How Do I Find Out How Far Pregnant I Am

How Soon Can I Take A Pregnancy Test

MY DUE DATE! Officially finding out how Pregnant I am!

With all this talk about pregnancy due dates, you may be wondering when you can take a pregnancy test. To ensure you get the most accurate reading, it’s best to wait a few days after your missed period to take a pregnancy test.

At-home urine tests measure the amount of hCG present in your body. If you take a pregnancy test before you miss your period, you may not get an accurate result, despite what some tests advertise.

If you’re getting a blood test in your provider’s office, you may get results sooner. These tests also measure the amount of hCG in your bloodstream, but they’re more sensitive than at-home urine tests. Blood tests may be able to detect pregnancy six to eight days after ovulation.

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Why Is Dating From Last Menstrual Period Or Lmp Inaccurate

Say you have a 28-day cycle, and after the two-week wait to take a pregnancy test, you got a positive pregnancy test on the day you missed your period. Your last period was 28 days ago, so even though implantation happened within the past few days, youre already considered four weeks pregnant.

The problem with this method, aside from the fact that it considers pregnancy as beginning from several weeks before you are actually pregnant, is that it is inaccurate for any woman who does not ovulate on day 14. If you ovulated later than day 14, your due date will be set too early. And if you ovulated earlier than day 14, your due date will be set too late. The further away from day 14 you ovulate, the less accurate your due date will be.

How Accurate Is A Baby Due Date Calculator

A due date calculator is only an estimate. Your healthcare provider will examine you and your developing fetus to confirm your due date.

To get a more accurate idea of when your baby will be born, your provider will perform an ultrasound. During an ultrasound, your provider measures your baby. These measurements help your provider determine your babys gestational age and confirm your due date.

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How Late Is Too Late After My Due Date

This is why the question of how many weeks pregnant am I? is important to address. Basing due dates on LMP increases the risk of categorizing mothers as late or post-term. In these cases, your doctor will talk to you about inducing labor.

For truly post-term pregnancies, labor induction can be a safe and reasonable option. The primary cause for concern for the infant is neonatal mortality, as the risk for stillbirth sharply increases after week 42 of pregnancy. For mothers, risk of chorioamnionitis , obstetric complications, and maternal mortality increase after week 42.

What Is A Due Date

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It takes about 38 weeks for human babies to develop fully in the womb. Your due date is the day youre expected to give birth based on this 38-week gestation process.

But keep in mind that healthcare providers consider a pregnancy to be full-term anywhere between 37 and 42 weeks. Babies can be born at any time, and many factors play a role in determining when you go into labor and when your baby will actually enter the world.

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When Do You Start Showing With Your First Baby

You might even begin to see the Linea Nigra or called the pregnancy line. This showed up for me in month 2.

Your tummy is expanding, and you might feel more comfortable in clothes with elastic waists, or maternity clothing.

Since were talking about bigger boobs, lets talk sex for just a minute. Its safe, and perfectly acceptable to want sex right now. Having sex will not harm the baby, and will not cause a miscarriage.

If youre just not feeling it right now dont worry. Many women start to feel sexy once the first trimester is over.

Sex At Week 37 Of Pregnancy

Sex at 37 weeks is perfectly fine for most pregnancies. Unless told otherwise by your doctor, you and your partner can continue to be intimate until your water breaks or youre rushing to the hospital due to real labor contractions.

Youll definitely want to experiment with different positions if your go-to is missionary. For example spooning . At 37 weeks, there can be too much pressure on your belly. Also, it isnt a good idea to lie flat on your back for too long because it can compromise blood flow to the large blood vessels behind the uterus.

Another thing you may experience after having sex at 37 weeks is spotting. Your cervix is very tender now, and theres a lot more blood flow in that area than usual, so you may get irritated pretty quickly. A little blood is usually not a cause for concern.

Feeling antsy? Week 37 is the perfect time to prepare mentally and physically for babys arrival. Here are some things you can do each day of week 37 to better prepare yourself for D-day.

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How Far Along Am I Four Ways To Figure Out How Pregnant You Are

Youre itching to know when your little one will arrive. Heres how to calculate how far you are in your pregnancy.

Its a question youll hear over and over until youre holding a baby in your arms: When are you due? Everyone wants to know that magic date, and youre probably more than a little curious about how far along you are, too. Your due date may become a beacon or a deadline , but its important to remember that your due date will only ever be an estimate of the week youll give birth .

That said, theres one big reason why an accurate estimate is important: in case of complications. If a woman goes into labour early, then we really want to know how far along she is, as best as we can tell, says Carol Scurfield, medical director of the Womens Health Clinic in Winnipeg. A week can make a big difference as far as the health of the baby is concerned.

Do your best to calculate your due date as soon as you discover youre pregnant. Heres how to do it.

Development Scan / Gender Scan

FIRST PRENATAL CHECKUP (HOW FAR ALONG ARE WE?) – Alapag Family Fun

The second ultrasound is usually between 18 to 20 weeks and helps your doctor determine if your baby is developing typically. This ultrasound will probably be your most thorough checkup.

Your doctor or midwife will check your babys organs such as the heart, brain, spine, abdomen, kidneys, and liver.

They will also check your babys head, face, limbs and count your babys toes and fingers. Using the ultrasound, your doctor or midwife can measure the amniotic fluid and check the placenta.

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I Dont Know When I Ovulated Is There Still A Way To Get A More Accurate Due Date

Yes: you can get a more accurate due date with a dating ultrasound, which typically happens at one of your first pregnancy appointments. Since embryos grow at a very predictable rate, an early ultrasound is a highly accurate way of measuring how many weeks pregnant you truly are.

If your LMP-estimated due date is very different from your dating scan-estimated due date, your doctor may express concern. Lets say you ovulated on day 25 of your cycleabout a week and a half later than the textbook day 14. If your doctor schedules your first ultrasound for six weeks after your LMP, it may be too early to even see a heartbeat. Based on when you ovulated, this is normal and not cause for concern: your embryo is simply a week and a half younger than someone who ovulated on day 14 of her cycle.

As long as your pregnancy continues to progress at a normal rate, your doctor will probably adjust your due date based on the dating ultrasound.

Weeks Pregnant Lifestyle And Diet

  • Eat smaller meals: in addition to maintaining a healthy diet during pregnancy, eating smaller meals can help you with other pregnancy symptoms, like bloating.
  • Get all the rest you can: sleep on your side or reclining, and try to catch as many hours of sleep as possible. Keep your strength for the coming days!
  • Choose the right pregnancy bra for you: your breasts could start to leak around this time, and youll need a comfortable bra that fits just right for the remainder of your pregnancy and postpartum.

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I Previously Tested Pregnant But Have Tested Again And Got A Not Pregnant Result Or My Period Has Started What Does This Mean

Whilst the test is over 99% accurate at detecting the pregnancy hormone from the day of the expected period, its possible to get a pregnant result and find out later that youre not pregnant . This may be due to natural loss during the early stages of pregnancy, known as early pregnancy loss, which sadly is not uncommon, as around 1 in 4 pregnancies end in early pregnancy loss. If you do get unexpected results, ask your doctor for advice.

Successful Implantation What Is Implantation Bleeding

Am I Pregnant?

Once it finds a nice and cushy spot, it burrows into the lining of the uterus, hopefully for the next 9 months!

This is .

Signs Of Implantation:

Some women experience light spotting at the time of implantation, but most women do not know when a blastocyst has implanted.

Implantation of the blastocyst usually happens between 7 and 10 days after ovulation, or 21 to 25 days after the first day of your *last menstrual cycle* .

The blastocyst cells continue to divide, and start to separate into two groups: one to form the baby and one to form the placenta to nourish the baby.

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Using Date Of Conception

The window for conception ranges from a few days before ovulation to a few days after. A typical menstrual cycle of 28 days means you ovulated around day 14. So if you know the exact date of conception, count 266 days to get your due datebut, of course, understand that baby might actually arrive a few days before or after, says Skeete Henry.

Counting from date of conception isnt always the most precise method for determining how far along you are, since its often difficult to know, with absolute certainty, when you actually conceived. Were not just talking about the day you had sex sperm can live inside your fallopian tubes for up to five days, so its possible to conceive up to five days after intercourse.

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Fertilization Of Your Eggs

Your egg travels down your fallopian tube , waiting for a single sperm to fertilize it.

The lucky sperm makes its way into the fallopian tube and burrows into the egg, fertilizing it. Once fertilized, the egg changes its lining to prevent other sperm from entering the egg.

Instantly upon fertilization, your babys sex and genes are determined.

The sperm decides whether the baby will be a boy or a girl: if the sperm has a Y chromosome, your baby will be a boy while if it carries an X chromosome, your baby will be a girl.

So, if you were hoping for different sex, talk to the father!

Once fertilized, the egg starts to divide from one cell to many cells.

It continues to divide as it moves slowly from the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it is looking for a home. Below is a microscopic image of the egg roughly 24 hours after fertilization.

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Pregnancy Week 36 Fetal Development

Your babys skull is made up of relatively soft and flexible bones. This will allow him or her to go through the birth canal during delivery. Theyll eventually harden during the babys infant years.

Theyll be shedding most of their lanugo, which is the soft downy hair that covered their body. These tiny hairs will mix in with the amniotic fluid. Inside their bowels, their first stool is forming. This is called meconium. Its sterile and your baby wont release it until after birth unless theres any sort of fetal distress.

Measuring The Size Of Your Uterus

You’re just found out you’re PREGNANT, now what? | Pregnancy 101

When you measure your uterus in pregnancy, you’re measuring your fundal height, or the distance from the pubic bone to the highest point on your belly. Fundal height measurements are most useful after 20 weeks gestation, at which point providers expect the height of your uterus to match the number of weeks you’ve been pregnant, Mayo Clinic noted. So if you’re been pregnant 22 weeks, you should have a fundal height measurement of 22 centimeters. Neat, huh?

Unfortunately, a host of factors can render fundal measurements less accurate. Certified midwife Mallorie Resendez Bassetti says measuring belly size is a common method for estimating due dates, but its not very accurate. Even from the beginning, a doctor or midwife can feel the uterus and estimate how many months along a woman is, but this is not very accurate, she says. Measurements could be off if the baby is growing too small, if there is a fibroid in the uterus, or if there are twins.

Mayo Clinic was careful to note that fundal measurements are generally taken to reassure women and their providers that baby is growing on schedule, and that it’s not a particularly accurate method of dating a pregnancy.

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My Cycle Isnt 28 Days Will This Due Date Calculator Work For Me

Yes. The logic behind our pregnancy calculator works as follows:

  • The average cycle length is 28 days
  • If your cycle length is shorter, your due date will be earlier
  • For every day your cycle is shorter, your due date moves one day earlier
  • Similarly, if your cycle is longer, your due date will be later
  • For every day your cycle is longer, your due date moves one day later
  • Why Due Dates Are So Hard To Predict

    There are a bunch of reasons as to why its so hard to predict when baby will be born. Lets start with the most basic: Soon-to-be-moms often count nine months ahead, but pregnancy is typically 40 weeks from the first day of your last period, which is, of course, more like 10 months.

    Another concept to understand when figuring out due dates is that theres no such thing as a firm date for when baby will actually arrive. Even what your doctor tells you is simply an estimate. After all, every pregnancy is different. Some babies, as if eager to greet you, arrive early others take their time and enter late, on their own terms.

    Gauging the size of your bump probably wont help much either. For instance, when it isnt your first pregnancy, your bump may show a bit faster than it did the first time around. The growth in the abdomen is much quicker, says Jessica Shepherd, MD, an ob-gyn and womens health expert. Your abdominal and uterine muscles are looser now, since they stretched during your first pregnancy. Plus, your uterus doesnt return to its original pre-pregnancy size after baby number 1, giving your body a head start. So, youll likely pop earlier.

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    Your Body At Week 38 Of Pregnancy

    The biggest change you might notice in your body at 38 weeks pregnant is an increase in pressure in your lower abdomen. Around this time is when your baby will start to change its position in the womb with the head facing downward in the pelvis.

    At 38 weeks pregnant you may be feeling uncomfortable in your body. Your body will feel heavier and you may struggle to find a comfortable position to sit, sleep or even stand for long periods of time. Try to wear clothing that makes you feel as comfortable as possible during this time.

    You may find it helpful to choose the right pregnancy bra for you, which will accommodate your changing breast size. Also, your nipples may start to leak colostrum, a nutrient-rich liquid, so dont be alarmed if you notice wetness or yellow stains in your bra.

    What To Expect During Your Third Month Of Pregnancy

    You
  • Although you wont be able to feel your baby moving just yet, this is the time that you might be able to hear that precious little heartbeat for the first time! If you cannot yet hear the heartbeat, dont be alarmed! Sometimes, you just need to wait a little bit longerits well worth the wait.
  • Dont be surprised to step on the scale and find youve gained two to five pounds.
  • If youre concerned about having a miscarriage, know that youre likely not going to cause one from your behavior unless youre engaging in extreme things like doing drugs. Just try to cut back on your caffeine intake, as a few studies have found that high doses of caffeine were linked to early pregnancy losses.
  • Be careful! Avoid activities that leave you prone to falling. Also, stay away from exercises where you need to lie flat on your back. Your growing fetus can add a lot of weight on a major vein, which can reduce the blood flow to the uterus.
  • Youve been waiting patiently. Now that youve passed the 12-week milestone, its time to shout the news to the world: Youre pregnant!

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    What Is Naegele’s Rule

  • Move the date back three months
  • For example, if the first day of your last period was August 11, 2022 you would:

    • Move the date back 3 months
    • Your due date would be May 18, 2023.

    If your fertility app gives you a different date than the one calculated by your doctor, it most likely is because it was based on the ovulation date and not the date of your last period. If you ovulated earlier or later than day 14 of your cycle, this would shift your due date accordingly.

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