How far along am i in months

Few things can compare to the rush and excitement of when you take a pregnancy test and read out the positive result! Once you’ve processed the news that you’re going to be a mom, your thoughts will naturally turn to planning and one of your first questions will no doubt be: when is my due date?

Use these three simple steps to find out how far along you are in your pregnancy:

1. Figure out when was the first day of your last period or the exact day you conceived.
   
2. Enter the relevant dates into the pregnancy week calculator.
3. Then hit Find out now! to find out how far along you are. 

Keep in mind every pregnancy is unique and the result will be an estimation rather than a fixed date.

How long is pregnancy? The short answer is 280 days, 40 weeks, 3 trimesters, or a little more than 9 months. But most women don't give birth at exactly 40 weeks pregnant, so it's impossible to know exactly how long until you meet your baby. Your due date is just a good guess – but it's helpful. So is knowing about pregnancy trimesters and how to translate weeks to months in pregnancy. (Our pregnancy weeks and months chart will help!)

How many weeks pregnant am I?

To determine your due date, healthcare providers count 40 weeks from the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP) rather than trying to guess exactly when sperm met egg. Visit our Pregnancy Due Date Calculator to check how many weeks pregnant you are.  

Healthcare providers use your LMP to date pregnancy because many women don't know which day they ovulated. And even if you know the day you had sex that resulted in pregnancy, that may not be the day you conceived: Sperm can linger in your uterus for up to five days waiting for an egg to be released so they can fertilize it.

Using your LMP to find your due date means that when you get confirmation that you're pregnant, you'll most likely be 4 or 5 weeks along. 

How many weeks are in a pregnancy?

There are 40 weeks in a pregnancy – though you're just as likely to deliver your baby a few weeks before or after that.

How many weeks are in a trimester?

Each trimester is 13 or 14 weeks long. The first trimester lasts until you're 13 weeks pregnant, the second trimester spans week 14 to week 27, and the third trimester starts the day you turn 28 weeks pregnant and lasts until week 40 (or until you deliver your baby).

How many trimesters are in a pregnancy?

There are three trimesters: the first trimester (early pregnancy), the second trimester (mid-pregnancy), and third trimester (late pregnancy).

Pregnancy weeks to month chart

Check out our chart to see how the weeks, months, and trimesters of pregnancy line up with each other.

How many months pregnant am I?

You can use the chart above to figure out how the weeks of pregnancy correspond to months. Note that you're not technically one month pregnant until after 4 weeks have passed, for example. But you are "in your first month" during the first 4 weeks and "in month nine" during the last 4 weeks.

Isn't a month four weeks long?

Actually, in a typical year, February is the only month that's four weeks (or 28 days) long. All others are either 30 or 31 days. On average, a month is 4.3 weeks, so that means the number of weeks and months of pregnancy don't match up exactly. And that's why some months in the chart are four weeks long and some are five weeks long.

Is pregnancy nine or ten months?

Forty weeks is actually a little more than 9 months. For example, if your last period started on January 1, your due date would be October 8. So that's more like nine months and one week (or even longer if you go past your due date).

So, when will I have my baby?

Your provider counts 280 days (40 weeks) from the first day of your LMP to determine your due date. But keep in mind that's just an estimate. Only 5 percent of babies are born on their due date. You're just as likely to deliver any time during the two weeks before or after that day. Your baby is considered full term between 39 and 41 weeks.

Note: Not everyone ovulates exactly two weeks after their LMP, so your due date may be adjusted if an early ultrasound indicates that your baby is more or less developed than expected.

The Pregnancy Calculator can estimate a pregnancy schedule based on the provided due date, last period date, ultrasound date, conception date, or IVF transfer date.

Pregnancy Term & Due Date

Pregnancy is a term used to describe a woman's state over a time period (~9 months) during which one or more offspring develops inside of a woman. Childbirth usually occurs approximately 38 weeks after conception, or about 40 weeks after the last menstrual period. The World Health Organization defines a normal pregnancy term to last between 37 and 42 weeks. During a person's first OB-GYN visit, the doctor will usually provide an estimated date (based on a sonogram) at which the child will be born, or due date. Alternatively, the due date can also be estimated based on a person's last menstrual period.

While the due date can be estimated, the actual length of pregnancy depends on various factors, including age, length of previous pregnancies, and weight of the mother at birth.1 However, there are still more factors affecting natural variation in pregnancy terms that are not well understood. Studies have shown that fewer than 4% of births occur on the exact due date, 60% occur within a week of the due date, and almost 90% occur within two weeks of the due date.2 As such, while it is possible to be fairly confident that a person's child will be born within about two weeks of the due date, it is currently not possible to predict the exact day of birth with certainty.

Pregnancy Detection

Pregnancy can be detected either by using pregnancy tests or by the woman herself noticing a number of symptoms, including a missed menstrual period, increased basal body temperature, fatigue, nausea, and increased frequency of urination.

Pregnancy tests involve the detection of hormones that serve as biomarkers for pregnancy and include clinical blood or urine tests that can detect pregnancy from six to eight days after fertilization. While clinical blood tests are more accurate, and can detect exact amounts of the hormone hCG (which is only present during pregnancy) earlier and in smaller quantities, they take more time to evaluate and are more expensive than home pregnancy urine tests. It is also possible to get a clinical urine test, but these are not necessarily more accurate than a home pregnancy test, and can potentially be more costly.

Pregnancy Management

There are a number of factors that need to be considered during pregnancy, many of which are highly dependent on the individual's situation, such as medication, weight gain, exercise, and nutrition.

Medication:

Taking certain medications during pregnancy can have lasting effects on the fetus. In the U.S., drugs are classified into categories A, B, C, D, and X by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) based on potential benefits vs. fetal risks. Drugs that have positive benefits for the mother with low risk to the fetus are classified as category A, while drugs with proven, significant fetal risks that outweigh potential benefits to the mother are classified a category X. A person that is pregnant should consult their doctor regarding any medications they plan to use during their pregnancy.

Weight gain:

Weight gain is a largely inevitable and necessary aspect of pregnancy that varies between people. It affects many aspects of fetal development, such as the weight of the baby, the placenta, extra circulatory fluid, and its fat and protein stores. Weight management merits consideration because insufficient or excessive weight gain can have negative effects for both mother and fetus, including the need for cesarean section (C-section) and gestational hypertension. While the values vary between women, the Institute of Medicine recommends an overall pregnancy weight gain of 25-35 pounds for women who are considered "normal" weight (BMI 18.5-24.9), 28-40 pounds for those considered underweight (BMI < 18.5), 15-25 pounds for those considered overweight (BMI 25-29.9), and 11-20 pounds for those considered obese (BMI > 30).3 Our Pregnancy Weight Gain Calculator is based on the Institute of Medicine recommendations.

Exercise:

Studies indicate that aerobic exercise during pregnancy helps to improve or maintain physical fitness as well as possibly decreasing the risk of C-sections. Although it varies between women, regular aerobic and strength-conditioning exercise are often recommended for pregnant women, and women who exercised regularly before pregnancy, who have uncomplicated pregnancies, should be able to continue high-intensity exercise programs.4 The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists suggests that given an uncomplicated pregnancy, fetal injuries are unlikely to occur as a result of exercise. Nevertheless, caution is advised, and a pregnant woman should consult their doctor if any of the following symptoms present: vaginal bleeding, shortness of breath, dizziness, headache, calf pain or swelling, amniotic fluid leakage, decreased fetal movement, preterm labor, muscle weakness, or chest pain.5

Nutrition:

Nutrition during pregnancy is particularly important for the health of the mother and baby. Pregnancy requires different nutritional considerations than a person would have in a non-pregnant state due to increased energy and specific micronutrient requirements.6

Certain vitamins such as Vitamin B9, also known as folic acid, can help decrease the risk of certain defects, while other nutrients such as DHA omega-3 that is necessary for proper brain and retinal development cannot be produced efficiently by infants, and can only be obtained through the placenta during pregnancy, or in breast milk after birth. There are many other micronutrients that aid proper fetal development, and there exist myriad sources of information on what pregnant women should or shouldn't eat or do. All of the information can be different to sift through and can vary from person to person. Pregnant women should consult their doctors and/or dietitian to help determine the best course of action for their own specific needs.

1. Jukic, AM, Baird, DD, Weinberg, CR, et al. 2013. "Length of human pregnancy and contributors to its natural variation. Human Reproduction 28(10): 2848-55. PMC3777570.
2. Moore, Keith. 2015. "How accurate are 'due dates'?" BBC, February 3, 2015. www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31046144.
3. Institute of Medicine. 2009. "Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexamining the Guidelines." National Academies Press.
4. Davies, GA, Wolfe, LA, Mottola, MF, et al. 2003. "Exercise in pregnancy and the postpartum period." Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada 25(6): 516-29.
5. Artal, R., O'Toole, M. 2003. "Guidelines of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for exercise during pregnancy and the postpartum period." British Journal of Sports Medicine 37: 6-12. doi:10.1136/bjsm.37.1.6
6. Lammi-Keefe, CJ, Couch, SC, Philipson, E. 2008. "Handbook of Nutrition and Pregnancy." Humana Press.

How do I calculate my months of pregnancy?

Is it 9 months or 40 weeks?

How many weeks is a 2 month pregnancy?

How many months is 7 weeks pregnant?