Determining Due Date

To know that you are pregnant and that you are going to have a baby is very exciting and overwhelming. The next thing you may want to know is the date when you can expect to give birth to the baby growing in your womb. The date assigned for the pregnant lady’s delivery of the child is called the Expected Delivery Date (EDD).  Though most of the babies are not born exactly on that date, it helps the parents to plan for the big day, and is also very useful for the doctor in planning proper care during the pregnancy.

There are various methods to determine the expected delivery date

1.     The most widely used method is noting the date of the pregnant lady’s last menstrual period. It is an easy and traditional way to find out EDD as the correct date of conception is rarely known. The EDD is generally said to be forty weeks after the first day of the last menstruation

2.     You can use an online delivery due date calculator to get your EDD calculated for you. This is available in various sites online. You will just have to provide your Last Menstrual Period (LMP) to get your EDD

3.     Height of your Uterus is also used in calculating your EDD, though it is a less common method. It is an inconsistent method and is found to be faulty in cases of ectopic gestation, retroverted gravid uterus, intrauterine death of the fetus, vesicular mole, hydramnios, multiple pregnancies etc

4. Dr.Naegele in 1850 calculated the average time of human gestation period to be around 266 days from the day a lady conceived. His calculations were based on the assumptions that a woman on an average had menstrual cycles lasting for 28 days and that she ovulated on the 14^th day of every menstrual cycle. He gave a formula for the EDD as: EDD = [(LMP + 7 Days) – 3 months] + 1year

Dr.Naegele did not take all the practical issues into account while deriving the formula. Every woman does not ovulate on the 14^th day of her menstrual cycle. Moreover, nutrition, prenatal care, screening factors, genetics etc. were not considered.

All these EDD calculation methods are proposed assuming that the delivery of the baby would be smooth and carried out safely without any accidents. The standard human gestation period was observed to be disturbed and altered by various factors like abortion, miscarriage, premature delivery, post mature delivery etc.

Today, as technology sees tremendous advancement, various new technologies have been developed to get much accurate estimation of EDD than ever before. The highly successful and most preferred technology is an ultra sonography which not only gives you the EDD, but also provides you the picture of the baby’s present condition, the positioning, fluid, umbilical cord and assessment of various organs of the growing fetus. All these can be probed by ultra sonography and visualized. It gives the would-be parents a thrilling experience of watching their baby present in the womb on the screen. It can be recorded and the cassette can be given to the couple

Latest technology is used in modern medicine frequently to know the EDD and it could turn out to be correct if the pregnancy progresses smoothly. In many health care areas computerization of various medical calculations has made them more trustworthy and reliable. Regular check-ups with the gynecologist are a must for achieving this. Doctor can keep a track of the baby’s progress and can take care of the baby and the mother in this way. Sonography helps in assessing baby’s growth and organ development and is extremely useful in emergencies when the baby is to be delivered quickly. It will also help doctors in deciding between normal delivery and cesarean section. Therefore a visit to the doctor and a check up are necessary to get your EDD calculated properly.