We reach the final stretch on our Pregnancy journey week by week making the last stop. We are in Week 40 of pregnancy and finally we will meet the baby, if he is not already born or does so in the next few days.
Because it could be that the baby still takes a week or two to arrive. What happens in those cases? What are the changes in the baby and the mother during the 40th week of pregnancy? We'll talk about all of this below.
Changes in the baby in the 40th week of pregnancy
The baby in the 40th week of pregnancy It measures between 48 and 51 centimeters from the crown to the buttocks, and the weight is around 3500 grams. However, the weight depends a lot on the baby, its size, height, the inheritance received ...
Because we all know of babies born with more or less weight of these three and a half kilos. What is clear is that, the further we move away from the expected date of delivery, the more likely it is that the baby will weigh more. Let's talk a little more about newborn appearance.
When the baby is born, it has a bruised color, it may be pulling pinkish or yellow. The skin appears covered with waxy vernix, blood and lanugo remains ... High hormonal levels make your genitals appear swollen.
Maybe the head has something deformed by having crossed the birth canal, but it is normal and little by little the baby's head will take its final form.
The birth of the baby is a very stressful moment, born confused and stunned, usually crying the moment the air enters your lungs for the first time and then goes into a state of calm alertness.
The baby is born with the primary reflexes, elementary instincts that shows all newborns, such as the pretention or the search.
You will see it with wide eyes, although you can barely perceive lights and shadows. You can focus only what is between 30 and 45 centimeters away. During the first hours after delivery the newborn is very sensitive and receptive. It is time to put skin to skin and offer the chest.
Changes in the mother in the 40th week of pregnancy
The great moment has arrived, and the mother will notice it because the labor contractions begin or break waters. To remember what they are true birth symptoms You can read what we have in Week 39 of pregnancy.
The mother at this point feels very tired and with discomfort of different types (tightness in the gut, discomfort, lack of sleep, pain in the pelvic floor ...) and will probably be looking forward to the birth of the baby. Keep calm, because as we will see later, the delivery can still be delayed.
We have already assumed the Relaxation and breathing techniques to put them into practice at the time of delivery. The pain that women feel at the time of giving birth varies greatly from one to another, and although you might decide not to resort to pharmacological methods to relieve the pain of childbirth, now you ask. It is the medical staff who will tell if it is possible or convenient.
After the latent or early dilation that can already take several weeks, the cervix begins to dilate actively thanks to the contractions. Upon reaching 10 centimeters of dilation, the expulsion phase begins, when it is necessary to push for the baby to be born vaginally.
After birth, which will hopefully be without advised against interventions such as episiotomy, comes the third phase of labor: the expulsion of the placenta. But this will be very easy after the great previous effort. And above all, We already have our baby with us. Congratulations.
When the baby is late
Exceed in one or two weeks the expected date of delivery It does not have to represent a problem, and doctors usually wait further when it comes to inducing labor. However, some tests will be done to check that the baby is still healthy, monitors will be done frequently and ultrasound.
Almost 10% of pregnancies arrive at week 42, especially in the case of first-time mothers, so keep calm if the time of delivery does not occur.
To naturally induce labor, stimulation of the nipples, sexual intercourse (oxytocin that stimulates uterine contractions) and walks are recommended, as pelvic swaying favors softening of the cervix.
We hope that in this week 40 of pregnancy Everything goes smoothly and the delivery, as they say, is fast. We hope that our pregnancy journey week by week has been pleasant and useful and congratulations for the baby!
All your pregnancy week by week: from conception to birth
Photos | Footloosiety and QuinnDombrowski on Flickr In Babies and more | Pregnancy calendar: from week 37 to week 40, Pregnancy month by month: the ninth month, Natural methods to relieve the pain of contractions
