When people talk about how far along they are (3 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, etc), how is that calculated? Is it based on the start of your last period, or the time of conception/ovulation/implantation? If I just found out that I am pregnant, a day past my missed period, would I be considered ~2 weeks or 4 weeks?
2006-11-28 00:31:34 · 7 answers · asked by Burrkt 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Pregnancy
Doctors count it from your last menstrual period and actually count the pregnancy as ten months or cycles, forty weeks.
2006-11-28 00:37:02 · answer #1 · answered by dmjrev 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi there and congratulations! You have SO much to look forward to! I am assuming that this is your first baby, that is such a magical time in your life!
Okay, your question. Your pregnancy is always calculated by counting the first day of your last period as the first day of your pregnancy. Now, obvioulsy, this is not really the first day of your pregnancy. The reason that it is calculated this way for medical purposes is that the first day of your last period is a date that can be known for certain. The day that you ovulated is NOT known for certain. Even if you are very regular that day could be off one way or the other. For that reason, your pregnancy is always calculated as if it started on the first day of your last period. When you look at a chart to see the development of the fetus it is always two weeks off. When it talks about the development of a 6 week embryo for instance it is actually talking about a 4 week old embryo. It is a bit confusing but it is nothing to worry about. It is just one of those little excentricities of the medical profession. I was always amazed at how I could be 6 weeks pregnant so darned fast! Well, that is the answer.
You can probably be a better judge of when your baby was conceived than your doctor can be but she will not take your word for it. They will always count that first day of your last period as day number 1!
Good luck honey and enjoy your pregnancy! READ, READ and READ! The more you know the better off you will be. A wonderful book is "What to Expect When You are Expecting". If you can, purchase your own copy so that you can make notes in it and write questions that you want to ask the doctor etc. I always tell women to buy a small spiral bound notebook and carry it with them. When you think of a question, or some well meaning idiot, I mean person, tells you some weird sounding thing, write it down to ask the doctor. Carry this little book with you and when you go to see the doctor have it in your hand. Not over with your clothes in your purse. That way when the doctor askes you if you have any questions you will not have to hop off the table and scoot over to the chair where your clothes are stashed and hunt thru your purse for your little book! Have it in your hand! Also, if she tries to sneak out before answering your questions (some doctors are bad that way) speak up! Remember, she is there for YOU! Speak up and say " I have some questions that I need answered". Make sure you get answers and it might help to have a small pen stuck in with the notebook to write down what the doctor says. It is easy to forget what she said. If you do not understand the question, ask for clarification and ask her to spell things so that you can look them up later. Remember this is YOUR baby and YOUR pregnancy! Don't be a silent bystander! Let her know from the beginning that being pregnant is a hands on experience for you! If you do not speak up for yourself no one else will! Also remember that if you do not like this doctors "style" you can always find another. IF your insurance will let you. If your husband (baby's father) wants to come, all the better but don't let him keep you from asking questions. If he is going to make you self consious, leave him at home! Find out when (or if) this doctor will be doing your first ultrasound, you will want to know that. Also find out if you will be seeing the same doctor everytime. if you are going to a group of doctors sometimes you will never know which doctor you will be seeing. There is also no guarantee that you will know who will be delivering you. If you have not chosen a doctor yet these are all things to think about when you do make your choice.
Sorry if I have dumped too much information on you at one time. These are just things that I wish someone had told me when I was expecting my first. I had to learn the hard way.
Oh! your question. Four weeks!
Take care honey and if there is anything I can do for you feel free to write to me!
Love and Blessings
Lady T~
2006-11-28 01:21:29 · answer #2 · answered by Lady Trinity 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You calculate how far you are by the last time you had a period so if you just missed your period you are probably 4 weeks along. But when you go to the doctor they will defintely let you know.
2006-11-28 00:43:08 · answer #3 · answered by babygyrl11 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You would be considered 4 weeks. Doctors typically go by the first day of you last period, since it is hard to tell exactly when conception occured. Congratulations!
2006-11-28 00:37:38 · answer #4 · answered by L80bug 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you take the 1st day of your last period. Add one week to that date. Then add 9 months to get your due date. Then once you have your due date, then you can backtrack and see exactly what week you are in. Also there is a website called www.babycenter.com and you type in your due date, and they send you weekly updates of how your baby is developing and stuff like that thru your email. congratulations
2006-11-28 00:38:15 · answer #5 · answered by Katie 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Take the first day of your last period as your starting point.by your calculations you will be 4weeks pregnant
2006-11-28 00:35:29 · answer #6 · answered by Bella 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you would be 4 weeks
2006-11-28 00:36:44 · answer #7 · answered by puppy love 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋