Common questions
Reverse Due Date Calculator FAQ
Answers about method, inputs, privacy, boundaries and responsible interpretation.
What does the Reverse Due Date Calculator work out?
You enter the completed gestational weeks and extra days on a date you choose, and the calculator counts back that many days to the implied first day of the last menstrual period (LMP), then adds the standard 280 days to give the estimated due date, with the implied LMP and the days remaining shown alongside.
Why does it work back to the LMP first?
Because gestational age is conventionally counted from the first day of the last menstrual period, that is the date the model needs: the reference date minus the completed weeks multiplied by 7, plus the extra days. The due date is then simply the LMP plus 280 days.
What does the worked example give?
At 20 weeks, 3 days on 20 October 2026, counting back 143 days gives an implied LMP of 30 May 2026, and 280 days forward from there gives an estimated due date of Saturday 6 March 2027, which is 137 days away, in the second trimester.
What happens if I enter 40 weeks, 0 days?
The due date comes out as the reference date itself, because all 280 days of the standard model are already complete.
How much should I rely on the date it gives?
Treat it as a standard-model estimate. The 280-day model takes no account of cycle length, the actual conception date or ultrasound measurements, and real pregnancies rarely run exactly 40 weeks. Clinical dating and scan measurements take precedence over this estimate.