Eli5: Why is pregnancy counted from the first day of your last period?
In: Biology
Alright, so imagine this: pregnancy is like planning a big party. You need to know when the prep started to estimate when the party will happen. Now, a woman’s body is super complex, and figuring out exactly when the egg got fertilized (like pinpointing the exact moment a party invitation was accepted) is really tricky. But, there’s a clear and obvious start to the whole process: the first day of the last period. This is like saying, “Okay, the party planning started on this date.”
Doctors use this date because it’s a solid, clear starting point that women can easily track. The actual fertilization (when the sperm meets the egg) happens about two weeks after that, but since everyone’s cycles are a bit different, counting from the last period gives a consistent starting point to estimate the due date.
So, it’s like saying, “Let’s count from when we started planning the party, not from when we sent the invitation.” It’s all about having a reliable starting point to work from
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