Gestational period: what is it and how to calculate it?

Gestational pregnancy is the term that defines the period spent by the baby in the womb from conception to childbirth. Usually, doctors start a report from the last day of the last month. This is due to the fact that the very moment of fertilization is very difficult to recognize.

How to calculate the time?

The gestational period of the beginning of pregnancy is the very moment when a new life arises in a woman. But, unfortunately, not all couples know when exactly the fertilization of the egg occurred and when the implantation of the egg with the fetus occurred. After sexual intercourse, several days are required in order for the sperm to reach its goal and the birth of a new life, and that the egg has passed the path to the uterus and is fixed in it. That's why doctors consider the gestational age to be unreliable.

Gynecologists and midwives have their own method of determining the age of the baby in the womb, it is called the "midwifery method." They believe that it is more accurate than the gestational age, but it is about two weeks ahead of it, because it is considered from the last day of extreme menstruation, and ovulation occurs only in the middle of the cycle. Without ovulation, fertilization is impossible.

Doctors and obstetricians most often determine the gestational period only once, after ultrasound, they recalculate it according to a special formula:

W =? 13.9646TCR - 4.1993 + 2.155

Here, SH is the gestational index, and KTP is the parietal-coccygeal dimension. This calculation is carried out during the first 90 days of pregnancy.

From the fourth month, doctors prefer to use a different size. They replace KTP on BDP (the size of the fetal head is biparietal).

The gestational age is determined by the formula:

Ш = 52,687-0,6? 7810,011-76,7756 x В

In this case, B is a BDP (in millimeters).

Why is the timing important?

Doctors-gynecologists seek to know the gestational age of the fetus, in order to pre-calculate the estimated date of delivery (PDR). This is necessary in order to exclude the prematurity and endurance of the infant. After all, both of these conditions are dangerous for the child, because they can have serious consequences for the health of the mother and baby. Premature birth occurs before the 38th week of pregnancy and they threaten the undeveloped fetus at birth, the baby may not be killed by the lungs and stuff. At the time of moving, the childbirth may begin after 41-42 weeks of pregnancy and threaten to infect the child because of contamination of the amniotic fluid, the child because of the large size can hardly move along the birth canal, thereby traumatizing the mother or herself.

Completion of gestational

According to people who are far from the fundamentals of gynecology, the gestational age and the estimated date of delivery are the same. But this is completely wrong. A woman will not start giving birth only because she has PDR today. It depends on the baby, on his willingness to appear and on how ready the body is pregnant. Completion of the term of gestational physicians is considered to be the one that comes after the termination of childbirth.

In the photo you can see how the body of a pregnant woman changes with an increase in the gestational age.

What other methods are used to determine the time?

Sometimes it happens that the gestational and midwifery period can not be calculated. This occurs when pregnancy occurs after childbirth or when breastfeeding, the woman does not have a regular cycle of menstruation or there are hormonal failures. During these periods , the fairer sex is not monthly, but there is an opportunity to become pregnant. In such situations, gynecologists prescribe the passage of ultrasound (ultrasound diagnosis). Thanks to this device you can accurately determine the presence of pregnancy and the exact duration of pregnancy. The most suitable period for the survey is 7-17 weeks. The gestational age is determined by the size of the child.

No matter how accurate all three ways of determining, the estimated date of delivery may be different.

Many girls who are pregnant for the first time are asked: what does gestational age mean? And that means the age of the fetus. Doctors use their methods to determine it in order to pre-calculate the estimated date of delivery. This is necessary in order to exclude premature birth and palsy.