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Your long journey will finally come to an end. You must be expecting your upcoming delivery. It should be time to make sure your phone is always full and ready to make calls if you need assistance.
Even if you have not given birth yet, you should not be alarmed because a small percentage of children are born in the 41st week or even overdue. After all, it could be a miscalculation of the accurate time of pregnancy.
Most of the time, the medical practitioners get the wrong age of your pregnancy because of some information given to them by you, like the last date of your menstrual flow and some other information. But you still need to keep in mind that your baby will be arriving at any time.
After your baby makes his grand entrance, make sure you and your partner talk to her frequently. He’ll almost certainly recognize the sound of your voices!
Dry spots may appear on your baby’s skin since he has already lost most of his vernix, the cheesy coating that served as a moisturizer.
Approximately 30% of pregnancies last longer than 40 weeks, so if the baby hasn’t arrived this week, do not panic.
After your baby makes his grand entrance, make sure you and your partner talk to her frequently. He’ll almost certainly recognize the sound of your voices!
Dry spots may appear on your baby’s skin since he has already lost most of his vernix, the cheesy coating that served as a moisturizer.
Approximately 30% of pregnancies last longer than 40 weeks, so if the baby hasn’t arrived this week, do not panic.
Your baby is now called a full-term baby as it is strong enough to survive some high-risk babies younger than it won’t survive. Your baby should be around 7-8 pounds in weight and 21 inches in height.
Your baby would have already shed the whitish substance called vernix that covered their bodies as their skin started to get thick enough to cover their blood vessels. Your baby should most likely be facing headfirst into your pelvis.Â
This should be common because it has become very big, but if your baby is still in the breech position (a position where the legs are the ones facing towards the pelvis), you should see your doctor, and he will attempt to adjust the baby’s position to the right one manually. If that too does not work, you will have to consider a cesarean delivery or a C-section.
The baby would now be able to respond to the outside world’s sounds because their ears would have been fully developed at this point. Right now, your baby must be building up fat in its body to survive in the outside world, and even its vital organs are still developing, and they will continue to develop even after birth. Even the movement of the baby would be drastically reduced to nearly a bear minimum.
Your baby’s bones should also be pretty strong at this stage to move its body in the outside world. All the bones in its body should be strong enough except for the skull bones because that bone needs to be loose to enable easy childbirth because its head is what is coming out of the vagina first.
At week forty, your baby is about 20.16 inches in length. This roughly equals the size of a small pumpkin and weighs about 3462 grams.Â
Now, your bump should be “dropping” or descending into your pelvis. Although this isn’t a predictor of when labor will start, it is definitely a sure sign that your body’s getting ready.
Any time now!
Water breaking is an occurrence that is not guaranteed before the onset of labor. However, if your water breaks before your contractions begin, you can be certain that labor will start within 24 hours. Alternatively, your practitioner will begin it for you within 24 hours.
What is the best way to tell if your amniotic sac has ruptured? Amniotic fluid is colourless and odourless in most cases. So you are most likely leaking urine if you notice yellowish liquid with an odour. Another test is to squeeze your pelvic muscles to stop the flow of fluid (Kegel exercises). It is urine if the flow stops. It’s amniotic fluid if it doesn’t.
Contact your practitioner immediately if your water breaks and the fluid is brown or green. It could mean that your little one has had meconium (bowel movement)Â in the womb.
Some changes will occur in your body as you are very anxious about your delivery. But compared to the previous week, there is not much of a noticeable difference in the symptoms you will see. You will still be feeling contractions as the pain prepares you or gives you a rehearsal for what to experience during the actual birth.
You also experience cervical dilation, when the cervix becomes smaller and thinner to prepare your body to let the baby leave the uterus.
The baby’s movement would consist of rolling and wiggling as it struggles for space in the womb. You need to feel your baby’s movement at this crucial point in time. After all, if no movement is felt there, that could mean a bad thing.
The baby’s movement would consist of rolling and wiggling as it struggles for space in the womb. You need to feel your baby’s movement at this crucial point in time. After all, if no movement is felt there, that could mean a bad thing.
You are likely to have problems sleeping because of how uncomfortable you feel when laying down on the bed, which could lead to tiredness during the day, but you need to find a position that suits you better. Due to the lack of sleep, you may have insomnia as a result. You will also experience swelling in the gums and even bleeding sometimes.
You may experience piles and even backaches accompanied by some headaches. Things like heartburn would frequently occur for you, and even indigestion from foods you eat. Due to the weight, you will experience frequent leg cramps and dizziness, and your body will even feel hot sometimes.
Some changes will occur in your body as you are very anxious about your delivery. But compared to the previous week, there is not much of a noticeable difference in the symptoms you will see. You will still be feeling contractions as the pain prepares you or gives you a rehearsal for what to experience during the actual birth.
You also experience cervical dilation, when the cervix becomes smaller and thinner to prepare your body to let the baby leave the uterus.
The baby’s movement would consist of rolling and wiggling as it struggles for space in the womb. You need to feel your baby’s movement at this crucial point in time. After all, if no movement is felt there, that could mean a bad thing.
The baby’s movement would consist of rolling and wiggling as it struggles for space in the womb. You need to feel your baby’s movement at this crucial point in time. After all, if no movement is felt there, that could mean a bad thing.
You are likely to have problems sleeping because of how uncomfortable you feel when laying down on the bed, which could lead to tiredness during the day, but you need to find a position that suits you better. Due to the lack of sleep, you may have insomnia as a result.Â
You may experience piles and even backaches accompanied by some headaches. Things like heartburn would frequently occur for you, and even indigestion from foods you eat. Due to the weight, you will experience frequent leg cramps and dizziness, and your body will even feel hot sometimes.
As the big day draws closer, you are supposed to take good care of yourself to be healthy enough to take care of your baby. Eating healthy snacks, fruits, and vegetables would help, and you need to eat large quantities of food in one sitting, but you should eat little bits so as not to increase your difficulty in breathing.
You can ease the pain by drinking enough water and switching positions from laying down to standing or the other way around.
You should try turning from side to side, slowly twisting your waist, and let your arms swing freely. This will make the time pass and tone your muscles in the process.
Stress: This period, you should avoid stressing yourself or the bay. Get prepared and ready to meet your little one.
© Mindsmaking 2024
