Inside Your Body

This week is the most important week in your baby’s life as it is only during this week your baby will begin to develop surfactant, which is a chemical produced in the lungs that will keep the lungs expanded and aids breathing.  His/her lungs will also differentiate into tiny air sacs that are places for gas exchange within his/her lungs.Your baby’s hearing is fully developed and can be startled by loud sounds or rock to music.  Your baby is now 800g and almost 24cm in length.

Your Signs And Symptoms

From this week onwards, you may feel the sudden tightening and relaxation of your abdominal muscles. Don’t be alarm, they are not labor pains and you are not having a baby just yet.  It is just your uterus, preparing itself for real labor pains. These will be very similar to cramps you may have in your monthly cycles, so there is no need to worry. However, if these contractions are become painful with water gushing from your vagina, quickly rush to the hospital, as this may indeed be a sign of premature labor.

Expecting Twins?

Congratulations!  Many mothers will envy you as they say “get it over and done with” if they want to have a large family of more than 1 child.  Even if they did not want more than 1 to begin with, they often change their minds because they often would want another child to play with the first one.

Amazingly, your body will adjust to carry the number of babies you are expecting, including the size of your uterus.  You will, of course, need to eat more and gain more weight, about 225g more per week per additional baby.  However, carrying more than one baby comes with potential problems, such as premature labor, preeclampsia, placenta previa or abruption (explained further below).  Hence, your doctor is likely to order “bed rest” for you from now to your due date.  The likelihood is that you won’t need to wait until week 40 to deliver.  Twins or multiple births usually come early.