Determining your due date can seem like a maze these days. How do you do it and what does it all mean?
Let's take a look at the history of determining due dates and how it affects when your baby will be born.
Dr. Naegele, circa 1850, determined that the average length of human gestation was approximately 266 days from conception. He assumed that the average woman had cycles that lasted 28 days and that she ovulated on Day 14 of her cycle. He used his data to come up with a mathematical calculation for due dates:
((LMP + 7 days) - 3 months) = Due Date
EX: ((January 1, 1996 + 7 days) - 3 months) = October 8, 1996
However, Dr. Naegele did not consider certain factors in his calculation. For example: Not every woman ovulates on Day 14. Other situations that he did not factor in were ethnicity, parity (how many successful pregnancies), prenatal care, better nutrition, and screening factors.
Today we still use Naegele's rule to determine due dates. However, there is a new rise to the discussion of the accuracy of Naegele's findings. With the advent of true prenatal care, midwives and physicians are helping women educate themselves about risk factors, nutrition and prenatal screening. This extends the lengths of gestation for many women.
One study indicates that we need to add 15 days to the Naegele EDC for Caucasian, first time moms, and 10 days for Caucasian moms having subsequent children. African American and Asian women tend to have shorter gestations.
Nowadays, we use ultrasound, when available or if there is a question of menstrual history. Ultrasound can be an effective way of dating a pregnancy, but this accuracy is lost if not performed in the first half of pregnancy.
Most authorities agree that there are many ways to date a pregnancy, and that not just one factor should be used to determine the final due date. Other events to factor in are:
Keep in mind that due dates are estimates of when your baby will arrive. We generally consider the normal time frame to be two weeks before your due date, until two weeks after your due date.
Just remember, no matter how many times your neighbors, strangers, mothers, etc. ask you when you are due, smile, because only the baby really knows.
