First day of your last period The most common way to calculate your pregnancy due date is by counting 40 weeks from the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP). And thats how most healthcare providers do it.

How do you calculate how many weeks pregnant you are?

Most pregnancies last around 40 weeks (or 38 weeks from conception), so typically the best way to estimate your due date is to count 40 weeks, or 280 days, from the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP). Another way to do it is to subtract three months from the first day of your last period and add seven days.

Why is pregnancy counted from last period?

If you were having regular periods before pregnancy, your doctor will calculate your due date based off of your last menstrual period. This goes back to the fact that in order to get pregnant, your body ovulated—or released an egg—roughly in the middle of your cycle and it was fertilized by sperm.