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Calculation of the date of birth by the movement of the fetus. Video
It is always important for a mother-to-be to know when the long-awaited baby will be born. Women calculate the expected date of birth, barely seeing two strips on the test, discussing it with doctors, girlfriends and relatives. To date, there are no absolutely reliable methods that allow you to determine the date of birth with an accuracy of the day, but there are ways to calculate it approximately.
Calculation of the term of labor by fetal movements
One of the ways to roughly determine the due date of the upcoming birth is to calculate according to the first movements of the child. This method does not provide high accuracy, however, expectant mothers use it quite often.
The embryo begins to make the first movements at 12 weeks, but it is still too small for the mother to feel it. Pregnant women, especially those expecting their first child, often mistake involuntary contractions of the abdominal muscles, including deep ones, or peristalsis – wave-like contractions of the intestines for the baby’s movements. But having caught the soft movements of the fetus, these sensations are already difficult to confuse with anything.
During the first pregnancy, fetal movements are clearly visible from 20 to 22 weeks. Since pregnancy lasts an average of 40 weeks, 18-20 weeks must be added to the date when the baby’s movements were first noted. This can be considered the approximate date of delivery.
If you are more than 24 weeks pregnant, and fetal movements are imperceptible or you cannot distinguish them from bowel and muscle contractions, see your doctor as soon as possible, you may need to undergo an examination
During the second and subsequent pregnancies, mothers rarely confuse fetal movements with muscle contractions, in addition, the walls of the uterus after the first birth are more sensitive, so the first movements of the baby can be felt already in the period from the 16th to the 18th week.
Various factors influence the determination of the due date by fetal movements, including the complexion of the expectant mother: slender women, who had a sunken belly before pregnancy, usually feel the baby’s movements a week, and sometimes two earlier than the more magnificent expectant mothers.
If a pregnant woman leads an active lifestyle, she may also miss the first movements of the baby in the uterus and notice them a little later than those who lead a sedentary lifestyle or are forced to stay in bed.
Moms expecting twins feel the babies begin to move at about the same time as women with singleton pregnancies, but calculating the due date in this case is more difficult, since multiple pregnancies usually give birth earlier.
The method of determining the due date by the beginning of fetal movements is not absolutely accurate, like most “home” methods. It is optimal to predict the expected date of birth using an ultrasound scan, and done at an early stage of pregnancy. Later, the doctor may, for example, erroneously assume a longer pregnancy in the case of a large fetus.
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