Inside Your Body

Your baby is considered to have reached full term even though there are 4 more weeks to go.  If you baby decides to come out now, he/she would be healthy at about almost 3kg and 50cm tall and survive on his/her own.

Your baby is all prepared, practicing her breathing exercises all the time.  His/her intestines have already prepared her first stool, which will be excreted after delivery.  His/her skin is also getting pinker every day and as fat accumulates, his/her skin is getting smoother and smoother, getting rid of his/her wrinkly skin.

The importance of the meconium (first stool of your baby) lies in the fact that it is never released inside you (luckily), unless your baby is in distress, then he/she will indeed excrete inside you and the amniotic fluid will become green.

Your Signs And Symptoms

Your weight gain should be moderating as your uterus reaches its full size.  You should have gained approximately 15-16 kg by now.  Watch out for a brown or red mucus discharge.  This is nothing to worry about.  It’s just the blood vessels in your cervix rupturing as the cervix starts to dilate in preparation or labor.  You may also have noticed that your nipples seem to be larger, this is to make them easier for your baby to latch onto – another wonder of nature and the human body.

What Tests To Expect

Your doctor is likely to examine your pelvic area to see how your baby is doing.  If you think that you may be starting labor soon, you will probably be given a vaginal examination so that your doctor can check the size of your cervix.  Throughout the first stage of labor it must dilate to 10cm before your baby can be born.