![]() ![]() It joined forces with the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine to recommend that doctors now calculate due dates with an early, first-trimester ultrasound and combine those findings with a woman’s menstrual cycle information to determine a more accurate due date. Now, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is cracking down on the uncertainty surrounding a woman’s due date. And let’s face it, sometimes women do not recall exactly the date of their last period. A woman who has a longer cycle and ovulated later but didn’t realize it could actually have a due date that’s off by a week - hence the reason doctors usually say there’s a good two-week “cushion” for calculating due dates. The problem, of course, is that not every woman’s cycle operates on a regular 28-day pattern, and ovulation can be unpredictable and change as a result of stress, birth control or sleep deprivation. By the time most women find out they are pregnant when they miss their periods two weeks later, they are already considered a month pregnant. Assuming a regular, 28-day cycle for a woman, ovulation usually occurs around day 14 of the cycle - so if fertilization occurs during that window, a woman is considered already two weeks pregnant, as the due date is calculated from day one of the cycle. But now, doctors have new guidelines to ensure that women are receiving the most accurate due date possible.Ĭurrently, due dates are calculated by using an estimate based off of a woman’s last period and the “average” length of pregnancy, which is a total of 40 weeks. Traditionally due dates are calculated by last menstrual period. It is a date you plan things around, and a date that you know will change everything. When are you due? When you are pregnant, a certain date becomes very important.
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