39th Week Growth...

The last growth update...

How your baby's growing: Your baby's ready to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) Your baby's organs are fully developed and in place, and the outer layers of skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

He's reached his birth weight (typically between 6 and 9 pounds) and length (18 to 22 inches), and all systems are go! Since only about 5 percent of women give birth on their due date, baby could be making her appearance at any moment. Labor may begin in several ways: mild cramps (the most common scenario), a painless trickle of straw-colored fluid caused by the rupture of the amniotic sac, or a scheduled induction or cesarean section.

Even as late as the 39th week, there is one part of your Baby's body that hasn't quite finished developing: the two soft spots on your baby's head called the fontanels, where the skull bones haven't yet joined together. These areas allow the flexible skull bones to bend, without damaging the brain, as Baby travels down the birth canal. Because of the strength of the contractions during labor, many newborn heads look elongated or cone-shaped right after birth. The bones will return to their round shape within a few days after birth. During Baby's first year the skull will harden; by 18 months, the soft spots on Baby's head will have completely disappeared.

Other last-minute developments continue:
*Baby's skeleton continues to develop. Your baby now has 300 bones (about 100 more than an adult does, since some bones fuse together as the child grows).

How your life's changing: You're almost at the end of your pregnancy. Your pregnancy weight probably won't increase too much more from this point forward.
At each visit, your midwife or doctor will do an abdominal exam to check your baby's growth and position. She might also do an internal exam to see whether you've started effacing (when the cervix thins out) or dilating (when the cervix opens). If the week passes and your baby stays put, don't panic. Only 5 percent of babies are born on their scheduled due date. And your baby can't make you wait indefinitely for his arrival. If you go past your due date, your provider will schedule you for fetal testing (usually a sonogram) after 40 weeks to ensure that it's safe to continue the pregnancy. If you don't go into labor on your own, most practitioners will induce labor when you're between one and two weeks overdue.

Pregnant women on television sitcoms always have their water break dramatically — in the middle of a crowded room, of course — just before going into labor. Don't worry about a similar scenario happening to you. Membranes rupture before the beginning of labor in less than 15 percent of pregnancies, and it's not normally an enormous gush — usually a small gush or a slow leak. In any case, if your water does break (or you even suspect you might have a leak), call your doctor or midwife right away, but stay calm — it may be hours before your first contraction. (If you're a GBS carrier, you'll be asked to go to the hospital so you can start getting IV antibiotics and will likely be induced at the same time if you don't start contracting on your own.) Also call your practitioner right away if you notice that your baby's movements have slowed, whether or not you're leaking fluid.There are more common signs of impending labor than water breaking. You may notice your mucus plug — the small amount of thick mucus that blocks your cervical canal — in your undies or in the toilet. It might be tinged with a small bit of brownish, pink, or red blood (which is why it's called "bloody show"). (If you have vaginal spotting or bleeding other than mucus tinged with a tiny amount of blood, call your caregiver without delay.) Labor usually starts within a day or two of seeing the mucus plug.

Another sign of labor is contractions at regular — but increasingly shorter — intervals. If you've been having Braxton Hicks contractions, you'll now realize that these were just practice. Your doctor or midwife will tell you when to give her a call, but it will likely be once your contractions last about a minute each and arrive every five minutes for about an hour. (Time the contractions from the beginning of one to the beginning of the next one.) If you're unsure about your progress, go ahead and give your practitioner a call.Your practitioner may have you count fetal movements. Even if you aren't asked to formally count movements, call her immediately if you notice a decrease in your baby's activity. Your baby should remain as active as ever right up to delivery, and a decrease in activity could be a sign of a problem — meaning that you need to deliver now rather than later.

Your body is preparing itself for labor and you may begin experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions, which can be as strong as real contractions. Unlike real labor, however, these contractions are irregular and tend to stop and start. These contractions help to trigger the pre-birth process of effacement and early dilation. Although false contractions feel real, they aren't strong enough to make the cervix start thinning out or dilating. They may wax and wane for days or a few weeks before the onset of true labor.

Another sign of labor — the rupture of your amniotic sac (water breaking) — could happen at any moment. When water breaks, the sensation you may feel can range from a startling gush of water to a steady trickle. Some women never notice their water breaking at all.