Corrected Age Calculator
Calculate the adjusted age for premature babies based on their expected due date.
Calculated Results
Understanding Corrected Age for Premature Babies
If your baby was born prematurely (before 37 weeks of pregnancy), healthcare providers often use two different ages to track their growth and development: Chronological Age and Corrected Age.
What is Chronological Age?
Chronological age is the amount of time that has passed since the actual day of birth. This is the age used for birthday celebrations and the standard immunization schedule.
What is Corrected Age?
Corrected age (or adjusted age) is the age your baby would be if they had been born on their expected due date. Pediatricians use this age when evaluating a preemie's developmental milestones, such as crawling, walking, or talking.
How to Calculate Corrected Age
The formula for corrected age is relatively straightforward: you subtract the number of weeks the baby was born early from their chronological age.
Formula: Corrected Age = Chronological Age – (Expected Due Date – Actual Birth Date)
Example Calculation
Suppose a baby is currently 6 months old (Chronological Age) but was born 2 months (8 weeks) early.
- Chronological Age: 6 months
- Weeks Premature: 8 weeks (2 months)
- Corrected Age: 4 months
In this scenario, you would expect the baby to be reaching milestones typically seen in a 4-month-old full-term baby rather than a 6-month-old.
Why is this important?
Using corrected age prevents parents and doctors from worrying unnecessarily if a premature baby isn't hitting milestones at the same time as full-term babies. Most pediatricians recommend using corrected age until the child reaches about 2 years of age, by which time most premature babies have "caught up" developmentally.