All about baby
Now considered to be full-term, your little baby is no longer quite so little. Much plumper by now and gaining one ounce per day, baby's growing to fill the space – as you can no doubt feel!
The lungs are ready for the birth and your baby's face is filling out, but not all of your baby’s bones will have hardened by birth. This means the skeleton has more flexible cartilage, making the passage through the narrow birth canal easier.
The baby’s head may have already engaged, dropping right down into the cervix ready for birth, which will make it easier to breathe and eat, but more uncomfortable to walk. When your baby is ready for birth, research suggests that your baby's brain will trigger hormones that stimulate the uterus to begin contractions.
- Measures about 33cm crown to rump
- Weighs in at around 6lbs
Over to you
You’re almost there! By now, nothing will be done to stop your labour once it starts, even if it's before your 40th week, as you’re already considered full-term.
Although you’re probably counting the days to your due date, bear in mind that only 5% of babies are actually born on schedule. In fact, many first-born babies are late and half of all babies are overdue. Despite all the advances of modern science, nobody can tell you exactly when your baby will be born. You may even dilate to three centimetres and stay that way for a month or longer.
Because of the pressure of the baby on the bladder, it's common to leak a bit of urine in the later stages of pregnancy. But sometimes this could be your membranes rupturing (waters breaking and amniotic fluid leaking. If you notice a leak, have it checked out, as your baby is no longer protected from infection once the amniotic sac is broken.
In the know
How to know when it's for real
Many women wonder if they will really know when labour has begun. Experienced midwives and mothers may say wisely “Oh you’ll know”, but that’s not much comfort when you’ve been counting contractions for two hours, only to find out that they’re just painful Braxton Hicks.
As frustrating and disheartening as it seems, false alarms are common. Some women will arrive at the hospital, believing they are in labour, only to be sent home until labour is fully established. This may happen if you're not as dilated or far along as you thought. If so, you will be sent home to labour more in comfort and return after the contractions have increased.
Learn what to look our for - here are signs that labour isn't far:
Braxton Hicks become stronger and more frequent, although still not the regular, painful real contractions.
The baby's head engaging can be a sign labour is about to happen, but this can happen as early as four weeks before birth.
You have a ‘show’ (a loss of pink mucus from the plug that keeps the cervix closed). Labour can start any time after this, although it could be as long as a few days.
Your waters break. The membranes holding the amniotic sac, which contains your baby and the amniotic fluid, start to leak. It can happen suddenly, but is more likely to be a gradual trickle. If you think your waters have broken, inform your midwife or maternity hospital and ask for advice on what to do next.
Instinctively you may feel it's coming. This could mean your nesting instinct really kicks in or you don't want to go too far from home.
And the all-important signs you're in labour:
Waters breaking. As well as being a sign that labour will soon begin, more often your waters break when you're in labour. In fact, around 75% of the time it doesn't happen until very late in labour.
Regular contractions. Labour is properly established when contractions are regular - about 15 minutes apart - and increase in frequency, duration, and intensity as time goes on
Persistent, intense lower back pain, that radiates to your lower abdomen and sometimes even to your legs.
A crampy, premenstrual feeling often accompanies lower back pain. It can feel like the onset of diarrhoea, which you may also experience.
If you think you might be in labour, call your midwife for advice. They’ll want to talk through what symptoms you have and will ask you how far apart your contractions are.
