Pregnancy Measurement: Understanding Uterine Growth During Pregnancy

Question
when a doctor measures your stomach during  pregnancy  with a tape measurer what is he measuring and how does he or she determine (approximately) the amount of months you are by doing this?

Answer
Hello Vickie- the measuring is to determine if the uterus is about the right size for the dates. Once you reach 20 weeks we expect that your uterus will measure about 20cm from the pubic bone to the top. It grows about 1cm a week after that and should measure about 40cm at full term. Hope that answers your question- Cheri.