A 10 Month Pregnancy?
Is a pregnancy nine months or ten months long? This is a popular pregnancy debate with many women across message boards and in pregnancy communities today. Most people know that a pregnancy consists of the first, second and third trimester. The definition of a trimester is “A period or term of three months”. If this is the case, why do so many people consider themselves pregnant for ten months?The answer is simple, even if not actually correct. Pregnancies are considered full term at 40 weeks, and many women count four weeks as a month while they are pregnant, making the result a ten month pregnancy. On average there are actually 4.33 weeks in a month, however that a third of a week tends to get lost in the pregnancy shuffle for much of us.
Many women also find it easier, when asked how pregnant they are, to answer in weeks instead of months, because pregnancy is generally a count down. “I am 24 weeks, only 16 weeks to go!” The most general deduction by a bystander would be that the woman is already six months pregnant, when in actuality, per the Gregorian calendar that most of the world lives by, she is only about five and a half months pregnant.
Women who consider themselves 10 months pregnant usually use this form of calculations:
| WEEKS | MONTH |
|---|---|
| 1-4 | 1 |
| 9-12 | 3 |
| 17-20 | 5 |
| 25-28 | 7 |
| 33-36 | 9 |
For those that live by the Lunar calendar, this not only makes sense, but is absolutely correct. The Lunar calendar, which is the four weeks it takes for the moon to go from a new moon, to a full moon and back again, would make a pregnancy last for ten months.
For those that live by the Gregorian calendar, and counting by the date you started your last period (let’s say October 15), you would not be one full month pregnant until November 15 and the calculations generally look like this:
| DATE | MONTH |
|---|---|
| November 15 | 1 |
| January 15 | 3 |
| March 15 | 5 |
| May 15 | 7 |
| July 15 | 9 |
However, neither of these calculations is exactly accurate. The most common way to figure out your due date, including the way that most doctors calculate it, is to add nine months and seven days to the start date of your last menstrual period, which would actually be a week before you would have ovulated with a 28-day cycle. Therefore, if you started your LMP on October 15, you due date would be calculated as July 22, not July 15.
| DATE | MONTH | WEEKS |
|---|---|---|
| November 15 | 1 | 4.33 |
| January 15 | 3 | 13 (start of second trimester) |
| March 15 | 5 | 21.66 |
| May 15 | 7 | 30.33 |
| July 15 | 9 | 39 |
This would make your due date of July 22 be at 40 weeks exactly, or nine months and one week after you started your LMP. This being said, why would someone CHOOSE to be pregnant for ten months?
Another way to look at it is if you consider a pregnancy of 40 weeks to be ten months, and that a year has 52 weeks in it – which you also count four weeks as one month – wouldn’t this mean that your baby would be 13 months old before he turned a year, and you could celebrate his first birthday?
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Bethel says...
The article above is so educative and true. I want to thank the author for taking the time to clear the argument. And to ‘babiesonline’, u guys are great for the great fun and education site u put up here. Every expecting parents will love to come here and be educated. It’s my first child and I am really happy to come here and feel the joy of a dad-to-be knowing more about my coming baby. Thanks always
natasha says...
what if you dont have regular periods and cannot fully determine when your last period was if you dont remember having one, how do you determine how far along you are on a due date caculator??
natasha says...
i reall wish someone could explain this senario to me how would you determine a round about due date not knowing when your last period was???
Laura says...
Natasha: It is not possible to determine a round about due date if you don’t know when your last period was. Also some women ovulate WAY before or WAY after others so they can’t use the due date calculators either. In your situation (and theirs) the only way to determine a round about due date is to have an ultrasound done before you are 12 weeks along… (ultrasounds done after that can be up to 2 weeks off).
sandra says...
Hi, my mother had a 10 month pregnancy, and I was not in the right position for the delivery and I was born with teeth (or at least one tooth) and hair… so I guess there really are 10 month pregnancies. What is strange is that there are not material about it.. I mean to know if there are consequences of it , etc mabye because there are always people, like you, denying the evident! I am 30 and my wisdom teeth never appeared
Lisa Marie says...
I understand what there talking about what I don’t understand is the 2 weeks that they want to put ur pregnancy started even before you concieved. My first pregnancy doctors try to give me Sept. the 28 n 29 when my last men. was 12/22. okay well other doctors gave me oct 9. guess what I was lucky n had her on the 10. that is exactly 40 from when I conceived during the ovulation. whitch is 3 days after 14 days of your first day of your last period no matter how long your cycle is. Now this pregnancy ddate is 1/28 and my last period was 22 of april but according to my calculation my due date is12 of february so We will just wait to see what happens. I garantee count 14 from your last period for 3 days when your ovelating you will find your own correct due date. I would like some feedback on if you tried this you may e-mail me at lisa_marie_g17@yahoo.com
jordan d says...
How often do shorter pregnancy occur? For example an 8 month pregnancy? Are they really that uncommon?
trudy says...
im 46 now, when mum was pregnant with me she was infact carrying twins but had a partial miscarraige and went on to carry me for 11 months
Angel says...
The reason why, they whole 10 months come into play is if you take 40 and divide it into 4 you get ten.. okay.. if you say that pregnancy last only 9 months plus the extra 7 days from the LMP.. Then that would put you at 37 weeks, because at 36 divided into 4 is 9, and being 7 days extra from the LMP. Then that is considered 9.25 months.. so if your pregnancy goes for a whole 40 weeks then yes you are pregnant for 10 months do the math. Im pregnant and my dr told me that my daughter is expected no later than 38 weeks..
Suchita says...
I am now 35 weeks pregnant. I have delayed conception by 3weeks otherwise i would be now 38 weeks pregnant. from starting i have doubt about my EDD. by my 1st sonography it says 21 may. i.e. i wil complete 40 weeks on 21 st may. and i alrady staretd my 36 th week. is it possible to expect baby less than 40 weeks?
Wen says...
I always thought that pregnancy was 10 months
sego says...
i would also like to know how to calculate when i conceived as i dont even remember when was my last period as i never had normal periods every month..
sego says...
is it possible that i might have conceived during october as that the only time i remember when i was on my periods????
robert says...
yes, October sounds about right.
you must be due any day now!
alisha says...
i was born in 7 months…
alex says...
i have checked my EDD severally online and the dates keep changin,first it was 04march2010 and then 02 feb.2010 but my LMP is 28 may 2009 and i do not which date is correct.
Faye says...
Hi, my first day of my last period was May 8, how old is my pregnancy….? I’ve been doing the math but can’t come up with an exact countdown…. how many weeks am I, and months?
Ash says...
Thank You for this! me and my best friend have been bickering whether I am 9 months or 8 months pregnant. right now I am 36 weeks going on 37. I say either way it goes, its almost over! Hurray to the day of no more hip pain!!
stephen says...
my wife is about ten months pregnant.
her doctor told her she should expect delivery on the 9th september 2009. but today is 17th september, 2009.
i want to find out if the baby stands out any complications,
or is there any risk to the unborn baby? and what should we do? is CS only the option. am worried