01/28/2021
“DUE DATES: Did you know that doctors still calculate expected date of delivery using a method formulated at the start of the 19th century. The method is known as Naegele’s rule; You take the first day of a expectant persons last menstrual period, add a year, subtract three months, and add seven days. How confusing is that! Naegele’s rule is based on the assumption that the birth person has a 28-day menstrual cycle, with ovulation on day 14, but cycles range anywhere between 21 and 35 days. These issues might help explain why Naegele’s rule isn’t very accurate and, therefore, why due dates aren’t, either. Babies simply do not care about due dates, and turn up when they feel like it and when they are perfectly ripe: the motivation for being born is something that, as yet, scientists cannot fully explain. Some babies will be ‘early’, some ‘on time’ and some ‘late’, in fact, only about 4% of babies arrive on their actual due date, and research has shown that the length of pregnancy can vary by up to five weeks. So, like in Uganda, instead of having a due date, have a due month”
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Words by .hill from Positive Birth 📚
