Calculating the Pregnancy Due Date

There are very few things in this world that are more exciting that welcoming a new-born into our home. Needless to say, the excitement is almost doubled for couples who are about to take on the parental role for the first time. As young parents prepare themselves for the huge change, accurate calculation of the due date becomes mandatory to set the right plans. The curiosity and need to learn the correct date of the arrival of the little one has existed since time immemorial.

Read on to get a “sneak peek” into the various methods of due date calculation that have been practiced in the past and continue to exist in various parts of the world today.

Pregnancy Due Date Calculation by the Chinese and Native Americans

The people of China had a strong belief in alchemy and medicine and could predict not just the due date, but also the gender of the baby, simply by learning the age of the mother and the conceiving date. Native Americans referred to the phases of the moon for pregnancy due date calculation and, surprisingly, the result proved to be 100% accurate in most cases. Perfect gender prediction was also practiced among this group.

The LMP Formula and the Naegele’s Formula

While civilization has penetrated deeply into the root of human origin, the affinity and inquisitiveness to learn the date of arrival of one’s progeny still remains intact. Learning the due date has become like availing health insurance, mandatory and useful!

Today, the most common method used for calculating the due date is called Last Menstrual Period method, in which 40 weeks are calculated from the first day of the last period and 14 days are subtracted from it. This formula may not work out to be accurate for women with irregular menstruation cycles as the date of ovulation cannot be predicted correctly.

Another method used for due date calculation is the Naegele’s Rule, in which one whole year is added to the first day of the last menstrual cycle, three months are subtracted from it and then 7 days are again added. The resultant date is the expected date of arrival for the little one.

Are There Newer Technologies to Solve the Puzzle?
 
Ultrasound is believed to offer 98% accuracy in due date calculation as it makes its prediction not based on the LMP, but on the development of the foetus. Calculations are computerized thus leaving no space for human error.