The birth of a child is perhaps the most important event in a woman's life. Childbirth requires thorough preparation. By this time, a woman simply must be fully armed. But, unfortunately, it is unrealistic to determine exactly when the baby will be born, with an accuracy of one day. So when can we expect a change? We will tell you about several ways to calculate a more or less accurate due date.
Instructions
Step 1
The most common method of finding out the date of birth (obstetric) has been passed down from generation to generation since time immemorial. The fact is that in ancient times the ministers of Asclepius had no idea about ovulation, so the calculations were carried out starting from the first day of the last menstruation. There is clearly no pregnancy, as such, during this period, but it was calculated that childbirth is exactly 280 days (40 weeks) from this day. This method of calculating the due date became at first generally accepted, and then completely firmly entrenched in obstetric practice.
Step 2
The second most popular way of determining the time at which childbirth will occur: add seven days to the date of the first day of the last menstruation, and subtract three months from the ordinal number of the month. For example, the last menstruation began on June 12 (06/12/10). Then we consider: 12 + 7 = 19. If you subtract three months from June (6), you get March (3). This means that the estimated date of birth is March 19 (03/19/11).
Step 3
You can more accurately determine the date of birth, based on the date of ovulation - the most successful moment for conception. The life span of the egg is exactly one day, therefore, a day after ovulation, conception will not occur. With a menstrual cycle lasting from 32 to 35 days, ovulation occurs 16-18 days after the onset of menstruation. If your menstrual cycle lasts 28 days, ovulation usually occurs on day 14. If the cycle is 21-24 days, then ovulation falls on the 10-12th day.
Suppose your period starts on June 10th and your cycle is 28 days. Ovulation is expected on June 24, a suitable time for conception - from June 19 to June 24, on June 25, pregnancy is possible, and already from June 26 - unlikely.
If the menstrual cycle is 24 days, then ovulation will occur on June 20-21, conception is possible from June 15 to 21-22.
With a menstrual cycle of 32 - 35 days, ovulation is predicted on June 26-28, conception is possible from June 21 to 28.
Ovulation can be determined much more accurately if the basal temperature (in the rectum) is systematically measured. It is recommended to measure it in the morning at the same time, without getting out of bed. The thermometer is inserted for 10 minutes into the rectum by 5 cm. With daily measurement, a graph of basal temperature is drawn up, which does not exceed 37 degrees before ovulation, and rises after. Ovulation occurs on the day before the temperature rises.
Step 4
You can also determine the date of birth by the first movement of the fetus. To the date of the first stirring, 20 weeks (for a nulliparous woman) and 18 weeks (for a multiparous woman) are added. But this method of calculating the due date is even more dubious than the previous ones. Some women begin to feel the movement of the fetus much earlier than the prescribed time (20 weeks), while others, on the contrary, a little later. In fact, it depends on the activity of the baby, its location in the uterus, on the level of sensitivity of the uterine walls, and some doctors say that very often a woman confuses ordinary gas formation with the first movements of the fetus.
