We start with this post to our Special Pregnancy week by week, starting with the week 1 of pregnancy, in which we will make a fascinating journey through the gestation of the human being from the moment of conception until the day of birth.
The approximate duration of pregnancy is 280 days gestation, or what is the same 38 weeks from the moment of fertilization of the ovum and 40 weeks from the date of the last menstruation (FUM).
As in most women it is not possible to calculate the exact day of ovulation, the first day of the last rule is taken as pregnancy start date. To calculate the probable date of delivery, 40 weeks are counted from that date. To know it, you have to subtract three months and add seven days to the first day of the last menstruation.
Estimated due date
The first day of the last period is the one that marks the beginning of pregnancy. Therefore, if you look in this table that day, in the line below you will find the estimated due date correspondent.
Anyway, it is an estimated date. A very low percentage of births occur on the expected day.
Here is a table with which you can know your probable date of delivery (FPP). You have to identify in bold line (the one that begins with January, February, etc.) on the first day of your last period and the month. The number that appears right on the line below is the probable delivery date of the month indicated on that same line.
Week 1 of pregnancy
The first week of pregnancy you're not really pregnant yet, since during that week you will have the rule.
Vaginal bleeding is caused by the desquamation of the functional layer of the endometrium that has been prepared to house the fertilized egg. Since there is no fertilized egg, menstruation occurs.
It is the preoccupational stage, variable from one woman to another, that begins with the first day of the period.
Women with irregular cycles
The female cycle has an approximate duration of 28 days, but 90 percent of women have cycles between 23 and 36 days. There are women who even have longer and more variable cycles from one month to another, therefore it is very difficult to calculate the time of ovulation and even more so the weeks of pregnancy.
A woman who has the period every 47 days will not have the same weeks of pregnancy as one who has it every 23 days, for example. There may be weeks of difference between one and the other, so the due date of the first will be after week 40.
Even so, the first day of the last rule is taken as the starting point of pregnancy, but in reality the gestation time can only be calculated more accurately by means of ultrasound measurements.
Get ready to get pregnant
If you are looking for pregnancy, you should be taking a folic acid supplement from at least one month before of getting pregnant, to avoid defects in the baby's neural tube, a basic structure of the nervous system, which forms in the first few weeks, even before you find out that you are pregnant.
It is also important that you take care of your diet and, of course, quit tobacco and alcohol, habits that are totally harmful to your baby. You should also not take medication, unless they have been specially indicated by the doctor, knowing that you are looking to get pregnant. Of course, neither drugs.
Both women and men should lead a healthy lifestyle, as well as reduce anxiety levels both at home and at work. Being healthy when conceiving will make you have a healthier and safer pregnancy.
