The Ultimate Guide To Pregnancy: Weeks 34-40

Week 34: Your child birth classes will now start focusing on the labor and delivery process and will be coaching you on the breathing patterns and positions to be employed during labor and delivery. The baby’s skin is now pinker and it turns towards light.

Week 35: You might start developing backache as your muscles and ligaments start relaxing in preparation for labor. The baby now is about 44 cms long and weighs nearly 2500 gms.

Week 36: Now your caregiver will want to see you every week till delivery. Around this time you can expect your baby’s head to engage in the pelvic cavity. It means that the head gets firmly fixed and it is now difficult for the baby to change position. You will feel your abdomen sink lower which will reduce the pressure in your upper abdomen making your breathing easier and cause the return of your appetite. However the pressure in the lower abdomen will cause extreme pressure in the pelvic area and urging you to urinate more frequently. The baby is almost fully ready now and is about 49cms in length.

Week 37: Try to plan a hospital tour or visit to familiarize yourself with the labor room and the delivery areas. The baby may start getting hiccups which will cause rhythmic tapping movements in your abdomen. This is the baby practising breathing movements although the lungs are completely closed.

Week 38: The baby moves much less now and instead of full-fledged kicks or, body movements, you only feel jabs and prodding movements. The baby’s head moving inside the vagina causes eerie sensations in the vaginal area which you may have never experienced before. The baby is now growing rapidly and can put on as much as 25 gms per day.

Week 39: Your body is starting to prepare for labor. The cervix starts to soften in preparation for birth and the number and intensity of Braxton hicks contractions increases. The level of amniotic fluid reduces.

Week 40: As your due date approaches, you will feel anticipation along with fear of the unknown and never-experienced-before. Soon labor will start and your baby will be a tangible part of this universe and your life.

To know about the development at the other stages of pregnancy, read here on: Weeks 3 – 7, Weeks 8 – 12, Weeks 13 -18, Weeks 19 – 23, Weeks 24 – 28, Weeks 29 – 33

Also read: Vaginal Discharge During Pregnancy!!!!!

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