How to calculate the hpl (estimated day of birth) of your baby

Every prospective parent must be eagerly awaiting the birthday of their child. Finding out the due date is important for you to plan all the preparation for childbirth and proper pregnancy care in advance. Well, you can estimate the exact date of delivery by calculating the HPL yourself.

However, how do you calculate the HPL? Follow the guide below.

How to calculate HPL by gestational age

How to calculate the HPL, aka the estimated day of birth, can be found by finding out how old you are in your pregnancy now.

Unfortunately, there are still many people who often misunderstand how to calculate HPL. The reason is, because you or the people around you may have called the gestational age by months. For example, being 6 months pregnant, 3 months pregnant, or 9 months pregnant.

In fact, the gestational age is more accurately expressed in a matter of weeks and days. Because this has to do with when first day of last menstruation (HPHT) You. So, don't use the month anymore in applying how to calculate the HPL.

Gestation generally lasts 38-40 weeks or 280 days until delivery. This timeframe also includes the two weeks of conception after your last menstrual period even if you have not tested positive for pregnancy.

How to calculate HPL correctly is with the following formula:

Tdate on the first day of last menstruation + 7 days - 3 months + 1 year.

An example of how to calculate HPL if your HPHT is April 11, 2019 and added the next 7 days, it means April 18, 2019. April 18 2019 is the first week of your pregnancy.

After that, subtract 3 months from the last menstrual month, which is January 18 (April 4 minus 3). Finally add one year from 2019. Then from this calculation method you will get HPL 18 January 2020.

Another example of how to calculate HPL if your HPHT is November 8, 2018. Subtract the previous 3 months, which is August 8, 2018. Well, August 8 plus 7 days 1 year is August 15, 2019.

A more practical way to calculate HPL is actually just by remembering the last day of your period and adding 266 days. However, this method of calculating HPL applies if your menstrual cycle is normal every 28-30 days.

How to calculate HPL at the doctor

If you forget exactly when the first day of your last menstruation, you don't need to worry about how to calculate the exact HPL like what. You can consult a doctor for an ultrasound (ultrasound) to find out how old you are in your current pregnancy.

1. Use ultrasound

Not all women have an ultrasound in early pregnancy. Many also do not realize that they are pregnant. Well, ultrasound or ultrasound can tell the date of delivery more accurately than how to calculate the HPL using a formula.

However, doctors usually recommend finding out HPL via ultrasound only if your menstrual cycle is normal. Doctors generally also doubt ultrasound as a way to calculate HPL when pregnant women are 35 years old or more.

How to calculate HPL by ultrasound is not recommended if you have a history of miscarriage or pregnancy complications, which in a previous physical examination have stated that it can affect the expected day of birth of the baby.

2. Count the fetal heart rate

Apart from ultrasound, there is also a way to calculate the HPL by knowing the baby's heartbeat for the first time. This usually appears around the 9th or 10th week (although it can vary) and when the mother first feels fetal movement.

Fetal movement is usually detected between 18-22 weeks of gestation, but it can be earlier or later. This way, the doctor can determine the expected day of birth of your baby without calculating it manually.

3. The height of the uterine fundus

Another way to calculate the HPL is through the height of the uterine fundus. The female fundus is located from the pelvis to the top of your uterus.

Every time you check your pregnancy routine, the doctor can determine the expected day of birth from the fundal height. The older the gestational age, in general the fundus will be smaller.

How to calculate HPL for IVF pregnancy?

Different ways to get pregnant, different ways to calculate the HPL. In fact, the due date for the birth of an IVF baby is more accurate than pregnancy through a natural fertilization process.

Through IVF, you and your doctor will know the exact date of fertilization of the egg and the transfer of the embryo (an egg that has been successfully fertilized by a sperm) into the uterus.

From there, the day of delivery can be estimated by adding 266 (38 weeks) days from the date of conception. In addition, the process of taking eggs beforehand is also scheduled before the woman ovulates.

So, the way to calculate HPL for IVF pregnancy is to simply add 38 weeks (266 days) after egg insemination. This 38 week count is only for those who have menstrual periods every 28 days.

Another way to calculate the HPL from an IVF pregnancy is to calculate the date of transfer of the embryo into the uterus and then add 38 weeks.

An example of calculating HPL in this way, namely, the embryo transfer schedule which falls on May 8, 2019, added 38 weeks from that time, then you will get January 29, 2020.

How to calculate IVF pregnancy HPL is not actually calculated based on the time of conception but based on the date of embryo transfer.

This will give a more accurate estimate of the due date. Estimates from the results of calculating the HPL can also be further confirmed by checking by ultrasound.

HPL likes to be fickle

Even though you already know when your baby was born, the final result of calculating the HPL cannot be used as a definite benchmark.

In fact, the results of calculating the HPL which is done manually or through a doctor's examination, may be more advanced or backward than the estimated date of your current HPL.

In this world, only 5 percent of pregnant women give birth on the day they are expected to be born. The rest was off schedule.

Here are three common reasons for changing the birth date even though the way to calculate the HPL is correct according to the formula:

1. Wrong date of HPHT

Incorrect HPHT dates are the most common cause of missed delivery dates. Incorrectly determining the HPHT, it will also be wrong with the results of how to calculate your HPL.

Conception generally occurs two weeks or between days 11-21 after the first day of the last menstruation. However, actually no one knows exactly when conception takes place, not even doctors.

There is no medical technology that can accurately tell when conception occurs.

2. Changes in the size of the cervix

Another cause that can change the results of how to calculate the HPL manually or through a doctor's examination, is the changing size of the cervix.

There is research that shows that women with a short cervix (less than 2.5 cm) have a tendency to give birth earlier.

This explanation is also supported by the results of a study from the International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Researchers say that 85 percent of women who have a short cervix (about 1 cm) give birth earlier than women whose cervix is about 2.5 cm.

The older the gestational age and approaching the due date of birth, the size of your cervix can also shorten. Shortening the length of the cervix aims to make the baby's head easier to fall and be ready for birth.

So, even though the method of calculating the HPL is correct, the size of your cervix changes so that the estimated date of birth is missed.

3. The position of the baby in the womb changes

The results of how to calculate the HPL manually or doctoral examination can also be missed because the position of the fetus in the womb has changed. It turns out that the position of the fetus is one of the factors that determines the speed of your delivery.

If the fetal head is in the position it should be and in accordance with the age of the womb, the due date is likely to be on time with the results of how you calculated the HPL that you did earlier.

Meanwhile, if not, your delivery schedule may be a little late from the estimated date. Generally doctors will recommend caesarean section or induction if the pregnancy is more than 40 weeks.

Can I set the date of birth myself?

Even though they already know the date of delivery by calculating the HPL, many parents want their child to be born on a special day or a unique date. However, this may not be done in every pregnancy.

If the condition of your pregnancy requires to be born by caesarean section, you may be able to choose a date that is not far from the expected day of birth.

However, the decision to undergo a caesarean section should not be arbitrary. Caesarean section is generally only allowed if the pregnancy is at high risk.