Due Date Calendar

Due Date Calendar - Do You Know For Sure, Will Your Baby Arrive On Time?

Author: Michelle Pennington

A pregnancy due date calendar is created based on the fact that an average pregnancy is usually considered to be forty weeks from the start of your last period. Therefore, women usually don't even realize that they are pregnant until they are classified as being four or more weeks pregnant according to this system. Doctors and other medical professionals, as well as online calculators, use the date of the start of your last period and add 280 days in order to come up with an estimated delivery date so they (and you) have an idea of around when the baby will arrive.

These estimated delivery dates that you get from using a pregnancy due date calendar really aren't all that accurate. Most women do not know the exact day of conception (which is why they use the start of your last period, women usually have a better idea of when this was) and different people have cycles of different lengths. Doctors usually expect babies to arrive any time from two weeks before the due date to two weeks after the due date.

Only a very small percentage of babies are actually born on the actual due date that the mothers were given. About five to ten percent of babies show up on this date. It is more common for babies to be early or late.

About 30 to 40 percent of babies come before their delivery date, which can be worrying to some women. However, 37 weeks is considered full term, so it is not a big deal to have a baby arrive a couple weeks early, and premature babies are only a very small percentage of those that arrive early.

Babies born after their due date are the most common, with about 50 percent of babies taking their own sweet time to arrive. If your baby doesn't show up around your delivery date, the doctor will monitor you closely to make sure the baby is doing well, and if it gets too late or the baby starts to be distressed they will induce you.

Since more babies are born on other days than on the actual date given by a due date calendar, you should keep in mind that these are just estimates and be prepared for an arrival either before or after that date.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/pregnancy-articles/due-date-calendar-do-you-know-for-sure-will-your-baby-arrive-on-time-1128924.html

About the Author: Use the FREE Due Date Calendar on your self and find out when your expected delivery due date will be today. Doesn't hurt to try it and find out!