You are 40 weeks pregnant and your baby has grown from a cluster of cells into a fully developed baby. You are at the end of the normal gestation period and the end of the third trimester of pregnancy. The third trimester of pregnancy is from week 37 up to 42 weeks. The child is considered full term after week 37. Birth of your child is imminent. Your baby will weight around seven pounds and be about 20 inches long. His skin is opaque and his eyes are fully formed. The stress you feel is transmitted to the baby and excess stress can bring on preterm labor. Try to keep your environment as stress free as possible.
You will need to be alert to some of the subtle signs of impending labor. You may feel that the baby has dropped into the birthing position. This is called lightening and can occur days and weeks before actual labor starts. Lightening will change your center of gravity and help relieve some of the pressure you have felt on your diaphragm. However, you will notice more pressure on your bladder and you will begin to make frequent trips to the restroom.
Your physician will make pelvic exams on your weekly visits and check for the ripening, or thinning, or your cervix. The cervix will thin from about one inch thick to paper thin and when this process, called effacement, is complete your body is ready for labor. Your cervix will also begin dilation during this process. The cervix dilates up to 10 centimeters for the birth of the baby.
The loss of the mucus plug will indicate the relaxation of the cervix and is an indication that labor will begin within the week. The mucus plug is a blood tinged thick discharge. A gush of warm fluid is the breaking of water. The amniotic sac that holds the baby will rupture and birth is imminent. If labor has not begun within 24 hours, your physician will induce the labor. You should be able to identify when labor will begin because your body’s response to the hormone prostaglandin can cause diarrhea and nausea.
Anxiousness and restlessness accompanied by spurt of energy is called nesting behavior and these urges will occur within days of labor. Consistent back pain or cramping of the abdomen may indicate early signs of labor. Measuring the frequency of these cramps can help determine progression of labor. Labor will begin with contractions that measure 30 seconds to those of longer duration. You have reached 40 weeks pregnant and you will soon welcome your baby.
