Week 40 – you’ve made it. Hurray! It’s the final countdown, soon-to-be Mama!
This week….
Your baby
Is about 51cm long from head to toe. Birth weights usually vary between 2.5 kg and 3.8 kg.
Though fully formed, your baby may not be ready for birth for another one or two weeks. And why not? It’s cosy in there.
Because your baby is shedding its protective vernix, the skin may be dry if born after 40 weeks.
You
Uncomfortable? Irritable? Restless? Excited? Of course you are! Eager to meet your baby? Walking, nipple massage, sex and acupuncture may all help get things started.
Signs that labour is imminent include diarrhoea, a show of bloody discharge, and the breaking of waters, though these are more likely to leak, rather than break in a gush (contact your midwife or doctor for advice). The one true sign, however, is contractions, though be warned these can begin even before your cervix starts to dilate! Try and relax. You’re almost there…
Five Ways to Bring on Labour
At 40 weeks you will likely have had enough. That baby is FULLY grown and you are fit to burst. You haven’t seen your toes in months. You wonder if you will EVER have a waist again. The hospital bag is packed and the freezer is full. Tiny clothes are washed, the changing table assembled and the house has been cleaned. Six times. You are ready. Bring on that baby. Here’s some ways to speed things up a little…
REQUIRED READING: ’11 Things I Wish I Had known About Labour’
Induction of Labour: 20 Mums Share Their Stories
When Hypnobirthing practitioner Emily McElarney asked whether inducing labour shifted the goal posts of birth, our readers had a lot to say on the matter.
