Calculate Your Pregnancy

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 17:49

Calculate your pregnancy

The interactive pregnancy calculator is a convenient service for calculating the date of birth and determining all the significant stages of gestation. If the expectant mother probably knows the date of conception, then you can enter it in the form of an interactive calendar and get the desired result. When this date is unknown, then the first day of the last menstruation can be taken as a basis. The service works very quickly, so in just a few seconds a woman can get the information she needs. Now the expectant mother will know for sure when the baby will begin to respond to touch, when the first time will move and other important points.

If a woman suspects that pregnancy occurred earlier or later than the onset of menstruation, then after undergoing a scheduled ultrasound, the necessary calculation can be made again. In this case, the date of conception will now be as reliable as possible, since the doctor will determine it based on medical indicators. The pregnancy calculator is an interactive assistant that allows you to find answers to many questions.

Among the benefits of using a pregnancy calculator are:

• After a woman finds out about her situation, she has many questions. She is interested in how long the belly begins to increase in size, when it is necessary to undergo an ultrasound scan, when the baby is born, when it will be possible to feel the first movements of the baby, etc. The answers to these and many other questions can be found through the use of a pregnancy calculator.

• The calculator allows you to determine the exact timing of the trimesters of pregnancy, find out such important dates as the day of the expected birth, conception, and maternity leave.
• The woman will know what signs of developing pregnancy she needs to pay attention to, and what to ask the doctor during a scheduled visit.
• The calendar will inform the woman about when and what tests she will need to take, when to undergo an ultrasound scan. Online pregnancy calculator is a kind of reminder that is always at hand.

Indicate the first day of the last menstruation Indicate the cycle duration 22 days23 days24 days25 days26 days27 days 28 days 29 days30 days31 days32 days33 days34 days35 days36 days37 days38 days39 days40 days41 days42 days43 days44 days45 days Calculate

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Content:

• Pregnancy term - what is it?
• Methods for determining the duration of pregnancy
• How to calculate the gestational age after IVF?
• Why do you need to know the exact duration of pregnancy?

Pregnancy term - what is it?

After ovulation, when the egg is released from the ovary, it lives for 24 hours. This time is considered the most favorable for conceiving a child. When the cycle equates to 28 days, ovulation occurs on the 14th day from the start of menstruation. The sperm cell meets the egg, fertilizes it, and after a week the embryo attaches to the inner lining of the uterine wall.

It is sometimes impossible to calculate the exact date of ovulation and conception. Therefore, doctors take as the beginning of pregnancy the 1st day of the last menstruation, and exactly 280 days later, delivery should occur. As a result, a paradox arises: the period began to be counted when the pregnancy itself was not yet. Therefore, it should be understood that the embryo exists approximately 14 days earlier than the date set.

Methods for determining the duration of pregnancy

The following methods are available to determine the gestational age and due date:

• Ultrasound examination.
• Using the Negele formula.
• Determination of the level of hCG.
• Measurement of the uterus during examination in the gynecologist's office.
• Assessment of your own feelings (by fetal movements).

Obstetricians to determine the gestational age are guided by the data of an ultrasound examination. You can clarify them with the help of a gynecological examination of the uterus, as well as knowing the date of the last menstruation.

Ultrasound

Ultrasound is the basic method for determining the duration of pregnancy. You can count on the maximum reliability only when the procedure is carried out 10-12 weeks after fertilization. In the future, ultrasound will not accurately determine the duration of pregnancy and the date of the expected birth. Therefore, it is so important to undergo an ultrasound scan in the 1st trimester of pregnancy.

The devices used by diagnosticians allow you to fix a three-week-old fertilized egg. Doctors calculate the date of conception and the date of the expected birth based on an assessment of the coccygeal-parietal size of the embryo. This indicator can be determined after they reach 3 cm or more. Based on the results of an ultrasound scan, the doctor issues a conclusion. It indicates the embryonic and obstetric gestational age. The first characterizes it from the moment of conception, and the second - from the day the last menstruation began.

When the fetus reaches 22 weeks, it will not be possible to accurately determine its age. However, at this time, doctors assess the main criteria for the intrauterine development of the child. The size of the head, the circumference of the abdomen, the length of its femur are measured. If the fetal indicators do not match its age, then intrauterine growth retardation can be suspected.

It should be understood that there are individual characteristics that the baby inherits, for example, short stature or a large head circumference. They appear in the third trimester, so it will be impossible to calculate the gestational age by ultrasound.

Determining the duration of pregnancy by the date of the last menstruation

If a woman's cycle is equal to 28 days, then it will not be difficult for her to calculate the date of birth on her own. To do this, you need to use the Negele formula:

"PMP (first day of the last menstruation) - 3 months + 7 days = PMD (estimated date of birth)"

Calculation example: PMP was on August 16, which means August 16 - 3 months + 7 days = May 23. On this day, childbirth should take place. In this way, all online pregnancy calculators calculate the due date.

To calculate the gestational period, you need to add the number of weeks that have passed after this date to the first day of the last menstruation.

Cases when it is not possible to determine the duration of pregnancy by menstruation:

• Your menstrual cycle is irregular or too long. If it exceeds 35 days, then ovulation will not occur on day 14, so it is impossible to calculate the exact date of birth using the Negele formula.
• If there is a risk of miscarriage during early pregnancy. The main sign of threat is often the appearance of scanty bloody discharge. A woman may confuse them with menstrual bleeding, and will not even guess what is in the position. In this case, ultrasound can help in determining the duration of pregnancy.
• If a woman is taking birth control pills. When the regularity of the scheme is disrupted, there is a chance of getting pregnant. Ovulation in this case happens suddenly, so it is impossible to calculate the exact date of its occurrence.

Examination of a woman on a gynecological chair

Every woman must be examined by a gynecologist before being registered.

It defines parameters such as:

• The height of the fundus of the uterus;
• The size of the uterus.

These indicators suggest the gestational age, if not accurate, then approximate. The error in the definition is due to the individual characteristics of the location of the uterus. In addition, a full bladder and fibroids can make examination difficult. In the event that a woman is carrying 2 or 3 babies, the uterus will be enlarged more than usual, which will also affect the accuracy of timing.

Determining the duration of pregnancy by the level of hCG

8-10 days after the conception occurred in the woman's body, the level of chorionic gonadotropin (pregnancy hormone) begins to increase. This figure will double every day.

It should be understood that it is impossible to determine the gestational period by the level of hCG with 100% accuracy. The fact is that the boundaries of its norm for each week of pregnancy vary quite widely. Moreover, the hCG indicator can go off scale when carrying twins or triplets, as well as with various pathologies of pregnancy.

Stirring and gestational age

As practice shows, a woman begins to feel the first movements from the 20th week of pregnancy. This pattern is legitimate for those expectant mothers who give birth for the first time.

If the birth is the second or more, then the woman can feel the movements of the baby already at 16-18 weeks of pregnancy.

It is impossible to determine the gestational period for this indicator by 100%. Sensitivity will be influenced by such factors as the thickness of the fat layer between the uterus and the peritoneum, the individual characteristics of the fetus, etc. In addition, when a woman really wants to feel life inside herself, she can even take the passage of gases through the intestines for fetal movements.

How to calculate the gestational age after IVF?

Many expectant mothers have questions about the reliability of calculating the duration of pregnancy after artificial insemination, because an already developing embryo is placed in the uterine cavity.

Gynecologists calculate the gestational age, starting from 1 day of the last menstruation, and it does not matter in what way the conception was carried out. However, there is an exception to this rule: with IVF with a menstruation suppression protocol, 14 days are added to the day of embryo replanting, and only from this date the gestation period begins.

Why do you need to know the exact duration of pregnancy?

The gestational age is an important indicator that acts as a guideline for doctors in the following points:

• Determination of the date of birth of the child;
• Assessment of fetal development;
• Planning for prenatal screening for chromosomal abnormalities;
• Evaluation of the child's ability to survive outside the womb in the event of his early birth.

A woman's knowledge of the gestational age will allow her to psychologically prepare for the date of the upcoming birth, as well as provide information about what is happening to the baby at one time or another of his intrauterine life.