In God's Time

We're learning to be patient! Not sure why we put so much faith in a due date, given that maybe 10% of babies are born on the estimated due date, and the window is 2 weeks +/-. Human foibles and excitement un-fettered create unfounded expectations.

Here's an interesting article on due dates, along with links to information about the various methods used to calculate (estimate) due dates. It's worth a read, as the writer strives to paint a clear (or, at the least, detailed) picture of this muddy art/science.

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=233200

One of the resources linked from the above page contains the following chart of percentages based on LMP-calculated gestation/due dates:

Before 37 weeks: 4%
37 weeks: 5%
38-39 weeks: 10%
39-40 weeks: 20%
40-41 weeks: 35%
41-42 weeks: 20%
Over 42 weeks: 10%

( graph taken from:
http://www.transitiontoparenthood.com/ttp/birthed/duedatespaper.htm )

-k