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Pregnancy– a period of change in a woman’s life. How many new things she has to learn about herself and her body, about children and even about medicine. How many new terms she will hear! PDP and pregnancy calendar are one of them. In this article we will look at what it is.

Everyone knows that pregnancy lasts 9 months. However, having become pregnant, the expectant mother discovers that the period is measured not in months, but in weeks and there are 40 of them in total, that is, almost 10 months. Moreover, the baby is considered full-term from 38 weeks. The pregnancy calendar is a list of changes that occur in the body of the expectant mother and her baby during each week of gestation. The term itself is divided into three periods called trimesters. Let's look at each of them.

First trimester of pregnancy

It lasts from the first to the thirteenth week pregnancy inclusive. This is the most important (if you can “compete” in importance here”) and dangerous period. The largest number of miscarriages occur during this period, so the expectant mother needs to especially carefully monitor her health.

In the first three months of pregnancy, the egg is fertilized, then it attaches to the uterus (implantation, i.e. the actual onset of pregnancy) and the formation of the fetus. Initially, the embryo does not look like a person at all: it is just a small ball.

By the end of the first month, the embryo is only 4 mm in size. It's about the size of a grain of rice. And, nevertheless, his internal organs are already forming: the neural tube, the heart, the reproductive gonads. On the 21st day of pregnancy, using an ultrasound, you can hear the little man’s heartbeat: 110-130 beats per minute.

In the 4th-5th weeks, active development of the brain occurs. The head takes up a third of the total size.

Between the 7th and 8th weeks, the embryo turns into a fetus. There is a separation of the fingers and toes. And from the 8th week it is officially called a fetus.

At 8-9 weeks, all facial features are already visible, the genitals and intestines are formed, and fingers appear on the hands.

At 10-12 weeks the baby begins to move, but the mother does not feel it yet, nails appear on the fingers, and the beginnings of teeth appear in the gums. The heart is fully formed, and the endocrine system begins to produce hormones.

In the first trimester of pregnancy, the expectant mother may experience toxicosis: nausea, sweating, increased salivation, itching of the skin, etc. This is a rather difficult period in the life of both the child and the mother. The mother-placenta-fetus connection is formed. A real hormonal storm is happening in a woman’s body!

At approximately 11-13 weeks, the doctor prescribes the first screening test, which consists of a blood test and ultrasound. It is during this period that the presence of such genetic diseases as Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome, Patau syndrome, de Lange syndrome, and Smith-Opitz syndrome can be determined.

Second trimester of pregnancy

This is the period from the fourteenth to the twenty-seventh week carrying a child. This is the most fertile time of pregnancy: the first fears and anxieties are over, toxicosis has already ended, but at the same time, the tummy is not yet too big and does not hinder the mother in her activities. Enjoy!

During this period, active growth and development of the child occurs. If at the beginning of the second trimester the child was only 10 cm with a weight of 30 g, then by the end it was already as much as 1.2 kg with a height of 35 cm!

The child is actively moving. He explores himself: touches his face with his hands, sucks his fingers, plays with the umbilical cord. Most of the time he is upside down, but he can also turn over. From about 18-22 weeks, the woman begins to feel these movements. A first-time mother feels them later, around the 20th week, and an “experienced” mother feels them a little earlier: at the 18th week.

A thin fluff appears above the upper lip, on the eyebrows and head. This is "latungo". It is designed to retain vernix lubrication on the baby's body.

During this period, the tummy begins to grow noticeably. Your previous clothes are becoming tight and it’s time to replenish your wardrobe with “maternity” clothes. Pay attention to special tights for pregnant women, trousers, dresses and tunics. In addition, your doctor may prescribe you to wear a support bandage.

At 16-18 weeks you will need to undergo second trimester screening. It includes an ultrasound and a blood test (the so-called “triple” test for the level of human chorionic gonadotropin, alpha-fetoprotein and estriol). This makes it possible to identify malformations and chromosomal abnormalities of the fetus.

Third trimester of pregnancy

This is the period from the 28th week of pregnancy until the birth itself. The finish line. The period of final formation of the child. At this stage, there is a possible risk of premature birth and late toxicosis (preeclampsia). Pregnancy is considered mature from the 38th week. Those. If birth occurred from the first day of the 38th week, then the baby is considered full-term.

This is the period of the final formation of the child: nails grow to the tips of the fingers, permanent teeth form under the baby teeth. The child begins to hear and distinguish voices. Now he knows his mother's voice and prefers it to all others after birth.

The baby's movements are becoming more clear. He pushes and kicks, and now not only you can feel it, but also anyone who puts their hand on your stomach. By the end of pregnancy, the child becomes so large that it is already difficult for him to make somersaults and remains in one position. Most babies roll over with their head on their stomach. This is called cephalic presentation. If the baby lies down with his legs or buttocks, then this is a breech presentation.

In the third trimester, the expectant mother's body begins to prepare for childbirth. The cervix becomes more elastic, and colostrum can be released from the breast.

It becomes difficult to move due to the growing belly. For the same reason, heartburn may begin and hemorrhoids may appear.

During this period, it is better to prepare all the necessary things for the maternity hospital and for the baby.

How to calculate your due date: pregnancy calendar by week

Having examined in detail the stages of the formation and development of a child in the womb, we came to the concept of PDD, that is, the expected date of birth. From the name it is clear that this is the expected date of birth of the baby. There are several ways to determine it, which will be discussed below. However, it is worth noting that only 17% of children are born on the PDA date. The remaining 83%, that is, the absolute majority, are born “around” PDD (if we do not talk about emergency unplanned or premature births).

Determination of term by date of conception

If the pregnancy was planned, then, usually, the exact date of the sexual intercourse that led to it is known. 280 days are added to this date (that is, 40 weeks) and thus the maximum development period is determined. This method is the most accurate, but not one hundred percent (like, in fact, no other). Deviations can be within 1-3 days, since fertilization itself may not occur directly on the day of sexual intercourse, but within several days after it.

Determining the period by the date of menstruation

This is the most used method for determining PDR in obstetrics. It was proposed by the German obstetrician Naegele. The calculations are as follows: from the first day of the last menstruation, subtract three months and add 7 days. That is, if the last menstruation began, for example, on June 1, subtract 3 months (March, April, May), add 7 days and get the maximum period of March 8.

Determining the period by the date of ovulation

Another way to calculate your expected due date is by ovulation date. 280 days are added to this date and a PDR is obtained. However, the complexity of this method lies in the fact that not all women monitor their cycle, much less know their ovulation schedule. If you are attentive to your health, then this method can help you find out the date of birth of your child.

Ultrasound calculation accuracy

The date of birth is also determined at the first mandatory ultrasound, during screening of the first trimester. It must be completed at 8-11 weeks. During this period, the doctor determines the correspondence of the child’s size to the expected gestational age and determines the maximum period of pregnancy. This method is the most accurate. However, no method provides an absolute guarantee. In addition, doctors prefer to combine several methods to determine the date of birth.

How to calculate the sex of a child: pregnancy calendar by week

“Who are you expecting: a boy or a girl?” - this is the most asked question of pregnant women. Disputes about the sex of the baby often begin even before conception and do not stop until the birth. And since this is such an important question, we decided to look at several ways to find the answer to this question.

Determination by blood group

This method can be divided into several subtypes.

Determination by blood group. You need to know the blood type of mom and dad and look at the result in the table. The reliability of this method is very doubtful, because in practice, children of different sexes are quite often found in the same family.

According to the Rh factor. It matters too. If it is the same for both parents, then it will be a boy, but if it is different. There are possible options. This method is also unreliable. In addition, it may produce the opposite result from the previous one.

For blood renewal. Its essence is that the blood of a man and a woman is renewed at different rates: for women every 3 years, and for men every 4. Whose blood turns out to be “younger” at the time of conception, the child of that gender will be born. To do this, the age of the mother is divided by 3, and the age of the father, respectively, by 4. But it is also worth taking into account large blood losses: donation (both blood donation and transfusion), operations, abortions, injuries. Those. should be calculated from the date of the last blood loss.

Let's look at an example. Let the future mother be 26 years old at the time of conception, and the father 29. Divide 26 by 3, we get 8.7 and 29 by 4, we get 7.3. Let's analyze the numbers for the comma: 7 for mom and 3 for dad. It turns out that dad’s blood has been renewed quite recently, which means the parents will most likely be expecting a boy.

Determining the sex of the unborn child using ultrasound

This is the most reliable publicly available method. However, its veracity directly depends on the timing of the study and the experience of the doctor. Until the 8th week of pregnancy, the baby does not have a gender. The process of formation of the genitals ends around 10-12 weeks.

But doctors recommend performing an ultrasound to determine sex no earlier than the 15th week. However, most often everything is clarified during screening in the second trimester (22-25 weeks of pregnancy). On the monitor, the doctor should visualize the scrotum and penis if the child is male, and the labia majora if the child is female. Sometimes the loops of the umbilical cord or the fingers of the fetal hand are mistakenly mistaken for the penis, and girls in utero experience swelling of the labia that passes over time, which are mistaken for the scrotum.

Determination by the appearance of a pregnant woman

One of the most controversial and even humorous methods, which, nevertheless, sometimes gives results. As they say, “not thanks to, but in spite of.” People believe that if the stomach sticks out like a ball, then there is a boy sitting there, and if it is flatter and neater, then it is a girl.

However, two factors influence the shape of the abdomen: the size of the baby and its position in the womb. Yes, indeed, boys are often larger than girls, but not so much that it affects the size of the belly. Well, the intrauterine position does not depend on gender at all and can change throughout pregnancy.

Determining gender using traditional methods

Traditional methods have been passed down from generation to generation since the times when there was no ultrasound. What our great-grandmothers and grandmothers didn’t think of! Now all this seems more like an anecdote than a real way to find out the gender of the child, but let’s still talk about them. As they say, a moment of positivity.

• Method with a wedding ring. You should hang the wedding ring on a thread above the hand or belly of the expectant mother. If it starts spinning in a circle, expect a girl, if from side to side, expect a boy. Instead of a ring, you can use a needle or nut.
• Fortune telling with a key. You need to find a round key, with a round head and a long leg, and place it in front of the pregnant woman. If she took him by the head - to a girl, if by the leg - to a boy, if in the middle - to twins.

A few more signs:

• If during pregnancy the future father gains weight at the same rate as his wife, it’s a boy; if a woman has gained weight in the hip area, she’s a girl.
• If the expectant mother begins to look worse (pimples or age spots or redness appear on her face), it means that the girl is, as it were, “taking away her beauty.” If a pregnant woman looks great throughout all months, expect a boy.
• If there is a boy in the stomach, then you crave sour, salty, meat and dairy foods; If it’s a girl, then she craves sweets and fruits.
• Expectant mothers of boys have an increased appetite throughout pregnancy, and mothers of girls feel nauseous, especially in the first trimester.

Chinese pregnancy calendar: How to calculate the gender of the child

It is a table that, according to legend, was found in one of the burials in Ancient China. Shows the relationship between the child’s gender and the mother’s age and month of conception.

Japanese baby gender determination calendar

Japanese calendar based on the relationship between the sex of the child and the months of birth of the parents and the month of conception. In the first table, find the number at the intersection of the birth months of the mother and father. Then, in the second table, find the column at the top of which this number appears. It indicates the months of conception, and opposite each month there is the probability of having a boy or a girl, expressed by the number of crosses. The more crosses, the higher the likelihood of conceiving a child of one gender or another.

The portal for mothers, the site, knows that mothers worry about any reason and it is important for them to know everything that happens to her body before, during and after pregnancy. Not to mention the expected due date! A free online service has been created especially for visitors to the Mamapedia website to determine the date of birth based on the date of conception of the child. All you need to do is indicate the date of conception of the child, and the pregnancy calculator will clarify your due date. In addition to the exact date of birth, the service will also indicate important information about important points during pregnancy and examinations.

If you are not sure about the exact date of your last menstrual period or the date of conception, then the pregnancy calculator will tell you the approximate date of birth. During a routine ultrasound examination, you will be able to find out the exact date of your birth!

Calculating your due date will take a matter of seconds and will not keep you waiting long. You can calculate your due date absolutely free of charge and without registration.

The need to calculate the duration of pregnancy by week occurs in almost every pregnant woman and more than once during pregnancy. And this is necessary not only to simply know your due date or to correctly track the pregnancy calendar. I also want to calculate the duration of pregnancy and childbirth so as not to doubt the correctness of the doctor’s actions; if a mistake is made in the consultation, this can also affect the date of going on maternity leave; I don’t want to work an extra couple of weeks, do I?

First, some general information.

Our calculator will help you calculate the obstetric gestational age; it slightly does not correspond to the real life span of the fetus. Gynecologists base all their calculations on the date of the first day of the last menstruation, and do not count from fertilization, this is due to the ease of error in the date of conception.

A woman’s ovulation can shift significantly in time, especially if she does not have a regular cycle, and of course, not everyone can know the exact date of fertilization; it is difficult to calculate the gestational age based on ovulation. And the date of the start of the last menstruation is usually known.

We have a special calculator that allows you to independently calculate the gestational age online. He will give you information not only about the obstetric gestational age, but also the date of conception, the age of the fetus, and the date of birth.

The problem may arise if you do not have it regularly. How to correctly calculate the gestational age based on menstruation with an irregular cycle? You need to add up the length of the last 6 cycles and divide by 6, so you get the average duration, this is the number of days and must be entered into the calculator field.

All received data can be easily controlled using other calculation systems.

You can accurately calculate the gestational age (or relatively accurately, as gynecologists believe) using the Naegele formula. It does not take into account the length of your cycle and therefore the result may differ from the period that our calculator gives, but this will certainly coincide with the calculations of the gynecologist: from the first day of the missed period we subtract 3 months and add 7 days to the resulting date. This is your due date. It will not be possible to calculate the gestational age by months, weeks and days, as with our calculator.

If you had an ultrasound, the doctor measured the baby's development indicators. Its weight and the length of the bones make it possible to calculate the gestational age using ultrasound, but this calculation is accurate only in the first trimester; the longer the period, the greater the difference in physical development between different children, and the higher the risk of error in determining the timing of pregnancy.

Almost all calculation methods carry a certain risk of error, which is why only 4% of children are born at the PDA (preliminary due date).

It is better to evaluate the results of calculations in combination (ultrasound, date of last menstruation, first movement and other dates and signs). Still, the due date may fall between 37 and 42 weeks of pregnancy.

Methods for determining the due date

Date of birth: are there accurate methods for determining it?

The date of birth is the main thing that worries women who are carrying a child. Every pregnant woman wants some certainty. Only after learning about the onset of a long-awaited pregnancy does the expectant mother want to know the date of her expected birth. But how to do it correctly? Many women try to calculate the due date based on the date of conception. And they do this in a not entirely correct way, adding 9 months to the estimated date of conception to calculate the due date. But this method of determining the date of birth by the date of conception is not entirely correct. Pregnancy lasts not exactly 9 months, but 280 days (10 lunar months). So how can you correctly determine the date of birth based on the date of conception? Are there other methods for determining the due date? Which one is the most accurate?

Determining the date of birth by the date of conception and the day of ovulation.

The date of birth is determined quite simply by the date of conception. As you know, the female body is capable of conception only during the period of ovulation - the release of a mature egg from the ovary. The female menstrual cycle lasts on average 28-35 days. And ovulation occurs in the middle of the menstrual cycle. Knowing your ovulation date, you can easily predict your due date. Some women feel their ovulation. During this period, they feel a stabbing or aching sensation in the lower abdomen, the amount of vaginal discharge increases, sexual desire increases, and some even begin to experience mild spotting (bloody) vaginal discharge. Ovulation is accurately determined by ultrasound. But how can you determine the date of birth if you don’t know exactly the day of ovulation? To do this, you can simply calculate the middle of your menstrual cycle and add 280 days to this day. This way you will calculate the approximate due date based on the date of conception. For example, if your menstrual cycle lasts 28 days, then ovulation occurs somewhere on days 12-14 of the cycle. Add 10 lunar months (280 days) to the date of expected conception and get the approximate date of birth. If you calculate the date of birth based on the date of sexual intercourse, then this option is even more reliable, especially if sexual intercourse in the last menstrual cycle was single. But it is worth remembering that the date of conception may not coincide with the day of sexual intercourse. Sperm can “live” in the female body for up to several days. That is, if unprotected sexual intercourse occurred on the 10th day of the cycle, then ovulation and conception could occur on the 12-13th day. And you need to calculate the date of birth based on the date of conception, that is, starting from the day of ovulation.

Determining the date of birth based on the date of the last menstruation.

When you come for a consultation with a gynecologist, usually the first thing the doctor asks is when your last menstruation was. Young, inexperienced girls, for the most part, do not particularly monitor the regularity of their menstrual cycle and cannot name the exact date. Others begin to remember the start and end dates of menstruation. Although the doctor only needs to know the first day of your menstruation to determine the duration of your pregnancy and the date of expected birth. It is from this day that the menstrual cycle is counted and its duration is calculated.

The simplest formula that gynecologists themselves use to determine the date of birth is the Naegele formula. In order to calculate the date of birth using it, you need to subtract three months from the first day of your menstrual cycle and add seven days. For example, your last period started on April 3rd. We subtract three months - it turns out to be January 3. Now we add 7 days to January 3. It turns out that January 10 is the expected date of birth.

But this method of determining the date of birth is not always highly accurate. Since it is designed to determine the approximate due date for women whose menstrual cycle is exactly 28 days. If it is longer, then the due date will most likely come a little later and vice versa. This is due to the fact that with a long menstrual cycle, ovulation occurs later, and with a short one, earlier, 12-14 days, with the calculation for which this formula is derived. With an irregular menstrual cycle, it is very difficult to determine the date of ovulation and use this method to determine due dates is considered incorrect.

Determining the date of birth using ultrasound.

It is considered the most accurate to determine the date of birth using ultrasound in the early stages of pregnancy, up to 12 weeks. Having undergone an ultrasound scan at a very early stage, you can find out the duration of your pregnancy with an accuracy of literally one day, and in accordance with this, calculate the approximate date of conception and date of birth.

The gestational age is determined by ultrasound and at later stages of pregnancy, in accordance with the size of the head and limbs of the fetus. But the conclusion of such an ultrasound can no longer be taken as a basis for determining the date of birth, since all babies develop in their own way, individually. And some babies are born weighing 5 kg, while others weigh 3 kg. Both are the norm. But only in the first case, a woman’s ultrasound in the second and third trimester of pregnancy will be given a due date that is a couple of weeks later than the present one and, accordingly, the due date will be given earlier. Childbirth, most likely, will begin later, and doctors, and the woman herself, will rush things, thinking that the pregnancy is post-term, and the expected date of birth has already passed. And vice versa, short, thin parents give birth to children with the same constitution. And on an ultrasound, a woman is diagnosed with “intrauterine growth retardation” or simply given a gestational age shorter than it actually is, thereby pushing back the correctly set date of birth to a later date.

Setting the approximate date of birth based on the results of a gynecological examination.

A gynecologist who conducts a manual examination of a woman’s genitals can determine pregnancy “by touch.” The pregnancy period can be determined absolutely accurately, starting from 3-4 weeks. It is worth knowing that at later stages (more than 12 weeks) it will be almost impossible to set the exact date of pregnancy and determine the approximate date of birth. The reason for this is the same as when performing an ultrasound in later stages - this is that each child develops in its own way, individually. So, what does a gynecologist pay attention to during an examination? First of all, it is the size and shape of the uterus. In pregnant women, the uterus takes on a spherical shape (in non-pregnant healthy women, the uterus is pear-shaped) and increases in size. A more or less experienced gynecologist gives the gestational age and approximate due date, based on the size of the uterus.

Determining the due date in later stages of pregnancy.

There are times when it is difficult to determine the date of birth based on the date of conception. In such cases, you can use such a proven technique as determining the date of birth by the date of the baby’s first movement.

The baby in the womb begins to make its first movements quite early, around 12 weeks. But a pregnant woman does not feel them, since the baby is still very small. A primiparous woman begins to feel real movements at 20 weeks, and a multiparous woman at 18 weeks. Thus, to calculate the date of birth, in the first case you need to add 20 weeks to the day of the first movement, in the second case - 22 weeks. Thus, we will get an almost exact date of birth. Many women say that they begin to feel the first movements much earlier than expected - at 16 or even 14 weeks. Gynecologists usually do not take such statements seriously, attributing the baby’s alleged movements to intestinal contractions. But such sensitive women still exist and, in their case, determining the date of birth by the date of the baby’s first movement will be incorrect.

Somewhere from 14-16 weeks of pregnancy, a gynecologist can accurately determine the duration of pregnancy and the approximate date of birth through a routine examination (not on a gynecological chair). By touch, he will determine the height of the uterine fundus, on the basis of which it will be possible to judge the gestational age and calculate the date of birth not based on the date of conception. At 16 weeks, the fundus of the uterus is between the pubis and the navel, at 24 weeks - in the navel area, at 28 weeks - 4-6 cm above the navel, etc. There is another method for determining the gestational age and date of birth - measuring the abdominal circumference. But it does not differ in accuracy, since we are all different and initially our waist size is also different. In women who are prone to obesity, the volume of the abdomen will, in any case, be greater than that of a thin woman who has been given exactly the same due date. Measuring the length of the uterus is much more informative for calculating the date of upcoming birth.

Why is the date of birth called not exact, but only approximate?

Indeed, it is not possible to calculate the exact date of birth even based on the date of conception. We discussed the reasons for errors in calculating the date of birth based on conception at the beginning of this article. A relatively small percentage of women give birth exactly at the time determined by the gynecologist. Although they say that pregnancy should last exactly 40 weeks, in many cases this is not the case. The due date can occur at 38 weeks and this is also not a pathology. In case of multiple pregnancy, birth almost always occurs earlier than the date determined by the gynecologist. The date of birth, or more precisely its onset, may be influenced by some other factors, such as polyhydramnios, high blood pressure in a pregnant woman, diabetes mellitus, etc. You can calculate the due date based on the date of conception using an online calculator.

The long-awaited pregnancy has arrived, and you really want to know when you will see your baby? To calculate the gestational age and the expected day of birth, it is enough to know just one date: the day of the start of the last menstruation. It is from this that the gynecologist will calculate the gestational age when you come to the clinic to register.

Calculate gestational age online

Only a few women can accurately name the date of conception of a child in order to accurately calculate the real gestational age. And even in this case, the birth of a new life may occur on another day, when the future parents do not know about it. At the same time, almost every woman remembers the date of her last period, which is why obstetricians take it as a starting point. Theoretically, ovulation—the period when an egg is released ready for fertilization—occurs in the middle of the menstrual cycle. Therefore, between the actual age of the fetus and the obstetric gestational age (which begins on the first day of the last menstruation) there is a difference of approximately two weeks.

So, to calculate your gestational age online, you need to remember when your last period started. Two weeks are added to this day: it is during this period that the egg fully matures and fertilization can occur. Next, you can calculate the expected date of birth in two ways: the first is when forty weeks are added to the date of the first day of the last menstruation. The second is that three months are subtracted from the day when conception could have occurred and seven days are added to it.

But if you don't like fiddling with calculations, the interactive pregnancy calculator will do it for you. Enter your data (the date of the first day of your last menstrual period) and within a second you will receive the result of your pregnancy in weeks and days.

Calculate gestational age by date of conception

This calculator can also be used to calculate the gestational age based on the day the child was conceived, if you are confident in the accuracy of this date. In this case, you will find out the actual (gestational) gestational age, which will correspond to the age of the fetus. The obstetric date that your doctor will give you on the first day of your last menstruation will differ from it by approximately two weeks (that is, it will be longer than the gestational age).

Using our calculator to calculate the gestational age by week, you can also find out the approximate due date and begin to prepare for it in advance: find a comfortable maternity hospital and a good doctor, study breathing techniques during childbirth, choose a comfortable position for childbirth, think about partner childbirth, arrange children's room and stock up on everything necessary to care for a newborn.