How a mother can tell the exact date when she would put to birth – Research

This write up is aimed at presenting and creating awareness equation to the public after reading with sadness from a young corps member who posted on Facebook how his father told him how a doctor who “predicted ” his date of birth took his father out and drank prodigiously in celebration of the fact that, that was his first perfect prediction of date for birth of a child since he started his work as a medical doctor after the mother had been delivered of a baby (him) the day that doctor predicted.

My points:

1. Dates for birth are not predictable issue; they are not gambling but scientifically calculated in accord with procedures, methods, conduct and accepted conventions of modern science. They are empirical.
2. If the child arrives on the exact calculated date, it is the mother that should be celebrated for her ability to accurately keep records of her menstrual period as we shall see later.

Now the scientific calculation method:

Equation:

LMP (Last Menstrual Period) minus 3months plus 7days

1. The pregnant woman must mention her exact Last Menstrual Period (LMP). If she makes mistake on the date, the child would arrive before or after the calculated date, then we blame man for comparing himself with God.
2. Subtract three months from LMP.
3. Add seven days to your answer.
4. The date you arrive at is the Probable Date for Birth of the child

Example:

Suppose the woman’s Last menstrual period (LMP) began {Note BEGAN not ENDED} May 10 this year.

Work it out:

May 10 minus 3months will give you February 10. Then add 7 days. What you will get is February 17 next year as the Expected Date of Delivery (EDO). That is the date for birth of that child (FEBRUARY 17).

You can work it out yourself. For those women who have gone for prenatal care in a good hospital before, they have this date written on their card LMP-EDO-, the LMP on your card is the day your last menstrual period began (not ended), the EDO on your card is expected day of birth.

By our local counting, May 10 as LMP means that the woman saw her last flower in the month of May, if you count from June as first month of pregnancy, you will arrive at February as the 9th month of that pregnancy.

Akaninyene Oton, a Nigerian researcher and public affairs analyst

Sponsored by: CompleteCare & Empowerment Initiative

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