How far in advance is normal for the due date?

Sometimes pregnant women will panic when they feel that their due date is advanced. In fact, most pregnant women’s due dates will be advanced or postponed. This is very common. Even if it happens, don’t be too scared. As long as you stay healthy, you can give birth smoothly. Generally speaking, it is normal to give birth about a week earlier, and it does not mean that there is a problem with the fetus.

The calculation of the due date means that since it is difficult for every pregnant woman to accurately determine the time of conception, it is medically stipulated that the due date is calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period. The entire pregnancy period is 280 days, or 10 gestation months (each gestation month is 28 days, or 40 weeks).

If you cannot remember the date of your last menstrual period, you can make an approximate calculation based on the date of fetal movement. The general date of fetal movement is around 18-20 weeks after pregnancy. Adding 20 weeks can calculate the approximate due date.

It is normal to give birth within two weeks before or after the due date. If the baby is born between 24 and 36 weeks of pregnancy, it is considered a premature birth (early birth), while if the baby is born later than the expected date of delivery, that is, after the 42nd week, it is considered a post-term birth (overdue birth). If a pregnant woman has passed her due date and has not yet shown any signs of labor, she must pay attention to the following points:

1. Continue to have prenatal checkups and tell your doctor the results of early pregnancy examinations (such as B-ultrasound, blood tests, pregnancy tests, etc.) and the time and results of fetal movements, and ask the doctor to check your gestational age again.

2. Don’t be too nervous. Even if the gestational age is accurate, delivery within two weeks after the due date will have little impact on the mother and baby, but you should pay attention to fetal movements. Fetal movement monitoring is the best means of self-monitoring in the late pregnancy. It can reflect the survival status of the fetus in the uterus. Once the fetal movement is less than 3 times per hour or less than 20 times in 12 hours or the fetal movement weakens, you need to go to the hospital for further examination immediately. The doctor will decide the timing of delivery based on the situation.

3. Strengthen prenatal examinations, shorten the intervals between examinations, keep in touch with the doctor at any time, inform the doctor of the intrauterine fetal movement, and follow up the amniotic fluid volume with B-ultrasound. If there are no abnormalities, the pregnancy can be continued under close monitoring.

If the due date is postponed to 14 days later, reaching the so-called clinically overdue pregnancy, the placenta of some pregnant women will age and the fetus will suffer from lack of oxygen and suffocation, which will cause great harm to the child. You should go to the hospital in time to take measures.