Do you need prenatal care to find out your due date?

Once you have watched that pregnancy test turn positive, you are probably most curious about knowing when your baby is likely to arrive. Most women do not start prenatal care until a little later in their pregnancy generally between eight and twelve weeks but does that mean you will not find out what your estimated due date is until you see your doctor or midwife? The answer is, as I am sure you are delighted to know, NO!

You do not need a doctor to find out your due date. Most doctors use the LMP, last menstrual period, method of determining your estimated due date of EDD. While this method has its own flaws, namely that it does not take into account the exact date of conception (even if you know it), it is very simple to calculate. Estimated due dates are determined with the knowledge that the average pregnancy lasts 40 weeks. This is 280 days from the date of your last menstrual period, or nine months and a week. You can quite simply calculate this manually.

Your other alternative to find out your due date is to find an online due date calculator to do the math for you. Of course, this so called due date is interesting data to have. But remember that it is just an estimate. It is not an eviction date. Only a small percentage of pregnant women gives birth right on their due date.

And before you think of inducing labor once you get to that stage, you may like to read about an interesting recent study about full-term babies doing much better Is it time to rethink what "full term pregnancy" means? You have plenty of time for that, though around nine months! Congratulations on your pregnancy, and feel free to explore our information about pregnancy signs if you have any questions about your pregnancy.