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The 40th week of pregnancy is usually marked by the watchful eye for the first signs of labor. Some women are concerned that they will “miss” the symptoms of labor and that I will not be able to distinguish between pre-birth contractions and labor contractions. Below you will find tips on how to tell in the 40th week of pregnancy that the termination will indeed come years in the moment.
Although a normal pregnancy may last from 38 to 42 weeks, the due date is at the 40th week. However, don’t count on a perfect day that has probably long been marked in red on your calendar. It is only possible with… the 25th pregnant woman. Therefore, at the end of pregnancy, you should listen carefully to your body and wait for the symptoms of termination urgently.
40rd week of pregnancy – baby’s development
At 40 weeks gestation, the baby is 50 cm tall and weighs 3,5 kg on average. Of course, deviations from these values do not automatically mean that there is something wrong with your baby, so if your baby is smaller or larger this is not yet a cause for concern. Also, do not worry when its weight decreases slightly after childbirth – it happens that babies lose as much as 10%. your birthing weight. After some time, this tendency stops and the little ones begin to grow intensively again.
Of course, the baby is completely prepared to be born. All senses are working properly. Vision is the least developed at the moment, but it will change quickly after childbirth. Initially, the newborn’s eyesight will be blurred, so it is in vain to look for signs of focusing eyesight, but the constant stimuli will make the eyes get used to the new conditions quickly.
The baby is still growing. If the pregnancy is transferred, i.e. longer than 42 weeks, the circumference of the baby’s head may be so large that natural delivery is impossible. In these cases, doctors decide to have a caesarean section.
40st week of pregnancy – changes in your body
The last weeks before the termination are not radically different from each other. However, it is easy to imagine that in the 40th week of pregnancy, fatigue is reaching its zenith. This is due not only to the extra weight that a woman has to carry, but also to the constant swelling, circulation problems, increased pressure and back pain. All this makes childbirth, which usually seems terrifying at the beginning of pregnancy, at 40 weeks usually as a great salvation.
So if you are past the due date set by your doctor and the action has not started, you can try some activities that may speed it up. Remember, however, that you need to discuss this with your treating physician beforehand, as in some cases rushing the solution is not advisable. If your gynecologist agrees, you can increase your activity slightly, for example by walking. In many cases, sexual intercourse also helps.
40th week of pregnancy – symptoms of the commencement of labor
Usually, the first sign that labor is about to begin is when you have contractions. How do you distinguish them from predictive cramps? First of all, they appear regularly, usually every several minutes. The contractions are independent of your activity, which means that changing position does not stop the contraction. Labor contractions are also painful.
Another symptom that you are just starting to give birth is your water breaks off. They don’t always go away in large numbers, sometimes they just start to ooze. Therefore, if your underwear is soaked with a clear liquid, go to the hospital. You should rush to the delivery room even faster if the waters are of an unusual color, such as greenish. This means that the baby has donated meconium, which could poison him.
Many women are concerned that their amniotic fluid will drain rapidly in a public place, but in reality it usually happens already in a hospital, because in the vast majority of cases the contractions usually start first. It is estimated that only 15 percent. of women, the amniotic fluid breaks away before it goes to the hospital.
Especially important in the 40st week of pregnancy
If the birth does not take place at 40 weeks of gestation, the doctor may in some cases think about induction of labor already at this stage. For this purpose, the woman is administered oxytocin, which results in the appearance of uterine contractions. Sometimes the gynecologist also pierces the fetal bladder. If these methods do not work, a caesarean section is performed.
Tests in the 40st week of pregnancy
In the 40th week of pregnancy, the doctor usually recommends a CTG test every few days, i.e. the simultaneous measurement of uterine contractions and contractions of the baby’s heart. In addition, an oxytocin test is performed in at-risk pregnancies. The test consists in administering intravenous oxytocin to the woman in a dose that causes contractions (but does not cause labor). After the contractions occur, it is examined whether the fetal heart rate has changed.
An interesting fact about the 40nd week of pregnancy
Normal pregnancy lasts 38-42 weeks, so if your baby is not born in the 40th week of pregnancy, and you are not experiencing any disturbing symptoms, this is not cause for concern. If there is still no solution after this time, doctors will induce labor on their own.