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For most women, confirmation of their pregnancy brings a range of emotions – surprise, happiness, fear, delight, anxiety and for some, perhaps even disappointment. There is no one “right” way to respond to the fact that you’ll be having a baby, there are just too many variables to be taken into account. But once the news has had time to sink in, thoughts, very quickly, turn to planning and exactly when the baby will be due.
The Huggies Due Date Calculator helps to assess when the baby is likely to be born. Generally, all that is required is to enter the first day of the last period as well as the length of the menstrual cycle, click “calculate my due date” and all the hard work is done. Try the Huggies Due Date Calculator.
Similarly, pregnancy calendars are an easy way to gather information about how the baby is developing according to the weeks of gestation. Although every woman and her developing baby are unique, all babies go through a sequential and predictable process of development at certain stages of gestation. Knowing that you are having a shared experience with other pregnant women will give you a sense of reassurance and that what you are feeling has been felt by countless women in generations past and yet to come.
I wonder
Most mothers and fathers like to think about how their baby is growing and what they will look like. Although ultrasounds can certainly provide an insight into the watery world of the unborn, it’s not until your baby is actually in your arms that many of your questions about how they really look will be answered.
Seeing your baby on an ultrasound screen and hearing their heart beating, though special, does not involve your senses of touch and smell. It will only be when all your senses are engaged that you will be able to fully appreciate how special your little baby is.
What does a pregnancy calendar actually do?
These calendars generally include information about the weekly changes in development which are occurring for the baby. They also give some insights into the mother’s body and how the pregnancy is impacting on her.
A word on pregnancy calendars
Pregnancy calendars work on the principle that for most women their expected date of confinement (EDC), also known as the expected date of delivery (EDD), is 40 weeks from the first day of their last normal menstrual period.
Normal gestation for humans is between 38-42 weeks and depending on exactly where in your cycle you conceived, your baby will be born within this four-weeks window of time. The current estimate is that between 5-10% of women actually deliver their baby on their due date. So it’s best to approach the calendars with a view that they are a general guide and not intended as a source of specific gestation information.
Expected dates of confinement are not an exact science, nor are they intended to be a guarantee of when the baby will be born. But for the purposes of clarity, pregnancy calendars need to be divided into forty weeks, starting from week one when officially, conception is yet to occur. Some pregnancy calendars actually go right up to 42 weeks, by which stage of pregnancy it’s fair enough to say that the glow of pregnancy has actually worn off and it’s time for some action!
Why are pregnancy calendars so popular?
Pregnancy calendars appeal to the curious side of all of us. They help to answer questions about the developing baby’s size and what they are capable of. Some women and their partners tend to use pregnancy calendars as a way to help bond with their baby and, according to the weeks of gestation, communicate with their baby in an increasingly mature way.
Other prospective parents view pregnancy calendars as a vaguely interesting tool to help them understand what their baby is up to and the stages of development they’re yet to go through until they are born.
How to use the pregnancy calendar
First of all, you’ll need to know how many weeks pregnant you are, or suspect you may be. If you’re really unsure, then ask your healthcare provider to make an assessment based on your last period. If this isn’t possible, then use the Huggies Due Date Calculator to help you get started.
There are lots of information on the Huggies site to help you and your partner get to know what your baby is up to and how much they are growing week by week.
