For pregnant women, knowing how to calculate the gestational weeks (i.e. "gestational weeks") is very important and will directly affect the estimation of the baby's due date. Expectant mothers can comprehensively and accurately understand whether the fetal development is normal during prenatal check ups based on various factors such as gestational age. They can also choose corresponding prenatal examination items according to gestational age, and better help pregnant women receive appropriate care at different stages of pregnancy. So how to calculate gestational age after pregnancy?
After pregnancy, doctors will help calculate the gestational age and estimate the delivery date. Due to the difficulty for most people to remember or determine the date of pregnancy, the commonly used calculation method in clinical practice is to start counting from the first day of the last menstrual period. The delivery period calculated based on the date of the last menstrual period actually considers the week of the last menstrual period as the first week of pregnancy. Generally speaking, 7 days count as one gestational week, and 4 gestational weeks count as one month. The entire pregnancy lasts for about 280 days (or 40 weeks), hence it is called "October pregnancy".
Why is it necessary to count the gestational weeks? Because there are many examinations and interventions during pregnancy that need to be performed at the designated gestational week. For example, serological screening in mid pregnancy, commonly known as Down syndrome screening, requires complex calculations based on blood test indicators, the age of the pregnant mother, and the exact gestational age to obtain a risk value; Compare this risk value with the set threshold to see if it falls on the low-risk side or the high-risk side.
