Due date
A due date is an estimate of when a pregnant woman will have her baby. It is calculated by taking the first day of her last menstrual period (LMP), adding 7 days, and then counting backward 3 months; or by adding 40 weeks from the first day of the last menstrual period (for women with regular 28-day cycles).
For example, using the first method, if a pregnant woman's last period started on March 20, add 7 days to get March 27 and then subtract 3 months to get a due date of December 27. Using the second method, 40 weeks counted from March 20 is December 25.
The due date is only an estimate of when a woman will deliver. Most women do not give birth on their due date, but within 2 weeks before or after.
| Author | Jeannette Curtis |
| Author | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS |
| Editor | Kathleen M. Ariss, MS |
| Editor | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA |
| Associate Editor | Tracy Landauer |
| Associate Editor | Pat Truman |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
| Last Updated | May 25, 2007 |
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