Estimated Due Date

According the ACOG, the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology, “The average length of pregnancy is 280 days, or 40 weeks from the first day of a woman’s last menstrual period.” Additionally, your estimated due date “is calculated from the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP). The EDD is used as a guide for checking your pregnancy’s progress and tracking the growth of the fetus.”

That’s right! Your EDD is a guide for your care provider to check on your baby’s growth. A pregnancy that last between 41-42 weeks is called “late term.” A pregnancy that lasts longer than 42 weeks is called “postterm.” ACOG also notes that being pregnant for the first time is one of the possible factors that may increase your chances of having a postterm pregnancy. And while “the health risks for you and your fetus may increase if a pregnancy is late term or postterm, [but] problems occur in only a small number of postterm pregnancies. Most women who give birth after their due dates have uncomplicated labor and give birth to healthy babies.”

Click the button below to review When Pregnancy Goes Past Your Due Date on ACOG’s website. This is a great resource if induction becomes part of the conversation with your care provider.

*Image Credit: 1902 Childbirth Lithograph available here.