Predicting Your Pregnancy Due DateIt is important to predict your pregnancy due date so that you can make plans for the baby arrival. It is also important to have a good approximation of the due date so that you will know what signs to look for and what to expect in each of the three stages of pregnancy. It is important for your health and the health of the baby to know when the baby will be born. Doctors use an ovulation chart to help determine your due date. You have to know the date of your last menstrual period. By using the wheel of the chart, your doctor will then give you an approximate date. The chart works by adding 7 days to the date of your last period and then counting back three months. You can also use a free online calculator to help determine when your baby is due. You also need to know the date of your last menstrual period to use this tool as well. All you do is enter the date and click the submit button to receive the due date result. When you use this calculator it is important that you know the length on your menstrual cycle. While the norm is that women have a period every twenty-eight days, some women have longer cycles than this. The calculator is based on a 28-day cycle, so if this doesn fit your profile, you will not get an accurate date. When you enter the date of your last menstrual period into a due date calculator, you must adjust the number for the length of the menstrual cycle. Like the doctor calculation, it is based on the belief that you conceived on the day following the end of your menstrual period. When you choose a site that offers a due date calculator, you also get a wealth of information about pregnancy. Knowing the month in which you conceived can help you use the Chinese Pregnancy Calendar to predict the gender of your baby. You can follow along a month by month progession of the baby growth through the ultrasound pictures of a baby at each stage of development. This will help you understand what is happening inside your body. There is also loads of information about the stages of pregnancy and what you can expect in physical and emotional changes and how to deal with them. These sites also have question and answer pages where you can get answers to questions that expectant mothers commonly ask. If you are in doubt about the accuracy of the answers, ask the same questions of your doctor. There is no doubt you will get the same answers. You can also access a pregnancy dictionary so that you learn the pregnancy terms that doctors and nurses use when talking about pregnancy issues. If you suspect you may have a problem with your pregnancy, you can also get information to help you on such a site. However, this doesn replace the advice of your doctor, but will help you understand that what you may think is an emergency may in fact be normal for a pregnant woman. |