Early pregnancy can be an exciting time with many questions, including when the baby will be born and how far along the pregnancy has progressed. There are several ways to calculate information about a pregnancy, most of which require information about the woman's last menstrual period or even the baby was conceived, if that is known. So grab your calculator, calendar and a pencil and get ready to calculate some numbers.
A pregnancy wheel is typically used in a doctor's office to help a soon-to-be mother calculate her due date. It can also be used to calculate the most fertile days of the month for a woman trying to become pregnant. This tool can help answer a lot of questions throughout the pregnancy. For instance, determining when certain tests should be done to check for Down Syndrome or other genetic malformations.
Most couples trying to conceive are very anxious to take a home pregnancy test as soon after ovulation as possible to determine whether they've achieved pregnancy. There are two basic types of home pregnancy tests on the market--early pregnancy tests and standard pregnancy tests--and the type of pregnancy test used determines when it should be taken. How to calculate when to take a pregnancy test is a relatively easy task that most couples can accomplish by knowing the date of ovulation and the date of the anticipated menstrual period.
The first thing many women want to know when suspecting they are pregnant is how far along in the pregnancy they are. If you suspect you may be pregnant, there are a number of ways to calculate your expected due date. Before attempting to calculate how far along you are, you should confirm your pregnancy with a home pregnancy test. Women can miss menstrual periods for a variety of reasons. Therefore, a missed period cannot be used to diagnose a pregnancy.
Pregnancy calendars are used to track the weeks in pregnancy. This tool can be used to track fetal development to the corresponding week as well as how far a woman is in her pregnancy.