24/02/2026
Meet Franz Karl Naegele, the German obstetrician who, in the 1800s, created the method we still use today to calculate estimated due dates: Naegele’s Rule. His formula is based on a 28 day menstrual cycle with ovulation occurring on day 14. Using that assumption, providers calculate an “estimated due date.”
But here’s the thing…
Not everyone has a 28-day cycle.
Not everyone ovulates on day 14.
And babies don’t own calendars.
Due dates were always meant to be estimates, not expiration dates.
What if instead of saying “Your baby is due on March 10th,” we started saying:
👉 “Your baby will likely arrive sometime around early to mid-March.”
Because the pressure around one specific date can create:
• Unnecessary stress
• Disappointment
• Anxiety
• Emotional rollercoasters
Birth is a window, not a deadline.
Maybe it’s time we normalise the idea that babies arrive in their own time, usually within a range of weeks, not on one exact day.
