research they have developed a special diet. According to this method, in order to conceive a girl, it is required to eat onions, eggplants, cucumbers, beets, carrots, green peas, capsicum, nuts and dairy products for at least 2 months before the alleged conception. Accordingly, those couples who dream of an heir should focus on meat dishes, mushrooms, potatoes and tropical fruits. In other words, in the first case, the body should receive a maximum of calcium and magnesium, in the second - sodium and potassium. According to unverified data, the effectiveness of this method is about eighty percent.

How to calculate the sex of the child "by the stars"? If you are planning the birth of a daughter, then at the time of conception, the Moon should be in any of the so-called female zodiac signs (Pisces, Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn). Accordingly, if you dream of a son, wait until the Moon is in Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius or Aquarius.

If you believe the creators of this technique, then in the human body there is a cyclic renewal of blood, which has a direct impact on the sex of the unborn baby. Moreover, in men, the blood is updated every four years, and in women - once every three years. The calculation assumes that one of the parents, whose blood at the time of conception will be “younger”, will “transmit” their gender to the child. By the way, if a woman has a negative Rh factor, the result should be interpreted exactly the opposite. To find out the result, divide the age of a woman by 3, men - by 4. The authors also suggest taking into account the dates of serious blood loss (surgery, bleeding), and in this case, the countdown should be from this moment. It is logical to assume that sometimes the results of division may coincide. In this case, the authors state, you will have twins.

Medical methods

You can also determine the sex of the child using purely medical methods. However, these studies have nothing to do with forecasting and "programming". The most common and accurate is the determination of the sex of the child by ultrasound - after 20 weeks, in most cases, the doctor will be able to give you accurate information. Recently, a method is also gaining popularity that allows you to find out the sex of the child after the 7th week of pregnancy by analyzing the blood of a pregnant woman. The study is based on the fact that the mother's blood contains a small amount of fetal DNA, and if Y chromosomes are found, it can be argued that a boy is expected. During the IVF cycle, PGD can be performed - preimplantation genetic diagnosis. This method allows you to test embryos for the presence of certain chromosomal abnormalities and find out the sex of the unborn child. If there are sex-linked hereditary diseases in the family, embryos of only a certain gender are transferred into the uterine cavity. However, Russian law prohibits the choice of the sex of the child in the absence of medical indications.