Introduction
Pregnancy check-ups serve to identify and prevent abnormalities during a pregnancy. They are also important for supporting the psychological well-being of future parents. During a pregnancy plenty of information and advice should be given. Some information is intended for all women (e.g. about preventing toxoplasmosis) and other information (e.g. about alcohol use) is given depending on the need, circumstances or symptoms of the future parents.
Explaining findings
The findings from the history-taking and the examination are presented and explained to the future parents (see “Risk assessment”).
The due date is calculated. This is done assuming an amenorrhoea duration of 280 days, with the help of Naegele’s rule. Nine months and seven days are counted from the date of the first day of the last menstruation. Naegele’s rule assumes a cycle of 28 days. In the case of a shorter cycle the number of days that the cycle is shorter by is subtracted from the due date calculated. In the case of a longer cycle the number of days that the cycle is longer by is added to the calculated due date.
When informing the parents about the due date it should be explained that the period in which the birth can be expected extends from the start of the 37th week of pregnancy until the end of the 42nd week of pregnancy.