Ninth Month of Pregnancy

Can you believe you have made it this far? Four weeks to go and you will be holding your precious bundle of joy in your arms. Although you may feel like you are giving birth to a watermelon at this stage, soon your stomach will be your own once again.

The Baby

Your baby is preparing to be born. His lungs are working hard getting ready for breathing. His hair and nails are still growing and you may even need to trim his nails not long after the birth.

He is shifting and turning in order to get into birthing position. The baby needs to be head down for birth. The baby’s weight gain slows down around the thirty-seventh week. Most babies weigh between seven and eight pounds at birth and are between eighteen and twenty-two inches long. If your baby has not dropped yet, it will soon do so.

Mom

You are definitely in the last stretch. Braxton-Hicks, the practice contractions your body has most likely begun feeling, get stronger and help prepare the baby for birth. Hopefully you have finished up your childbirth classes, have names all picked out and know where the baby is going to sleep.

Your doctor may start checking you weekly, at this point. Your cervix will start to thin out and many women start to slowly dilate. As your body prepares for delivery you may experience diarrhea and loss of appetite. A fierce urge to clean everything in sight is a good sign and is called wanting to nest. A few days before the birth of the baby or even that day you may lose your mucous plug. This is called a “bloody show” and is a sign that the cervix is loosening up. This mucous plug was a way of protecting your uterus from germs during the pregnancy.

Talk with your doctor or midwife about when she wants to be called. Be sure and understand the signs of impending labor. Have your suitcase packed and ready to go if you are having a hospital birth. A car seat will be needed for bringing your baby home, so go shopping for that as you finish up looking for last minute needs.

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