Pregnancy Calendar Week 39
From LoveToKnow Pregnancy
Your Baby during Pregnancy Calendar Week 39
During pregnancy calendar week 39, your baby is working to accumulate the fat stores necessary to regulate his/her body temperature. Over the last month, your baby has grown roughly 2 inches and gained approximated 2.5 pounds. He/she is also beginning to form new skin cells.
By pregnancy calendar week 39, all of your baby’s bones have hardened. However, his/her skull must remain soft and pliable for delivery. In fact, all babies have two fontanelles or soft spots. These soft spots remain on their heads until somewhere between the eighth and fifteenth month of life.
Even through you technically have only one more week of pregnancy left, your baby’s due date is only an estimate. In fact, your baby won’t be considered “post-due” until you’ve reached the beginning of pregnancy calendar week 42.
Your Changing Body
Although you’re probably not gaining much weight, there are still many changes happening to your body during pregnancy calendar week 39. In addition, you may still be experiencing indigestion, heartburn, fatigue, insomnia, frequent urination, headache, change in appetite, back pain, and other common pregnancy symptoms.
At this point in your pregnancy, your cervix is preparing for labor through a process known as effacement. After your baby engages into the pelvis, your cervix will become shorter, softer, and thinner. During your weekly prenatal visit, your healthcare provider will check for signs of effacement and dilation. However, effacement and dilation isn’t an automatic indicator of labor. In some women, the process can occur over a period of several days or weeks.
Do-It-Yourself Labor Induction
If you’ve been impatiently awaiting your baby’s arrival, you may be tempted to try one of the many do-it-yourself labor induction techniques developed over the years. However, most of these techniques have not been proven to be successful. In fact, some do-it-yourself labor induction methods can create pregnancy complications. For this reason, you should avoid all do-it-yourself labor induction techniques unless you have consulted with your healthcare provider.
One of the most popular do-it-yourself labor induction techniques is sexual intercourse. Experts believe this tactic works because the prostaglandins in your partner’s semen can stimulate contractions.
Nipple stimulation is also believed to induce labor because it helps the body produce oxytocin, the natural form of pitocin. However, this technique can cause the uterus to become hyperstimulated. This results in your baby’s heart rate slowing and less oxygen being delivered since your uterus won’t get enough rest between contractions. For this reason, most healthcare providers don’t recommend this method of do-it-yourself labor induction.
Some midwives red recommend raspberry leaf tea to induce labor, however most believe this tea simply tones the cervix. It can help your uterus get ready for labor, but will probably not start labor. Blue and black cohosh are also sometimes recommended to increase the strength of uterine contractions. However, since it’s difficult to know the exact strength of a particular herbal product, you should never use these herbs without talking to your care provider or a reputable herbalist. In past the few years, there have been some severe fetal complications in mothers due to taking too much black cohosh.
At one time, castor oil was thought to induce labor. However, many women say this technique only results in painful bowel cramps, nausea and diarrhea. Additionally, women often find the taste of castor oil to be quite unpleasant.
As hard as it may be, the best thing is to wait for labor to begin on its own.
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