How Many Weeks Does The Pregnancy Last?

How many months or weeks does the pregnancy last? All pregnant women who go for prenatal checkup count the days to know how her baby is developing.

Here we explain the pregnancy in weeks.

There is usually great doubt about a first pregnancy. One of the most common is exactly how many weeks the pregnancy will last.

If you are a first-time mother, you can think that the pregnancy lasts 9 months. But that is not entirely true.

A normal pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks. But if every month has 4 weeks, does that not mean we are pregnant for 10 months? 10 months !? Yes it is true. But how?

How long does the pregnancy last? Does the pregnancy last 9 months?

This is not a mistake: A normal pregnancy lasts for 40 weeks. But when we measure how long a pregnancy is, we do not count the time from the moment of conception itself. This is because we do not know exactly when this happened.

So when doctors give a number of weeks, this starts from  the first day you have had your last menstrual period. This means that the actual fertilization took place during the two weeks before or after this date.

However, it is important to know that when you get your first scan, they will know exactly how far you are. This is one of the measurements that doctors get from the first picture of your baby.

When this is clear, the math works perfectly. The pregnancy lasts  between 38 and 42 weeks. Within this area, your baby can be born fully formed. At this point, your pregnancy is considered to be full term.

Can a baby be born prematurely?

Of course. With each passing week, the likelihood of your baby developing fully and being born healthy increases.

Babies born eight or even seven weeks before have survived without major developmental difficulties. In pregnancies with more than one, premature births are common.

This is because babies have less space in the womb. Even if they are born prematurely, there will not necessarily be complications.

A fetus can be viable from 26 weeks, even if the baby is not yet fully developed. This marks the earliest time in which the baby can be born and survive. However, this is far from ideal for the baby.

How do you divide your time during pregnancy?

The duration of pregnancy is divided into three phases or trimesters depending on the development of the fetus. These trimesters can again be divided into weeks:

• First trimester: Weeks 1 -12. Around week 5, the baby’s heart begins to beat.
• Second trimester: Weeks 13 – 28. By week 15, the genitals are fully formed so we can see if the baby is a boy or a girl. Between weeks 17 and 18, the baby begins to be able to hear, even if they do not distinguish perfectly.
• Third trimester: Weeks 29 – 40. At this last stage, the baby grows rapidly in size. By week 29, your baby starts blinking. They will be able to see light and shadow and their eyes will expand.

Each trimester involves different milestones in the development of the forest. With the vast amount of information available about pregnancy, you can track your baby’s progress and the development of each organ.

With each week of pregnancy, you can find out what is happening in your body. This will help you hurry up the time while you wait for your baby to arrive.

As you approach week 38, the baby begins to get into position for birth: the cephalic presentation. Most babies even enter this position, with their head between the pelvic legs. Now the baby is ready to be born at any time.

No matter what phase you are in, talk to your doctor to get all the information you want about embryonic and fetal development during pregnancy.