Your Baby is Due
August 21, 2018

Your uterus is now about six inches (15 cm) above your belly button. Your belly button may be sensitive to touch. Your baby should be moving into the head-down position, which reduces pressure on your ribs, chest, and lungs, but increases pressure on your bladder. Your uterus expands to more than 500 times its normal size over the course of your pregnancy!

Your baby will gain about half a pound (230 g) this week. More fat cells are forming which will help to insulate him/her once born. Most babies lose weight in the first week or so after birth, as a result of using more energy. Most babies regain this within two weeks after birth though.

Something else that's developing at a mind-boggling pace is your baby's brain. The neurons and early connections in their brain are developing even more so than at birth.

You're probably urinating often due to your baby being in the head-down position, causing increased pressure on your bladder.

Ruptured membranes (waters breaking) is when the membranes of the amniotic sac (that has been holding the baby) break. It can either be a slow trickle or a sudden gush of fluid from the vagina. This can happen during labor or even hours before labor commences. Notify your midwife/doctor if you think that your waters have broken, and take note of the color of the fluid.

Try to become aware of your baby’s cycles of activity and rest. You're the best person to detect changes and know what's normal or not. Space has become tight in your uterus so there's probably less of the rolling going on which was so frequent before. Elbows in your ribs or a kick into your bladder will all become part of the norm for you. Enjoy your baby’s movements whilst you can. Hard as it may be to understand now, many women say they miss the sensation of having their baby moving around inside them after it is born.

Remember to eat those important DHA and Omega 3 rich foods which will help to support brain growth. Oily fish such as salmon, sardines and tuna are good sources.