Pregnancy – week by week: Week 38-39
Week 38:
Ounce by ounce your baby is picking up more weight, often an ounce a day. If your baby has not already moved into the pelvis region he or she might do so this week. Your baby is continuing to prepare for his/her journey into the world with each day.
Dads may begin feeling nervous by now too. They may be worried about how well they will be in helping mom through labor and delivery. It is ok for everyone to feel excited and yet nervous at the same time.
Some women begin to experience false labor. Of course it is also possible to go into labor at any time. You may not be sure right away if you are actually in labor or just experiencing false labor contractions. There are a couple ways to help distinguish false labor from true labor. False labor contractions will be irregular when they come and they will stay that way. The area you feel these contractions will be in your lower abdomen and pelvis region. Sometimes you will feel pain somewhere in your back as well. Pay attention to the location of your contractions because real contractions that let you know that labor is near, will typically start in your uterus. You will then feel the pain move through your uterus. The pain will then often go to your back. If you are having true contractions, then moving around or changing positions will not make the pain go away.
Week 39:
You will not find too much lanugo (soft hair) on your baby anymore. You may experience some relief this week if your baby moves into the pelvis. You shouldn’t have as much shortness of breath as the pressure on your diaphragm should no longer be present. For first time mothers this generally happens around this time in your pregnancy. You will no longer have the pressure on your bladder, which was probably causing some discomfort.
Your baby is getting bigger and therefore has less space to move around and so you may not feel quite as much movement as prior weeks. In fact, your little one might be seven pounds or more by this time. Their lungs are still developing further as they prepare for their birth. In fact even more surfactant is being produced and can be found on the lungs. The baby has been getting used to breathing in amniotic fluid. This will help them during labor and delivery as they make their journey.
Some women will actually begin to slightly dilate around this week. That is why many OBGYN practitioners will start to examine you to see if the uterus is softening and starting to dilate. Women often feel a bit off balance during this time as the baby takes his/her position in the pelvis. Again, you will likely feel discomfort in the bladder regions as the uterus places pressure there, causing you many trips to the bathroom once again.
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