Week 36

Your Pregnancy Journey

In this week your care giver will want to see you every week till delivery. At this stage your baby’s head gets firmly fixed in the pelvic cavity and it is now difficult for the baby to change position. You will feel your abdomen sink lower. This will reduce the pressure in your upper abdomen which will lead to you being able to breathe easier and will also result in the return of your appetite. However the pressure in the lower abdomen will cause extreme pressure in the pelvic area and the need to urinate more frequently which is absolutely common.

You are also thinking a lot about Labour and Contractions at this stage. Labor and contractions go hand in hand. Pain is an outcome on account of the contractions. Labour can last anywhere from 12 to 24 hours especially for first time moms. Let’s talk a little more about the contractions. Firstly what do contractions mean? Contractions mean that the uterine muscle is contracting and squeezing and while doing so it pulls at the mouth which is the cervix is causing the effacement and the dilatation. By the time most moms realize they are in labor, they are already dilated 3 or 4 cms when they reach the hospital. After you reach the hospital the resident ob/gyn will examine you in order to confirm that you are indeed in labour.

Your baby’s growth

The baby is almost fully ready and is now about 49cms long. Your baby in this week will shed most of its covering hair on the body and also the vernex caseosa, the waxing coating that protected the baby’s skin all this while from the amniotic fluid. At this stage your baby is getting ready to enter the world in a couple of weeks