Your due date

Your due date may become something that is etched in your mind during pregnancy, but it’s more of a guide as to when your baby is due, rather than something you can plan your life around. Unless you are booked for a Caesarean section or planned induction, your due date may come and go without any sign of your little one’s arrival.

At your first appointment with your obstetrician, they will calculate your due date and help plan your scans, tests and other care around your gestation at any given point.

In Australia, a woman’s due date is calculated by adding 40 weeks to the date of the first day of her last period. It’s important to get as close as we can to your gestation date and if you don’t know when your last period was, an ultrasound can be used to help measure you’re baby’s size as a guide.

In IVF pregnancies, a woman’s due date is often calculated from the egg extraction date or from the embryo transfer date in a frozen cycle. A full-term pregnancy lasts anywhere from 37 to 42 weeks.

If you’re both healthy, it’s best to summon your patience and trust that labour will begin naturally, at the right time. However, if your pregnancy extends well past your due date, your obstetrician will discuss inducing labour with you. Sometimes this is needed to ensure the safety of you and your baby.

No matter how you become pregnant or how your baby is born, rest assured that your team of Epworth Maternity experts is here every step of the way.

Follow every stage of your pregnancy and newborn care through our exclusive book ‘Bump, Birth and Bub’ by Epworth Maternity. Request your personal copy below.