Also written 38+5 or 38w5d
The short answer
38 weeks 5 days = 9 months
At 38 weeks 5 days pregnant you are about 9 months pregnant — day 271 of your pregnancy, in month 9 and your third trimester.
Not sure of your exact week and day? The pregnancy week calculator works it out from your last period, due date or conception date.
9
days to go
1
whole weeks + 2d
97%
complete
You are 271 days into a 280-day pregnancy, so there are 9 days — 1 week and 2 days — left until you reach 40 weeks. Bear in mind that the due date is an estimate: only about 1 in 20 babies is born on it, and most arrive within two weeks on either side.
Next milestone: 2 days until full term (39 weeks 0 days).
Months of pregnancy are counted in uneven buckets of 4 to 5 weeks, arranged so that the full 40 weeks fits into 9 calendar months. Week 38 sits inside month 9, and it stays there for all seven days of the week — so 38 weeks 0 days and 38 weeks 5 days are both "9 months pregnant".
If you want the strict calendar answer instead, divide by the real length of a month rather than by four: 271 days ÷ 30.4375 days per month = 8.9 calendar months. That figure drifts from the bucket-based month number, which is exactly why your care team sticks to weeks and days.
The days part matters clinically even when the month doesn't. Screening windows, term definitions and induction timing are all set by exact week and day — full term starts at 39 weeks 0 days, not "9 months". See the full weeks to months chart for every week.
Still early term, and still busy: the brain and lungs keep maturing right up to birth, and fat keeps building for temperature control.
Read the full week 38 breakdown →
| Week + day | Months pregnant | Days pregnant | Days to go |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38 weeks | about 9 months | 266 | 14 |
| 38 weeks 1 day | about 9 months | 267 | 13 |
| 38 weeks 2 days | about 9 months | 268 | 12 |
| 38 weeks 3 days | about 9 months | 269 | 11 |
| 38 weeks 4 days | about 9 months | 270 | 10 |
| 38 weeks 5 days (you) | about 9 months | 271 | 9 |
| 38 weeks 6 days | about 9 months | 272 | 8 |
At 38 weeks 5 days pregnant you are about 9 months pregnant — day 271 of your pregnancy, in month 9 and your third trimester. Months of pregnancy are counted as uneven 4–5 week buckets so the full 40 weeks fits into 9 calendar months, which is why the extra 5 days doesn't change your month number.
"38+5" is the shorthand your midwife or doctor uses for 38 weeks 5 days — the number before the plus is completed weeks, the number after it is completed days into the current week. You may also see it written 38w5d. Both mean exactly the same thing.
38 weeks 5 days is 271 days, counted from the first day of your last menstrual period (38 × 7 = 266, plus 5). That leaves 9 days — 1 week and 2 days — until the 40-week mark.
About 1 week and 2 days until 40 weeks. Only about 1 in 20 babies arrives exactly on the estimated due date, though — most are born within two weeks on either side of it.
38 weeks 5 days is in the third trimester, which runs from 28 weeks 0 days until birth. Full term begins at 39 weeks 0 days.