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Doctors use due dates to monitor prenatal care and baby growth, but only 4% of women give birth on the actual delivery date. Due dates are calculated at 40 weeks from the start of a woman’s last menstrual cycle, but can be inaccurate due to differing cycle lengths. Secondborns tend to arrive earlier than firstborns. The most probable date of birth is seven days before the due date.
Doctors use deadlines as a way to ensure that necessary prenatal care is provided at the right stages of pregnancy and to measure the growth of the baby. Baby due dates are usually calculated at 40 weeks from the start of a pregnant woman’s last menstrual cycle, based on the assumption that an average cycle lasts 28 days. But because many women have cycles that differ from the standard 28 days, baby due dates don’t tend to be entirely accurate; it is estimated that only 4% of women give birth on the actual delivery date. However, about 60% of women give birth within a week of their expected due date.
Learn more about baby due dates:
About 11% of babies are born prematurely or more than three weeks before their due date.
A woman is more likely to give birth before her due date when it is not her first child; secondborns tend to arrive about three to four days before firstborns.
Statistically, the most probable date of birth is calculated seven days before your actual due date, according to a study on birth information by WhenToExpect.com.
