If you have reached the milestone of 36 weeks pregnant you are in the third trimester of pregnancy. You will have more frequent checkups with your physician and you will be making the final preparations for the arrival of your little one. The baby will have a working nervous system and his brain will still continue to develop. He opens his eyes and his respiratory system is working preparing him for birth. You will certainly be feeling him moving around and if the movements change or stop you should see your physician immediately. The baby is growing and adding more weight each week. You may see pictures of your baby in the womb sucking his thumb or his hand. He can grasp things and hold on.
There are changes to your body as well. Because you know the baby is growing at a fast pace, you must make sure that your nutrition is adequate and that you are supplementing your diet with prenatal vitamins. You must get plenty of rest and avoid cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol which are extremely harmful for your baby. There are several things that can go wrong and you may have to make the decision with your physician to induce, or start labor, to prevent harm to the baby or the mother. The MarchofDimes.com states that 99% of babies delivered prematurely at 36 weeks gestation will have few health concerns. Let’s look at some of the complications that can cause early birth.
Preeclampsia is basically hypertension, or high blood pressure, and protein in the urine is a key indicator. There are medications that can help prolong the pregnancy but there is no cure for the disorder. The only thing that will help relieve the symptoms is to deliver the baby. Because high blood pressure in the mother can cause undue stress during delivery, the decision to deliver the baby is usually made to prevent harm to the mother.
Another reason babies may be born early is because there are multiples. Multiples can be twins, triplets, and more. With each addition of a baby, the risk to the babies and the mother increases exponentially. The March of Dimes says, ‘The preterm birth rate among multiple deliveries in the United States was 62.9% in 2006.’
The final reasons for early delivery that we’ll discuss are placenta previa, low amniotic fluid, and premature rupture of membranes. Placenta previa is a condition where the placenta is close to covering the cervix. Placenta abruption is a condition where the placenta separates from the uterus. Either of these conditions with the placenta can cause heavy bleeding and are reasons for inducing labor at 36 weeks gestation. Low amniotic fluid is called oligohydramnios and will cause a physician to decide to induce labor. The fluid levels are monitored by ultrasound. If there is a premature rupture of membranes, PROM, your water breaks. If you are 36 weeks you are diagnosed with PROM, but if you are 37 weeks this will not be the diagnosis. The AmericanFamilyPhysician.org states that PROM occurs in 3% of pregnancy and causes 1/3 of the preterm deliveries.
You have read about many expected and unexpected things that might happen when you are 36 weeks pregnant and you should speak with your physician if you feel any symptoms mentioned above that causes you alarm.
