EBB 384 - Evidence on "What is a Due Date?"

Evidence Based Birth®

Rebecca Dekker

Kids & Family, Medicine, Parenting, Health & Fitness

4.3 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 21 January 2026

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What is a due date, and how accurate is it, really? Dr. Rebecca Dekker is joined by Dr. Sara Ailshire of Team EBB to walk through the latest research on due dates, pregnancy length, and what happens when pregnancies go past term. They share the new research on ultrasound dating, the natural length of pregnancy, genetics, and stillbirth risk. They also talk about what a due date actually represents and how pregnancy length varies widely between individuals.

Content Note: This episode contains discussion of stillbirth, starting at 26:10 and ending at 40:57. Please take care while listening.

Read the Evidence on "What is a Due Date?" here.

(05:24) What is a due date and what it isn't
(06:16) How due dates are traditionally calculated
(09:45) Research on ultrasound accuracy
(12:25) Safety of ultrasound & the ALARA principle
(16:38) Why studying pregnancy length is complicated
(22:27) Genetics and family history of longer pregnancies
(25:41) Why providers worry about going past due dates
(27:50) Understanding stillbirth risk and the U-shaped curve
(34:20) Racial disparities in stillbirth risk
(38:37) What pregnant people can do to lower risk
(40:25) Sleep position, fetal movement awareness, and prenatal care
(44:06) Balancing trust in birth with honest risk communication
(45:20) What we know (and don't know) about placental aging

Resources

Count the Kicks: https://countthekicks.org/

PUSH Pregnancy: https://www.pushpregnancy.org/

Star Legacy Foundation: https://starlegacyfoundation.org/

Healthy Birth Day: https://healthybirthday.org/

CDC Stillbirth resources: https://www.cdc.gov/stillbirth/communication-resources/index.html

Share Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support: https://nationalshare.org/

Stillbirth and infant loss support communities: https://postpartum.net/group/stillbirth-and-infant-loss-support-for-parents/

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before we dive into today's very important episode, I wanted to share an exciting announcement,
0:05.9	and that is that tickets for the virtual 26 evidence-based birth conference are officially
0:11.3	open today for the wait list only. A few weeks ago, I gave you a hint as to what one of our
0:17.2	special evidence topics will be at the conference. I had said that we were covering a
0:22.5	hot topic that begins with the letter H. Today, I can officially let you know that at the
0:27.5	EBB conference, the EBB research team will be giving a brand new presentation covering the
0:33.2	evidence on the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns. This topic has been highly requested.
0:40.7	So if you want a front row seat at our virtual conference, go to eBbirth.com
0:45.2	slash waitlist to join the waitlist today for access to early bird tickets and a special
0:51.6	post conference bonus Q&A session with me.
0:54.9	So only those of you who are on the wait list will receive an exclusive invitation to attend that bonus session.
1:00.9	This is one of the perks the waitlist receives in addition to early bird pricing
1:04.4	when you register for the conference by Tuesday, January 27th.
1:08.6	If you have not had a chance to join the wait list, but you're really interested in this
1:12.7	conference and you would like early bird pricing and an invitation to the Q&A session with
1:17.9	me, you can sign up at eBbirth.com slash waitlist.
1:22.7	After joining the wait list, the registration link will be sent immediately to your inbox,
1:26.5	so you can take advantage of
1:27.7	the discounted pricing and the waitlist only bonus. And now let's get to today's episode. Hi,
1:34.0	everyone, on today's podcast, we're going to talk about the evidence on what is a due date.
1:43.7	Welcome to the evidence-based birth podcast. My name is Rebecca Decker, and I'm a nurse with my Ph.D. and the founder of
1:50.6	evidence-based birth. Join me each week as we work together to get evidence-based information into the hands of families and professionals around the world. As a reminder, this information is not
	...

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