Your pregnancy countdown can get jumbled pretty quickly. Are you 13 weeks pregnant or in week 14? First trimester or your second? Three months pregnant or four?
Fortunately, the answers are (relatively) simple once you know what to count. Here’s what you need to know about how many weeks, months and trimesters there are in a pregnancy — and where you fit in.
How many weeks are in a pregnancy?
There are 40 weeks (or 280 days) in a pregnancy. Your due date is calculated starting from the first day of your last menstrual period (even though most pregnancies are not conceived until two weeks later). Keep in mind that only about 30 percent of pregnancies will reach precisely week 40.
How many weeks are in a trimester?
There are 13 or 14 weeks per trimester. (Just divide 40 by three and you’ll see why the breakdown isn’t exact.)
How many trimesters are in a pregnancy?
There are three trimesters in a pregnancy: the first trimester, which lasts from weeks 1 to 13, the second trimester, which lasts from week 14 to week 27, and the third trimester, which lasts from week 28 to week 40 (and up).
Is pregnancy nine or 10 months long?
Your 40 weeks of pregnancy are counted as nine months. But wait … there are four weeks in a month, which would make 40 weeks 10 months. Right? Not exactly.
Four weeks is 28 days, but months (with the exception of February, of course) have 30 or 31 days, making each month about 4.3 weeks long.
How many weeks is a full-term pregnancy?
If you're carrying a single baby, a full-term pregnancy is between the start of 39 weeks up to the end of 40 weeks. If you're carrying twins, a full-term pregnancy is considered at least 38 weeks.
More About Pregnancy Trimesters
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) uses the following terms for pregnancy, depending on when your baby is born:
- Preterm: 20 weeks to 37 weeks
- Early term: 37 weeks to 38 weeks 6 days
- Full term: 39 weeks to 40 weeks 6 days
- Late term: 41 weeks to 41 weeks 6 days
- Post term: after 42 weeks
Pregnancy months to weeks chart
Here’s a simple breakdown of approximately how the weeks, months and trimesters are counted in pregnancy:
Trimester 1
- Month 1: Weeks 1 to 4
- Month 2: Weeks 5 to 8
- Month 3: Weeks 9 to 13
Trimester 2
- Month 4: Weeks 14 to 17
- Month 5: Weeks 18 to 22
- Month 6: Weeks 23 to 27
Trimester 3
- Month 7: Weeks 28 to 31
- Month 8: Weeks 32 to 35
- Month 9: Weeks 36 to 40
How do I know what week I am currently in my pregnancy?
Your doctor says you're 15 weeks pregnant, but you’re also hearing that you’re in week 16. Which is right? The short answer: both.
It turns out how many weeks into pregnancy you are is a little different than how many weeks pregnant you are. If you’re in week 16, you’re actually 15 weeks and some days pregnant. Fifteen full weeks have gone by, but not 16 weeks, so people say that you're both 15 weeks pregnant and in week 16 of pregnancy.
To clear things up, think about birthdays. When you turned 1 year old, you had lived through your first year and were starting on your second. In other words, on your first birthday, you were in day one of your second year. But no one said you were 2 years old until you'd finished that second year and had begun your third.
The same rules apply when talking about your weeks of pregnancy: You are x weeks pregnant, but in your x+1 week of pregnancy.
How do I calculate my due date?
Wondering how your practitioner estimated your due date? It’s calculated counting from the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP), not the day you conceived. So try to remember the first day of your last period and add 40 weeks to that.
You can also calculate your due date with the following formula:
- Subtract three months from the first day of your last menstrual period
- Add seven days
- Add one year
For example, if the first day of your last menstrual period was June 2, 2022, subtract three months to get March 2, 2022. Add seven days and you'll get March 9, 2022. Finally, add one year to find your estimated due date of March 9, 2023.
Why is pregnancy calculated from your last period?
Why start the clock on pregnancy before sperm even meets egg (and, actually, before your ovary even dropped the fated egg that made your baby)? Using your last period is simply a more reliable benchmark to date a pregnancy from. Even if you’re a master of cervical mucus and are sure about the day you ovulated as well as the day(s) you had sex, you probably can’t pinpoint the exact moment of conception.
That’s because there’s a bigger window than you might think: Sperm can hang out and wait for an egg to fertilize for three to five days after they’ve arrived, and an egg can be fertilized for up to 24 hours after it’s been released. That's also good news, since it means you’ll already have clocked four weeks of pregnancy by the time you miss your period.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a pregnancy 9 or 10 months?
Your 40 weeks of pregnancy are counted as nine months. That's because each month (except February) is about 4.3 weeks long.
Is pregnancy 40 or 42 weeks?
There are 40 weeks (or 280 days) in a pregnancy.
Is 37 weeks full term for a baby?
According to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), 37 weeks is early term. A baby is full term at 39 weeks.
How many weeks is a healthy pregnancy?
If you're carrying a single baby, a full-term pregnancy is between the start of 39 weeks and the end of 40 weeks. If you're carrying twins, a full-term pregnancy is at least 38 weeks.
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