One of the first questions that women will ask once that stick turns pink is when the baby will be due. This question can be answered through a number of different methods, from counting 40 weeks from your last menstrual period, to using an automated pregnancy due date calculator that will plug in your information and calculate the exact day to expect your new little arrival. Your doctor will have his own pregnancy due date calculator that he will probably use at your first prenatal check-up to give you an “official” due date that you will go by throughout your pregnancy term. However, you can also find your own due date by using one of the many pregnancy due date calculators available on the Internet or counting the days manually on your own calendar.

How is a Due Date Figured?

The average length of a pregnancy is thought to be approximately 40 weeks from the first day of your last period. To figure out your own pregnancy due date calculator, simply add seven days to the date of your last period. For example, if your period began on January 6, you can add seven days to that number, getting a date of the 13th. To figure the month, tack on nine months to your current date. Nine months from January is October. This gives you a due date of October 13, using this method as a pregnancy due date calculator. Another way to determine your big day is to use one of the many automated pregnancy due date calculators available on the Internet. Plug in your information, such as the day of your last period and the average number of days in your monthly cycles, and you will get an estimated due date calculated back to you.

The Significance of your Due Date

The reason that your doctor will use a pregnancy due date calculator to put an actual number to this day is so that he can properly monitor you throughout your pregnancy. If you approach your due date and begin to have complications like high blood pressure, your doctor will use this pregnancy due date calculator to determine when it is safe to induce labor if necessary. He will also track the growth of your baby, to ensure that the size coincides properly to where you are at in your pregnancy term. Although only a small percentage of women will actually deliver their babies on their due date, this date will help your doctor to know that your pregnancy is progressing in a normal, healthy way. A pregnancy due date calculator is therefore the first step in ensuring a safe and healthy pregnancy for you.