Overview

You have finally reached the last month of the pregnancy cycle and completed the third trimester successfully. In reality very few women give birth on their exact due date. A pregnancy that occurs during the 38th and 42nd week is called a full term pregnancy and a baby born during this time will be a full term born baby. The average length of pregnancy is 40 weeks or 280 days from the first day of the last normal menstrual period and calculating the due date is pretty simple. If you know the first day of the last menstrual cycle you can add nine months and seven days to that date to get the exact due date of your delivery. About 80% expectant women have full term births and only 20% who give birth outside the regular parameters. About 8% of women give birth early and 8% give birth later than the 42nd week. A premature or preterm delivery occurs because the mother goes into labor early. The reasons for this are varied like having multiple pregnancies, an abnormally shaped uterus which crowds the fetus, placenta previa, placental abruption, tobacco use, high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney problems, high fever or infection, and untreated thyroid or other disease. A post term delivery has no health risks however the placenta might start functioning less efficiently as it ages and is unable to transmit oxygen and nutrients to the fetus which can pose a risk for the fetus.

Baby’s Development

The baby is ready and fully developed by now weighing about 6 to 8 pounds and almost 20 inches long. The baby is big in size and ready to be born. The nails will be long and you will need to cut them as soon as the baby is born. The skin on the hands and legs might have become flaky. Sometimes the placenta might stop producing amniotic fluid making the doctors worried. Labor induction methods might be discussed with you by your medical practitioner to prepare you for the same in case you do not go into labor naturally after the due date is over. The baby’s size can be really large and the head might be too big to descend through the birth canal. The doctor can use a vacuum pump or forceps to pull out the baby. This can cause bruising on the baby’s head and is not preferred. The doctor can take this decision if the baby’s heart beat suddenly slows during delivery or the baby is in distress, or if you have been pushing too long and the perineum does not stretch. As the placenta ages beyond the 42nd week its ability to provide nutrients and oxygen to the fetus reduce and can result in the death of the fetus hence a post term pregnancy also needs to be monitored carefully. If the fetus lives it develops a wrinkled appearance, long nails, abundant hair, and little fat below the tissues. Some post term babies pass fecal material called meconium into the amniotic fluid before delivery and if by mistake the baby sucks meconium into the lungs at the time of delivery it can develop severe pneumonia.

Changes with your body

The baby is fully ready and so are you as the delivery can take place at any time now. It feels like you are now waiting for a long time now and in fact officially you are overdue after the 42nd week. If all your checkups are fine and the baby is doing well with the placenta functioning properly then the doctors will most probably still wait before inducing labor to see if you can go into labor naturally. After the 42nd week the placenta can start slowing down and produce less amniotic fluid making it uncomfortable for you and the baby. This make it compulsory for the medical practitioners not to allow the pregnancy go beyond the 42nd week and start with the induction of labor if there are any problems or if it is way past the due date. There is not too many changes occurring in the women’s body or in the baby at this time as the baby is fully ready to be born and has also gained sufficient weight. The body might experience true labor symptoms such as dilation of the cervix and rhythmic contractions that become more intense and frequent with time. Then it might be time to get hospitalized for the delivery.

What to expect

At the end of the 42nd week your pregnancy can be called post term and you will need regular checking to be sure that there is still good utero placental circulation which is a non stress test. Rarely is a pregnancy allowed to go beyond 42 weeks so if you have not given birth as yet then prostaglandin gels and cervical ripening agents are used in order to ripen the cervix and perform labor inductions thereafter. You can go easy on the eating and will probably not feel like eating anything heavy but remember that you are eating for two so try to get all the nutrients daily. Try to enjoy the last few days of pregnancy and try to finish up all last minute plans like completing reading articles on birth stories or keeping your bags packed for the hospitalization. In the absence of a ripe cervix a successful vaginal birth is less likely however certain cervical ripening agents can be used before labor induction such as herbal compounds, castor oil, hot baths, enemas, acupuncture, acupressure, transcutaneous nerve stimulation and mechanical and surgical methods. You can expect to keep everything ready from your maternity bag to the baby’s accessories as you would be requiring them immediately after being taken to the hospital. Lastly you need to keep practicing the relaxation techniques which you learnt in the prenatal class especially the breathing techniques which will help in keeping you calm and avoiding nervousness. Once you are mentally ready for the labor and the coming delivery more than half the battle is won.