In the U.S., drugs are classified into categories A, B, C, D, and X by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) based on potential benefits vs. Taking certain medications during pregnancy can have lasting effects on the fetus. There are a number of factors that need to be considered during pregnancy, many of which are highly dependent on the individual's situation, such as medication, weight gain, exercise, and nutrition. It is also possible to get a clinical urine test, but these are not necessarily more accurate than a home pregnancy test, and can potentially be more costly.

While clinical blood tests are more accurate, and can detect exact amounts of the hormone hCG (which is only present during pregnancy) earlier and in smaller quantities, they take more time to evaluate and are more expensive than home pregnancy urine tests. Pregnancy tests involve the detection of hormones that serve as biomarkers for pregnancy and include clinical blood or urine tests that can detect pregnancy from six to eight days after fertilization. Pregnancy can be detected either by using pregnancy tests or by the woman herself noticing a number of symptoms, including a missed menstrual period, increased basal body temperature, fatigue, nausea, and increased frequency of urination. 2 As such, while it is possible to be fairly confident that a person's child will be born within about two weeks of the due date, it is currently not possible to predict the exact day of birth with certainty. Studies have shown that fewer than 4% of births occur on the exact due date, 60% occur within a week of the due date, and almost 90% occur within two weeks of the due date. 1 However, there are still more factors affecting natural variation in pregnancy terms that are not well understood. While the due date can be estimated, the actual length of pregnancy depends on various factors, including age, length of previous pregnancies, and weight of the mother at birth. Alternatively, the due date can also be estimated based on a person's last menstrual period. During a person's first OB-GYN visit, the doctor will usually provide an estimated date (based on a sonogram) at which the child will be born, or due date.

The World Health Organization defines a normal pregnancy term to last between 37 and 42 weeks. Childbirth usually occurs approximately 38 weeks after conception, or about 40 weeks after the last menstrual period. Pregnancy is a term used to describe a woman's state over a time period (~9 months) during which one or more offspring develops inside of a woman. Related Ovulation Calculator | Conception Calculator

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