Week 40

My Baby's Development

After many weeks of anticipation and preparation, your baby is almost here! Or maybe not. Only 5% of pregnant women deliver baby on their estimated due dates. Many first-time mothers waiting up to 2 weeks after their due date for their baby to arrive.

A baby born at 40 weeks weighs about 7 pounds, 4 ounces (3,300g) on average and measures about 20 inches (51cm). Newborn baby often have heads temporarily misshapen from the birth canal and may be covered with vernix and blood. Your baby's skin may have skin discolorations, dry patches and rashes. These kind of variations are completely normal.

Your baby's genitals (scrotum in boys and labia in girls) may appear enlarged because of the presence of your hormones in your baby's system. Your baby, whether a boy or a girl, may even secrete milk from the tiny nipples. This should disappear in a few days and it is completely normal.

Right after your baby birth, the health care provider will suction mucus out of your baby's mouth and nose, and you'll hear that long-awaited first cry of your baby. Your baby may then be placed on your stomach. The umbilical cord between you and your baby will be cut. It is often cut by the baby's father, if he chooses to do the honors! A series of quick screening tests (such as the Apgar score) will be performed to assess your baby's responsiveness and vital signs. He or she will be weighed and measured. If your pregnancy was high risk or if a cesarean section was necessary, a neonatologist (a doctor who specializes in newborn intensive care) will be present at your delivery to take care of your baby right away. If your baby needs a special care to adjust to life outside the womb, it will be given. Then your newborn will be placed in your waiting arms.

My Body

This week will be the moment you've been anticipating — your introduction to your newborn baby! Before you can meet your newborn baby, you have to go through labor and delivery. You may have learned the three stages of birth in your prenatal classes. The first stage of labor of labor is to thin and stretch your cervix by contracting your uterus at regular intervals. The second stage is when you push your baby into the vaginal canal and out of your body. The third and final stage is when you deliver the placenta out of your body.

If you haven't go into labor within a week of your due date, the health care provider may recommend you receive a nonstress test. The nonstress test monitors fetal heart rate and movement to make sure that the baby is receiving adequate oxygen and that the nervous system is responding. Consult your health care provider to find out more about this test.

Sometimes mother nature may need a little coaxing. If your labor isn't progressing, or if your health or your baby's health requires it, your health care provider may induce labor by artificially rupturing the membranes or by administering the hormone oxytocin or other medications. If your pregnancy is high risk, or if there are any other potential complications, you may require a cesarean section delivery.

Some women know ahead of time that they will be delivering via cesarean section. So, they are able to schedule their baby's "birth day" well in advance. If you're one of them, you've probably been able to prepare yourself emotionally and mentally for the birth. It helps to lessen the feelings of disappointment that many mothers who are unable to deliver vaginally experience. But even if you have to undergo a cesarean section that wasn't planned, rest assured that you'll still be able to bond with your baby. It might not be the birth experience you imagined, but your beautiful newborn has arrived nonetheless. The months of waiting are over!

Good luck with your baby!