due date PregnancyPregnancy due dates are an estimate of when your baby will make his or her appearance in this world. The truth is only five percent of women deliver on their official “due date.” Why so much flexibility?

A typical gestation for a pregnancy is somewhere between 37 and 42 weeks. Once a woman carries her baby to 37 weeks doctors consider her full-term. Just because a woman is full-term however, doesn’t mean her baby is ready to make his or her appearance in the world. Most first time moms quickly learn that often pregnancies extend to 41 weeks or more.

One reason the due date may be hard to predict is because one never knows how quickly a baby will grow in the womb. Some babies are ready to deliver early, and others need a little extra time in the oven to “bake.” Besides, it is so warm and cozy in there, why not spend a couple of extra days if given the chance? What are some other reasons a woman’s due date may be a bit off?

No one can perfectly time the date of conception. This has a lot to do with when a woman delivers her baby. Often, a woman’s estimate of conception or ovulation is one or two weeks off. This can sometimes impact a woman’s due date. So what is a woman to do?

Predicting Your Baby’s Birth Date
In times of old, most doctors would not give a woman a definitive due date, but instead provide a woman with an estimated time frame within which her baby may arrive in this new world. If this practice continued today, fewer women would be likely to experience excessive anticipation, worry and fatigue on or around her due date.

Thanks to modern technology however, women expecting babies in modern times do have some hope. New ultrasound technology, including transvaginal ultrasounds conducted in the earliest weeks of pregnancy; often provide a more precise estimate of when a woman is likely to deliver her baby.

Ultrasounds conducted later in pregnancy however, provide a less accurate prediction of when your baby’s due date may be. In fact, ultrasounds performed during the 20th week of pregnancy on can be as much as one or two weeks off the original due date. In rare circumstances, if the due date is off by too much, your doctor may reevaluate your due date and your baby’s growth in the womb.

To lessen your anxiety about your due date, you may find it easier to simply tell people your baby is due “around the end of April” or “near the beginning of March.” Many mothers with children report when they do not focus on an exact due date and do not provide others with such information, they experience much less anxiety about their due date and expectant labor and delivery.

Signs And Symptoms You May Be Close
Perhaps the best news for women is your baby WILL provide you with signs and symptoms once you do finally approach labor. First time mothers for example, often find their babies “drop” or settle lower into their pelvis in the weeks leading up to delivery. For a first time mother this can happen any time between two to four weeks before delivery.

Many second or third time moms realize their babies don’t drop until just before delivery. Delivery for second, third and fourth children is often much faster than for first deliveries. Remember, the body often remembers what to do after the first time.

Some women will lose their mucous plug, a small bloody looking blob of mucous, when they approach labor. This still isn’t a definite sign of labor. You can lose your mucous plug as early as two weeks before you have your baby.

You will notice increasing Braxton Hicks contractions as your body prepares for labor. If these become increasingly painful and rhythmic, watch out, you may be very near your true due date. Regardless of when your due date arrives you will find you are pleasantly surprised and find the wait well worth it once you hold your newborn infant in your arms for the very first time.