A client presents for an initial prenatal visit and reports that the first day of her last menstrual period was April 29, 2024. Her menstrual cycles are regular and occur every 28 days. What is the client's estimated date of delivery based on Naegele's Rule?

Naegele's Rule is the standard method for calculating the estimated date of delivery. The formula requires three steps: subtract three months from the first day of the last menstrual period, add seven days, and then add one year. Starting with April 29, 2024: subtracting three months gives January 29, 2024; adding seven days gives February 5, 2024; adding one year gives February 5, 2025. Therefore, the estimated date of delivery is 02/05/2025. This rule assumes a regular 28-day menstrual cycle, which this client has confirmed, so no adjustment for cycle length is needed. The option showing 01/22/2025 would result from an arithmetic error in the subtraction or addition steps. The option showing 02/06/2025 is off by one day, likely from a counting error when adding seven days to January 29 — January has 31 days, so January 29 plus 7 days equals February 5, not February 6. The option showing 01/29/2025 forgets to add the seven days entirely, representing only the step of subtracting three months and adding a year. Students should practice this calculation carefully, paying attention to the number of days in each month to avoid common arithmetic mistakes.