The last stage is most joyful because of the expectancy and at the same time, most painful needing very close medical supervision!

When you are 36 weeks pregnant, it is time to get the good news soon! But that may not always be good news for the mother. At this stage, she is under tremendous physical pressure as the baby has grown to a full size by now. In fact, she is almost ready for coming out and facing the world! Her skin is fully developed. Her all organs are fully grown by this time. The baby undergoes a lot of movement by this time as she sometimes feels suffocated inside the mother owing to her big size. The baby is about 19 inches long and 2.7 kg in weight. Not only that, the baby is also no more curled up and rather has straightened from head to toe.

The baby’s movement involves not only the uncurling but also her restlessness to come out. Thus, she turns topsy-turvy to place herself into a position such that coming out is easier. The baby’s head turns upside down to place her head into a favorable position. The mother may feel a lot of pain as a result. The huge size of the baby may make her feel claustrophobic from time to time. In order to avoid breathlessness, she must have food in smaller quantities and larger number of times. She must also take deep breathes while lying down with the feet above the normal body position.

When the mother is 36 weeks pregnant, it is time for intense medical supervision. Although delivery is expected a few weeks later, it may happen sooner in many cases. The doctor can thus be needed any time. In case of complicacies of the baby, this period and the supervision become even more critical. Physical movement of the mother is absolutely restricted at this point of time. The diet and medical supplements also need to extremely cared for.

Care of The Mother and Baby Becomes More Critical Near The Delivery Time.

With delivery time reaching nearby, there’s a lot of excitement when you are 32 weeks pregnant. The baby has grown up to a considerable size and weighs about 1.8 kg. by now. It is big enough and has also started moving inside to turn upside down and be ready for the delivery. Hence, it’s very important that the mother is cared very much from physical exhaustion and mechanical strain to avoid any damage to the baby and make it move comfortably.

In 32 weeks pregnant condition, the mother can suffer from breathlessness as the pressure of the growing womb on the stomach and the diaphragm increases. During this time, the blood volume in the mother’s body increases 40-50% of normal volume so as to supply the baby. As a result, nutrient requirement of the mother is also vastly increased.

In the 33 weeks pregnant condition, the baby’s skin growth is almost complete with a pink skin. The bone development nears the final stage but is still soft at certain points. The organ developments also near fulfillment. That’s why nutrition becomes important for the mother. The micronutrients are definitely important, but the mother should also increase protein intake as chicken and milk, that are easily digestible. However, having meals in small quantities in needed as during the 33 weeks pregnant condition, a huge meal at one go may cause breathlessness and vomiting tendency, owing to the increased pressure on the stomach. The water intake daily also should be sufficient to help baby’s movement.

Enjoy Your Blissful 9 Months Through Monitoring Pregnancy Week by Week!

Before moving ahead, you must know that initial progression of pregnancy is full of trepidation and apprehension. Becoming aware about the basics will help you settle down and monitor your pregnancy as it evolves weekly. It proves to be helpful in preparing yourself about the mental and physical changes that undertake during this period. You must know that pregnancy period starts even before you conceive. As far as biological developments are concerned, the nine long months of pregnancy can be broken down into phases of three months.

Body of an expectant mother remains ignorant of the change for the first three weeks. It is usually the fourth week that signifies the prelude of the elaborate symphony unfolding inside you. The preliminary sign of pregnancy is when you start feeling the morning sickness. It is noteworthy that the first trimester of pregnancy is the trickiest to get by with the most sensitive changes occur in pregnancy week by week. Pregnant woman undergo crucial events like formation of the embryo’s head and commencement of its heartbeats etc during fifth and sixth week.

The embryo easily qualifies for being called a baby by the tenth week. At that time, baby’s cerebellum is in place and the sexual organs are present too. When the first trimester comes to an end, baby has its own unique muscular structure and it is only after the first two months of pregnancy that your morning sickness starts declining and appetite may increase as required. So, gather details about the mental and physical changes that occur during pregnancy week by week!

Know Your Baby's Growth at 17 and 18 Weeks of Pregnancy

Every mother is anxious to know what is going inside her tummy when she is undergoing hectic weeks of pregnancy. The fetus grows in different aspects at different advancements of pregnancy. Here is a guide to know developments of the baby at 17 and 18 weeks.

17 weeks pregnant

When you are pregnant with a 17 weeks old baby his/her size will be about a small melon. The height would measure up to 5 inches and the growth is occurring quite rapidly. The skeleton which once was a mass of cartilage is gaining strength and converting into bone. The crucial joints of the baby are flexible and are also getting moved regularly. The skin of baby is still very delicate and transparent whereas the sweat glands have started forming. In few weeks the eyes will start moving in the sockets to the sides inside closed eyelids. 

 18 weeks pregnant

At this stage the baby has grown 1 inch taller than previous week measuring up to 6 inches. The weight will reach up to 200 grams and the uterus will be full of amniotic fluid. The baby will make some movements such as twisting, kicking, and rolling that you can feel inside the womb. In this week the ears are placed at right position along with the genitals that are formed and well placed. As the ears are placed the brain processes different sounds and signals sent towards it.

These weeks also witness great changes in the body functioning of mother and require proper care from relatives.

The woman body goes through many a change during pregnancy. All these changes are for ensuring a healthy baby and for making the mother prepared for delivery. Contrary to what many thinks, delivery of a baby is not a big task. Yes, it may definitely go into complications sometimes, but all of these have established medical cure. Pregnancy period is of 40 weeks but sometimes it can be two weeks ahead or after. If it is happening on the D-day, the mother is aware of it. However, premature babies are born when the mother has extreme and unbearable labor pain. That is an indication of the delivery time.

In case of some, the labor does not develop even at the time of giving birth. But it is necessary for normal deliveries where you need the mother to push the baby out. In such situations, the labor is artificially induced by the doctors. After delivery, it is important to relieve the mother of the pain. While sedatives are of great help, having the father by the side also matters a lot. The emotional support of the father and the joy of the newborn helps in soothing the labor pain to a large extent.

After giving birth, every parent is worried about the baby. While timely deliveries have babies with great skin, late deliveries may give the baby a drier skin with less amount of vernix or the white greasy protective substance. However, that is not a major problem as baby two weeks’ time; the baby develops a wrinkle free fresh skin.

Prenatal Care Through Regular Monitoring And Examination A Must

Pregnancy is a condition which requires very close medical follow up for the mother and baby’s health. The count of pregnancy starts not with the date of a missed period but the day of last period. From there on, you carry on counting the weeks. Since the growth of baby is to be monitored and care for health of both needs to be taken, it is very important to know about pregnancy week by week.

Pregnancy is divided into three trimesters. In the first one, the baby’s condition remains very critical and a lot of carefulness from the mother is expected. Folic acid should be consumed regularly in order to boost nerve growth of the baby. There can be chances of miscarriage which will show as blood. Any type of bleeding has to be reported immediately. A few food items are best avoided in these weeks like cheese, undercooked meat or eggs and oily fishes.

In the second trimester starting after 20 weeks, the mother becomes prone to gestational diabetes when the body fails to produce enough insulin. Some form of antenatal depression may also creep in during this period, which can be checked through medicines. The development of placenta is very important at this stage, and should be examined regularly. It determines proper growth of baby as it provides food supplements and air to the baby.

The last trimester is as sensitive as the first. This period is characterized by heavy weight gain due to higher fluid retention. Symptoms like excessive cramps and breathlessness along with feeling hot are common, but should be closely monitored. Care is to be taken that the newborn is not affected from the mother with Group B Streptococcus.

34 Weeks Pregnant - Ready to Welcome The Little One?

The baby is the most integral part of you life in these weeks. In fact he or she has become the main pivot in your life now. But with the rapidly growing baby, you now hardly have space for him to move about in your womb.

The baby still continues to kick you, but you will feel that the rolling has stopped or has ceased because now there are space constraints in the baby’s womb. She is approximately 47 cms now and weighs just 2.7 Kg. During delivery this weight will be doubled. Usually, boys are heavier than the girls. Most of the organs are still developing and hair and toenails have started appearing too in the baby. Kidneys have started functioning fully, but the liver is doing most of the work for removal of the waste products.

The mother on the other hand has a lot of problem controlling her urine. She will have to visit the toilet frequently. She may also be suffering from increased problems of heartburn and flatulence. Sometimes, she might also be confronted with constipation. It is a crucial time and the mother should be able to eat good food during this period. She will have many cravings but she should never forgo the healthy food. This is also a good time to formulate a birth plan and plan for which kind of birth she would prefer. She can also ask of the kind of pain management she would prefer during the childbirth.