

For example, your baby's brain and lungs are still developing. Lots of important things happen to your baby in the last few weeks of pregnancy. In 2013, ACOG and SMFM updated the definitions for term pregnancies because research shows that every week of pregnancy counts for the health of your baby. Health care providers once thought this 5-week period was a safe time for most babies to be born.

In the past, a pregnancy that lasted anywhere between 37 to 42 weeks was called a term pregnancy. How was the length of pregnancy defined in the past?
Pterm definition full#
Full term: Your baby is born between 39 weeks, 0 days and 40 weeks, 6 days.Early term: Your baby is born between 37 weeks, 0 days and 38 weeks, 6 days.Babies born full term have the best chance of being healthy, compared with babies born earlier or later.ĪCOG and SMFM use these definitions to describe term pregnancies: This means your pregnancy lasts between 1 week before your due date and 1 week after your due date. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (also called ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (also called SMFM) define a full-term pregnancy as a pregnancy that lasts between 39 weeks, 0 days and 40 weeks 6 days. Your due date is the date that your provider thinks you will have your baby.

Pregnancy usually lasts about 40 weeks (280 days) from the first day of your last menstrual period (also called LMP) to your due date.
