Determining Your Due Date Determining your due date is just a good guess. ... Pregnancy Calendar Counting ahead 9 months and adding 7 days: First Day of
Determining Your Due Date Determining your due date is just a good guess. It is counted as 280 days from the first day of your last period. Most babies arrive from two weeks before to two weeks after their due date. Only 5 percent of babies arrive on their due date. The length and regularity of your periods or menstrual cycle can tell you something about your due date. Often women have their babies close to the due date, if their periods are regular and every 28 days. Your age, race, size (birth weight) and number of children do not make a difference.
Directions 1. Find the first day of your last period on the calendar. 2. Move ahead 9 months. 3. Find the same date. 4. Add 7 days. 5. That will be your baby's due date.
Determine Your Due Date Example Suppose your last period began June 10. Move ahead 9 months to March and find March 10. Add 7 days and your due date would be March 17. More on next page Learn more about your health care.
© Copyright (2003 - 11/10/2009). Department of Women and Infant Nursing. The Ohio State University Medical Center - Upon request all patient education handouts are available in other formats for people with special hearing, vision and language needs, call (614) 293-3191.
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Pregnancy Calendar Counting ahead 9 months and adding 7 days:
First Day of Last Period: June 10
June SMTWTFS 1 2 3 4 5 6
March SMTWTFS
Estimated
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
28 29 30
29 30
Due Date: March 17
Other Information to Help Set Your Due Date If you have used birth control pills, have irregular periods, or have not kept track of your periods, then a doctor may do other things to help set a due date. Your doctor may: •
Listen to the baby's heart tones
•
Check the size of the uterus
•
Check the baby's movement (you can help by marking your calendar the first time you feel the baby move and reporting it at your next visit)
•
Feel the baby through your abdomen
•
Have you get an ultrasound
Talk to your doctor or others on your health care team if you have questions. You may request more written information from the Library for Health Information at (614) 293-3707 or email:
[email protected].
