Dr. Urvashi tells you the easiest way to calculate due date, how it varies from person to person and what exactly it is based on
Due date is an arithmetical calculation or based on the first ultrasound. On the presumption that pregnancy is about 40 weeks from the last period date and babies don’t come by appointment. And this is like an average of how long the placentas life span. But it can vary from person to person and there is this flexibility in nature, which we should respect.
40 weeks is like an average life span of the placenta. And a lot of women will go into labor naturally either by 40 weeks or before that. However, in some, this date, the 40-week date is crossed and it may go to 41 or even 42. Now if the placenta is functioning properly in terms of the blood flow and the amniotic fluid is holding up and the baby is active and all the monitoring and the tests confirm that the baby’s heartbeat is fine reacting well, and there are no other high-risk factors, which make us worry about any harm coming to the baby.
And if the family and the couple are easy about waiting and have no anxieties regarding that, I’m happy to support going beyond 40 weeks, 41 weeks is my comfort, but some people do want to go beyond that. And if they are happy to share in that responsibility, comfortable, I’m comfortable about it also provided all the other parameters normal.
