A pregnancy and delivery calculator using Gregorian and Hijri calendars can help you to work out when your baby is due.
Knowing your due date is important. It can help you and your family to plan and prepare for your baby’s arrival. It is also important so your doctor can monitor your pregnancy properly and provide the necessary tests and scans.
However, it’s important to remember that your due date is only an estimate. Only a small percentage of babies are actually born on the due date.
Calculating your due date at home will give you an estimate – your doctor will give you a more accurate estimate based on the size of the fetus during your first scans and the date of your last menstrual period.
What is a due date?
It takes around 38 weeks for a baby to develop fully, so your due date is the day you are expected to give birth after this development process.
There are two ways a due date can be calculated:
From the date of the first day of your last period: If you know the first day of your last menstrual period, your due date will be approximately 40 weeks after this date. This is usually the best way to calculate your due date, as many women remember the date or have tracked it in an app.
It may seem strange to already be 2 weeks pregnant when you conceive, but your due date is 40 weeks from your last menstrual period, meaning you are 4 weeks pregnant by the time you miss your first period.
From the date you conceived: If you know the date you conceived, then your due date will be 38 weeks from that date. This is harder to accurately estimate, even if you know when ovulation occurred as sperm can live inside the body for several days and the release of an egg can last for 24 hours. Knowing the exact date the sperm fertilized egg is difficult to estimate.
What factors can affect my due date?
Due date calculators aren’t always accurate, especially if you aren’t sure of the date of your last period, if you don’t know when you conceived, or if you have irregular periods.
Due dates can also change based on the ultrasound scans your doctor performs. If your baby is measuring bigger than expected for your due date, then your due date may be brought forward a bit.
Let the planning begin
Finding out your due date is an exciting part of pregnancy and is also an important part of your antenatal care. While pregnancy and due date calculators can give you a good estimate, your doctor will give you a much more accurate estimate based on ultrasounds.