Facts About Being 35 Weeks Pregnant
Fetal development in pregnancy week 35:
Congratulations! You’re now carrying nearly 6 lbs of baby not counting their amniotic fluid, the umbilical cord, or the placenta itself. We’re impressed because that’s a LOT of work non-stop. Are you feeling proud of yourself yet? Well, get to it—you’ve done an amazing job! At this point, your little grower is almost busting out of the womb size-wise, which make their restricted attempts to move much challenging. Of course, your stubborn little sucker is still trying to move around as if they weren’t in a cramped space. And the accumulationg baby fat deposits are starting to level off so your little butter ball will be padded and warm when they head out of their super snug little home.
How big is your baby?
Your baby will be weighing in at around 2.5kg's and measuring 33cm from crown-to-rump and about 45cm from head-to-toe.
How is your baby developing and growing?
Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 pounds plus. Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.
Fatty deposits continue this week, as your baby will start to get fatter around the arms and legs now. If you are having a boy, then the testes should have completed their descent into the scrotum this week. Should your baby be born this week, he/she will loose weight faster than a full term baby as the digestive tract is not yet completely developed to be self sufficient.
Will your baby fit through the birth canal?
Even if your doctor has estimated the birth weight of your baby, there is no way to tell whether your baby will fit through the birth canal. The best test method to know is unfortunately labor, and should your baby be too big to fit through the birth canal, the result would be that he/she would be born by a C-section.
In some cases petit women have no trouble all at in delivering a 3.5kg baby naturally, and in other cases some average sized women have difficulty in delivering 2.9kg baby. There really is no way of telling until you are in the situation.
Preparing for baby's birth
If you haven't already started preparing for the birth of your baby, then now is the time to start doing so. You may want to start gathering the following information to take with you to the hospital:
Your blood type and RH-Factor
When your last period was, and when your due date is
Details of any past pregnancies
Your partners contact details (in the even that he is not with you)
Your healthcare providers name and contact details
Your pediatricians name and contact details
Your pre-authorization number from your medical aid or health insurance.
How big are you?
If you have not yet dropped (your baby has moved down into the birth canal) your uterus should now sit about 15 cm above your bellybutton and about 35cm above your pubic symphysis.
Your weight up to this point of your pregnancy should be around 10.8-13kg.
How your life's changing?
Your uterus — which was entirely tucked away inside your pelvis when you conceived — now reaches up under your rib cage. If you could peek inside your womb, you'd see that there's more baby than amniotic fluid in there now. Your ballooning uterus is crowding your other internal organs, too, which is why you probably have to urinate more often and may be dealing with heartburn and other gastrointestinal distress. If you're not grappling with these annoyances, you're one of the lucky few.
From here on out, you'll start seeing your practitioner every week. Sometime between now and 37 weeks, she'll do a vaginal and rectal culture to check for bacteria called Group B streptococci (GBS). (Don't worry — the swab is the size of a regular cotton swab, and it won't hurt at all.) GBS is usually harmless in adults, but if you have it and pass it on to your baby during birth, it can cause serious complications, such as pneumonia, meningitis, or a blood infection. Because 10 to 30 percent of pregnant women have the bacteria and don't know it, it's vital to be screened. (The bacteria come and go on their own — that's why you weren't screened earlier in pregnancy.) If you're a GBS carrier, you'll get IV antibiotics during labor, which will greatly reduce your baby's risk of infection.
How's mom doing?
We’re sure you’ve noted that the contractions are picking up and despite the obvious appeal of getting the pregnancy over with at this point, try not to jump the gun too soon by declaring actual labor. Of course, if it’s getting to the point where you’re having contractions continuously— you’re in The pain experienced depends on several things including your own natural pain threshold, medication, birthing position, fetal position, previous births, your general health and the actual birthing environment labor and yes, it’s time for the "grab your bags we’re gonna have a baby" rush. For the rest of you not yet in labor, your watermelon-betwixt-my-legs waddle is as charming as ever, not to mention the glorious ongoing back pain and fatigue. Hang in there! Once you’ve got your miracle baby on the outside, this will all be a dim memory. So, catch the cat naps whenever possible and keep yourself hydrated with water and try to imagine how all of this will (hopefully) be much funnier in hindsight.
Your doctor or midwife should soon start monitoring cervical effacement (thinning of the cervix) and dilation in order to predict labor. If your cervix is already dilated labor is probably not far away—although there are some moms who walk around with a dilated cervix for a couple of days prior to labor. And if you haven’t heard about the joys of discharging the mucus plug (which protects the uterus from infection) along with some spotting, commonly called “bloody show”—both are signs that labor is around the corner. Should you discharge anything unusual in consistency and/or coloration, don’t hesitate to call you health care providor, it’s probably nothing, but you certainly don’t need the extra stress right now.
Let’s talk about pain. Reports on the intensity of pain experienced during labor and childbirth are widely varied from woman to woman. The pain experienced depends on several things including your own natural pain threshold, medication, birthing position, fetal position, previous births, your general health and the actual birthing environment. Of course, there are natural births, cesarean deliveries, spinals, IV’s and other pain medications, all of which also play into how you experience pain during child birth.
Ideally, you should attempt to be as relaxed as possible and willing to accept the pain as part of the birthing process. In reality, your experience of the birthing process is unique to your body and how you choose to respond to it. Pain is a two part process: the first part is the physical experience of the pain and the second is your emotional reaction to your experience—and that is the part you have the most control over. Choosing to accept and endure the pain of child-birth (with or without medication) can be an empowering experience for any woman, as well as making the birthing process notably easier for those assisting you.
Congratulations! You’re now carrying nearly 6 lbs of baby not counting their amniotic fluid, the umbilical cord, or the placenta itself. We’re impressed because that’s a LOT of work non-stop. Are you feeling proud of yourself yet? Well, get to it—you’ve done an amazing job! At this point, your little grower is almost busting out of the womb size-wise, which make their restricted attempts to move much challenging. Of course, your stubborn little sucker is still trying to move around as if they weren’t in a cramped space. And the accumulationg baby fat deposits are starting to level off so your little butter ball will be padded and warm when they head out of their super snug little home.
How big is your baby?
Your baby will be weighing in at around 2.5kg's and measuring 33cm from crown-to-rump and about 45cm from head-to-toe.
How is your baby developing and growing?
Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 pounds plus. Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.
Fatty deposits continue this week, as your baby will start to get fatter around the arms and legs now. If you are having a boy, then the testes should have completed their descent into the scrotum this week. Should your baby be born this week, he/she will loose weight faster than a full term baby as the digestive tract is not yet completely developed to be self sufficient.
Will your baby fit through the birth canal?
Even if your doctor has estimated the birth weight of your baby, there is no way to tell whether your baby will fit through the birth canal. The best test method to know is unfortunately labor, and should your baby be too big to fit through the birth canal, the result would be that he/she would be born by a C-section.
In some cases petit women have no trouble all at in delivering a 3.5kg baby naturally, and in other cases some average sized women have difficulty in delivering 2.9kg baby. There really is no way of telling until you are in the situation.
Preparing for baby's birth
If you haven't already started preparing for the birth of your baby, then now is the time to start doing so. You may want to start gathering the following information to take with you to the hospital:
Your blood type and RH-Factor
When your last period was, and when your due date is
Details of any past pregnancies
Your partners contact details (in the even that he is not with you)
Your healthcare providers name and contact details
Your pediatricians name and contact details
Your pre-authorization number from your medical aid or health insurance.
How big are you?
If you have not yet dropped (your baby has moved down into the birth canal) your uterus should now sit about 15 cm above your bellybutton and about 35cm above your pubic symphysis.
Your weight up to this point of your pregnancy should be around 10.8-13kg.
How your life's changing?
Your uterus — which was entirely tucked away inside your pelvis when you conceived — now reaches up under your rib cage. If you could peek inside your womb, you'd see that there's more baby than amniotic fluid in there now. Your ballooning uterus is crowding your other internal organs, too, which is why you probably have to urinate more often and may be dealing with heartburn and other gastrointestinal distress. If you're not grappling with these annoyances, you're one of the lucky few.
From here on out, you'll start seeing your practitioner every week. Sometime between now and 37 weeks, she'll do a vaginal and rectal culture to check for bacteria called Group B streptococci (GBS). (Don't worry — the swab is the size of a regular cotton swab, and it won't hurt at all.) GBS is usually harmless in adults, but if you have it and pass it on to your baby during birth, it can cause serious complications, such as pneumonia, meningitis, or a blood infection. Because 10 to 30 percent of pregnant women have the bacteria and don't know it, it's vital to be screened. (The bacteria come and go on their own — that's why you weren't screened earlier in pregnancy.) If you're a GBS carrier, you'll get IV antibiotics during labor, which will greatly reduce your baby's risk of infection.
How's mom doing?
We’re sure you’ve noted that the contractions are picking up and despite the obvious appeal of getting the pregnancy over with at this point, try not to jump the gun too soon by declaring actual labor. Of course, if it’s getting to the point where you’re having contractions continuously— you’re in The pain experienced depends on several things including your own natural pain threshold, medication, birthing position, fetal position, previous births, your general health and the actual birthing environment labor and yes, it’s time for the "grab your bags we’re gonna have a baby" rush. For the rest of you not yet in labor, your watermelon-betwixt-my-legs waddle is as charming as ever, not to mention the glorious ongoing back pain and fatigue. Hang in there! Once you’ve got your miracle baby on the outside, this will all be a dim memory. So, catch the cat naps whenever possible and keep yourself hydrated with water and try to imagine how all of this will (hopefully) be much funnier in hindsight.
Your doctor or midwife should soon start monitoring cervical effacement (thinning of the cervix) and dilation in order to predict labor. If your cervix is already dilated labor is probably not far away—although there are some moms who walk around with a dilated cervix for a couple of days prior to labor. And if you haven’t heard about the joys of discharging the mucus plug (which protects the uterus from infection) along with some spotting, commonly called “bloody show”—both are signs that labor is around the corner. Should you discharge anything unusual in consistency and/or coloration, don’t hesitate to call you health care providor, it’s probably nothing, but you certainly don’t need the extra stress right now.
Let’s talk about pain. Reports on the intensity of pain experienced during labor and childbirth are widely varied from woman to woman. The pain experienced depends on several things including your own natural pain threshold, medication, birthing position, fetal position, previous births, your general health and the actual birthing environment. Of course, there are natural births, cesarean deliveries, spinals, IV’s and other pain medications, all of which also play into how you experience pain during child birth.
Ideally, you should attempt to be as relaxed as possible and willing to accept the pain as part of the birthing process. In reality, your experience of the birthing process is unique to your body and how you choose to respond to it. Pain is a two part process: the first part is the physical experience of the pain and the second is your emotional reaction to your experience—and that is the part you have the most control over. Choosing to accept and endure the pain of child-birth (with or without medication) can be an empowering experience for any woman, as well as making the birthing process notably easier for those assisting you.
Sources:
Baby Center
Pregnancy Calendar
Baby Gaga
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