Is the due date accurate?

The due date is a prediction of the time of delivery based on the duration of women's pregnancy. Generally, we say that pregnancy lasts for ten months, but different physical conditions will have different reactions. The due date has a scientific basis and a scientific calculation method. It is a good assistant for women when they are pregnant. However, in clinical practice, many pregnant women do not experience symptoms such as spotting, labor pains, and uterine contractions on the due date, so people are skeptical about the accuracy of the due date. So is the due date accurate? Let’s learn more about it below.

1. 37-42 weeks of pregnancy are considered normal. The due date is usually inaccurate and may be early or late. If it exceeds 42 weeks, the doctor will recommend hospitalization. If there is any abnormality, the doctor will recommend a caesarean section. If the placenta is aging, the amniotic fluid is turbid, or there is too little amniotic fluid, it will be harmful to the fetus. So don’t go far when your due date is coming, as you may give birth at any time.

2. The due date is not the exact date of delivery. Scientists have calculated that only about 53% of expectant mothers give birth on the due date. Is it abnormal to deliver "early" or "delayed"? Clinically, a full-term fetus refers to a gestational age between 37 and 42 weeks. About 80% to 90% of expectant mothers give birth during this period. Babies born before 37 weeks are considered premature, accounting for about 5% to 10%.

3. Due date, which is the date the pregnant woman is expected to give birth. The due date is not the exact date of delivery. Scientists have calculated that only about 53% of women give birth on their due date. Since it is difficult for every pregnant woman to accurately determine the time of conception, medical regulations stipulate that the expected date of delivery is calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period. The entire pregnancy period is 280 days, or 10 gestation months (each gestation month is 28 days).

4. The due date is the expected date of delivery of a pregnant woman "calculated" based on the average length of human pregnancy. The entire pregnancy period is calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period and lasts about 40 weeks on average. In clinical practice, for the convenience of calculation, the expected date of delivery is usually calculated by adding 9 to the month of the last menstrual period and 7 to the day of the last menstrual period. For pregnant women who cannot remember their last menstrual period or who become pregnant again while still breastfeeding and whose menstruation has not resumed, clinical practice often uses the time of onset of early pregnancy reactions, the time of onset of fetal movement, the height of the uterine fundus, B-ultrasound examination, etc. to help estimate the expected date of delivery. Just as average height cannot be used to predict actual height, the due date cannot be used to predict the actual date of delivery. Moreover, the commonly used clinical method for calculating the expected date of delivery does not take into account the difference in the number of days in different months, and therefore has certain errors. In addition, if the pregnant woman cannot remember the date of her last menstrual period or her menstrual cycle is irregular, the calculated due date may be inaccurate. In addition, there are certain individual differences in the intrauterine development of different fetuses, and there may be a time difference of 1-2 weeks between the actual delivery date and the estimated due date.

Although the pregnancy period is not particularly accurate, it can give us a range, allowing us time to take precautions and be prepared just in case. It is not easy for a woman to be pregnant for ten months. What we need to do is to make sure everything goes well. We must be responsible for ourselves and our children. But we cannot completely trust the due date. We must be prepared at all times and go to the hospital immediately if there is any abnormality.