An IVF due date calculator is a tool that can be used to quickly estimate the date that your baby may be born. In the case of a gestational surrogate arrangement, you will need a gestational calculator.
The process of calculating expected due dates is different for gestational surrogacy than traditional surrogacy. If you are not sure which type of surrogacy you may select in the end, it is to your advantage to learn how to predict the due date in either case.
A due date predicted with an IF due date calculator or gestational calculator is not guaranteed to be the date your baby is born. As long as the date is calculated correctly, you can expect that your baby will enter the world within a couple weeks of the estimated date.
You can use an IVF due date calculator or figure out the expected due date on your own, but make sure to discuss it with a doctor as well. An IVF specialist or doctor will be able to verify whether the expected due date is correct or not.
Calculating Conception Date: Traditional Surrogacy
In a traditional surrogate pregnancy, the woman carrying the baby to term is the biological mother of the baby. This means that the due date would be estimated just the same as any expectant mother may use a due date calculator to determine when their baby may be born.
A standard due date calculator works off of two pieces of information regarding the biological mother:
- The first day of the last menstrual cycle
- The length of the womans menstrual cycle
A due date calculator will work off of a normal menstrual cycle length, which is 28 days. When the biological mother does not have a normal menstrual cycle, or her cycles are not regular, then a medical professional may need to do more extensive calculations to estimate the due date for the pregnancy. In many cases, an early ultrasound will be used to date the pregnancy.
For a woman with a regular 28 day cycle, 40 weeks will be counted out from the first day of the last menstrual cycle. 40 weeks is 280 days, so the estimated due date will be 280 days after the first day of the last menstrual cycle.
When using a due date calculator, the date is calculated in this manner and instantly delivered. Doctors typically use paper wheels to estimate due dates just as quickly. These dates can later be confirmed through an ultrasound.
Calculating Conception Date: Gestational Surrogacy
A IVF due date calculator can be used to quickly estimate the due date for a gestational surrogate pregnancy. Many parents appreciate that, since the calculations for gestational due dates are a bit more complicated. Since the biological mother of the baby is not the woman carrying the baby to term, the first day of the last menstrual cycle of the carrier does not matter. Rather, the date that the egg was removed from the biological mother is what matters.
For instance, if a man is using his own sperm and a donated fresh egg to create a baby with a surrogate mother, the date that the egg was retrieved from the donor would be the basis of calculating the babys due date. If the donated egg was frozen, then the date it was placed in the surrogate’s body minus three days will serve as the date used to calculate the babys due date.
In order to determine the estimated due date, you still need a date to serve as the last menstrual period date. Since the natural cycle of the surrogate mother doesnt matter (her eggs are not being used), you should back up fifteen days from the date of egg retrieval and use that date. This would be the approximate date of last menstrual cycle for the woman donating the egg. Do the same for the date being used for a frozen egg as well.
You now have the two pieces of information that would be used if you were to simply plug your information into a gestational calculator to determine the date quickly. If doing this manually, you simply count out approximately 40 weeks from the first day of the last menstrual cycle. Most babies will be born within two weeks of that 40 week date.
Getting the Right Date
You want to be prepared for your baby, so make sure to check your estimated due date with your doctor or IVF specialist. This is especially true in the case of a gestational surrogate pregnancy. The calculations can get quite complicated in some cases, so you don’t want to throw your plans off by waiting for an inaccurate estimated due date.
You may want to work out the dates manually just for the fun, but using a reliable IVF due date calculator like the one featured here will give you a more accurate estimate. Note that the only information you have to have in order to get an estimated date is the date of your last menstrual period (or that of the surrogate) and the current date. If you can fill out the additional information, especially the length of your menstrual cycle, the estimated date will be more accurate.
What about Multiples?
Estimating the due date for multiples is far trickier than what you have already learned about estimating the due date for single babies. Multiples typically are not carried the full forty weeks, but you also do not want to have them too early and risk health problems or the loss of the babies. This is where working with a doctor rather than an IVF due date calculator becomes necessary.
You can still use an IVF due date calculator or gestational calculator, but plan to deliver your babies six or more weeks earlier than the date delivered. Ideally, you should carry your babies until week 32, counting from the first day of the last menstrual cycle as described above. At 32 weeks the babies have a very high chance of thriving without any health problems from being born early. Babies can survive if they are born after week 24, with even greater odds of survival without health problems occurring after week 28.
The closer to 40 weeks that the babies remain in the womb, the less chance they have of developing health problems or not surviving at all. This means you should expect your babies early while hoping they will remain in the womb as long as possible.
What did you do to prepare for your new arrival?
