- Preparing for Pregnancy
- Diet and Exercise
- Emotional Wellbeing
- Health
- Antenatal Care
- Preganancy at 1-3 Weeks
- Preganancy at 4 Weeks
- Preganancy at 5 Weeks
- Preganancy at 6 Weeks
- Preganancy at 7 Weeks
- Preganancy at 8 Weeks
- Preganancy at 9 Weeks
- Preganancy at 10 Weeks
- Preganancy at 11 Weeks
- Preganancy at 12 Weeks
- Preganancy at 13 Weeks
- Preganancy at 14 Weeks
- Preganancy at 15 Weeks
- Preganancy at 16 Weeks
- Preganancy at 17 Weeks
- Preganancy at 18 Weeks
- Preganancy at 19 Weeks
- Preganancy at 20 Weeks
- Preganancy at 21 Weeks
- Preganancy at 22 Weeks
- Preganancy at 23 Weeks
- Preganancy at 24 Weeks
- Preganancy at 25 Weeks
- Preganancy at 26 Weeks
- Preganancy at 27 Weeks
- Preganancy at 28 Weeks
- Preganancy at 29 Weeks
- Preganancy at 30 Weeks
- Preganancy at 31 Weeks
- Preganancy at 32 Weeks
- Preganancy at 33 Weeks
- Preganancy at 34 Weeks
- Preganancy at 35 Weeks
- Preganancy at 36 Weeks
- Preganancy at 37 Weeks
- Preganancy at 38 Weeks
- Preganancy at 39 Weeks
- Preganancy at 40 Weeks
- Labour and Birth
- The First Few Days
Pregnancy at 35 Weeks
You do not have much longer to wait now. After all the preparations, labour and the birth will soon be a reality. However, even if your pregnancy was twice as long, you would still never feel completely prepared for labour and your role as a mother. The years ahead will be a learning curve, with the first few months presenting the greatest challenge as you get to grips with all that needs doing.
Development
Although your baby is still growing in length, his rate of growth has slowed down. He is becoming plumper, laying down fat cells, mostly around his shoulders. All his organs are fully mature, apart from the lungs. These final weeks are very important as far as his lungs are concerned. Their development needs to be complete so that he can breathe without assistance.
Appearance
Your baby looks very much like the one that you will soon meet. His skin is smooth, with a few dimples, and by now he may even have a good head of hair! Dark-skinned babies normally have more hair than light-skinned ones, and it can reach up to 4 cm. He will still be covered in vernix, although some of it will have been shed into the amniotic fluid.
Movement
He is reacting now, with movements and facial expressions, in a similar way as he will when he is born. Your baby will frequently respond to sounds. You will feel him 'jump'at a loud noise, or move when he recognizes a piece of music or your voice. He can hear sounds outside of the uterus at about half the volume that you can.
| I sometimes notice my bump tightening. Does this mean I'll go into labour early? |
| What you're describing are Braxton Hicks tightenings. These mild, irregular tightenings have, in fact, been there throughout your pregnancy but you just haven't been able to feel them until now. Braxton Hicks tightenings get more frequent and intense towards die end of pregnancy, and some women notice them from about week 25. They are in fact practice tightenings, getting your uterus ready for labour. Unlike the contractions diat happen in labour, they are not painful and are irregular. |