Overview

As you enter 40th week of pregnancy your wait for baby starts. 40th week of pregnancy is the concluding week. Your wait for the baby would end soon as your baby would be arriving at any hour. This time is very exciting as well as challenging time. There are various changes occurring in your body. You would experience various emotions during this 40th week of pregnancy. You would want to do a lot of preparations. You also would have to be very careful once you have entered the 40th week of pregnancy. You can start preparing for your baby shower as baby may arrive anytime as you have started the 40th stage of the pregnancy weekly calendar. You would experience labor contractions during this period. You can keep a track of your pregnancy week by week to enjoy the pregnancy health completely. Your partner can help you with various techniques to get started with labor pain. Your partner can discuss about the various techniques with the doctor and then take measures accordingly. Some of these techniques are not found to be effective while some others are not safe. Thus, one must consult the doctor before applying any.

Baby’s development

Now your baby would weight near about 6 ½ pounds to 10 pounds and the baby would grow somewhere between 19 to 21 inches. A baby boy would be much larger as compared to a baby girl. Now your baby is very healthy and lying with its head downwards. All the bones of the baby would harden by this time leaving behind the baby’s skull. The skull brains need to remain soft so that they can pass through birth canal easily. The skull of new born baby appears like a cone for the first few days from birth. There are two soft spots or fontanelles on the head of the baby. The structure of baby is designed so well by nature, allowing an easy delivery. The front fontanelle becomes a bit hard in between eighth and fifteenth month and back fontanelle becomes hard between third and fourth month. The fetus makes increasing moments in order to comfort itself. This would let you under severe pains to you. The fetus completes its growth and is ready to come out of the womb. The baby starts developing immunities that are needed for survival of the baby. The week marks a complete pregnancy if the baby is delivered during 40th week of pregnancy. The baby is waiting to come out so also the mother is waiting impatiently to welcome her baby.

Changes in your body

In 40th week of pregnancy you would experience various changes in your body. One of the main changes that you would feel is an increase in the moments of fetus once again. The fetus grows completely at this stage and tries to gain comforts. This increases the movement of fetus. Due to the increased size of fetus and increased movement of the fetus lets various changes in the body. The pregnant woman may experience severe pain in her back, increasing visits to toilet and pressure in groin. You may find it difficult to sleep at night due to the excess of weight that you are carrying. You can feel uncomfortable due to excess of pressure on bladder, groin, and lower part of abdomen. These pains are called as false pain. These false pains are not a real thing. You should not underestimate the ability of these false pains, contractions, to make you feel like they are. It is time for you to prepare for the delivery of your baby. You would notice a white discharge from your nipples. This is the way nature prepares for providing nourishment to the baby naturally. The cramps would increase throughout the body and mostly you would experience these cramps in legs. You would also have to face issues with circulation along with the excess of weight that you have to carry. You would experience various changes in the body during 40th week of pregnancy. For labor preparation, you could take various measures in order to comfort and easier your pregnancy. You can lean back and try to shuffle in order to urge a push. You should take some extra efforts and relax the muscles of perineal floor. You can use deep breathing techniques and gain energy. You should allow the contractions to do their work during this period of pregnancy.

What to expect

Now that you are 40 weeks pregnant you would have to prepare for the delivery. You must exercise everyday as it is beneficial for delivery. It would become easier for you if you practice exercises everyday. In addition to regular exercising you should consume plenty of water. You must drink atleast 10 to 13 glasses of water during 40th week of pregnancy. You should not stress yourself too much and should take adequate rest. You can purchase all the things that would comfort you as your comfort is must during 40th week of pregnancy. You can get a body pillow to comfort your body while resting and fetch you some sleep at night. You could also get a comfortable sofa to feel comfortable during the day. A belly belt could be beneficial during the 40th week of pregnancy. The belly belt could ease from cramps and swellings. You can also get a good professional massage at 40th week of pregnancy. A good massage would help you to relax for the forthcoming delivery. While visiting your doctor, be prepared to get various tests done. You may have to go under a non-stress test, sonogram biophysical profile score and amniotic fluid index. Your doctor would discuss various conditions with you like possibility of going past your due date of pregnancy. You may have to go through induction or a cesarean birth. Inducing is a process used for artificial start of labor when it is past due date. In a cesarean process of birth the birth happens through a slit in the abdominal wall through vagina. The pregnant woman is given anesthesia and she is operated.