Pregnancy: 39 weeks

How the child grows:

The child continues to grow fat layer, which helps to control the temperature of the body after birth. Probably, his height and weight slightly increased.

Important: the development of each child is strictly individual. Our information is designed to give you an idea of the development of the fetus.

Changes of the future mother

Each weekly visit to the doctor involves an abdominal examination to check the child's growth and position. The doctor can also perform an internal examination to check the changes in the cervix: softening of the cervix, contraction and opening. But, even armed with such information, there are no definite indicators of the beginning of labor. If the labor activity does not begin before the end of the period, the doctor will perform embryonic tests (usually sonogram) after 40 weeks to ensure that continued pregnancy is safe. If the birth activity does not start on its own, the doctor will call it within one to two weeks after the expiry of the term.

At the same time, you need to continue counting the baby's movements and tell the doctor if they slow down. Your child should remain active until the onset of labor, and a significant decrease in activity may indicate a problem. Also call the doctor if you think that there was a rupture of the amniotic membrane. Do not put yourself a diagnosis yourself, if after the rupture of the amniotic membrane, the fights have not begun, they will be called by the doctor.

Body changes after childbirth

Even if your pregnancy and birth have passed easily and quickly, returning to the old form may take some time. Remember that the previous changes took place within 9 months, so the return to the original form will not happen quickly either emotionally or physically.

What to expect:

• You will start to lose weight right away. After childbirth, you will lose 5-6 kg: this is the weight of the child, the placenta, blood and amniotic fluid. The abdomen will begin to flatten in a week, until the end of which you will lose another 2 kg of water weight.
• You will have postpartum discharge - lochia. After birth, the cells that form the lining of the uterus will start to leave the body, which leads to secretions called lochia, which last for many weeks. At first, these discharges are mixed with blood, but gradually the color changes to white or yellow.
• Your emotions can change at high speed. Within one or two weeks, many young mothers face postpartum depression. You may develop moodiness, sentimentality, exhaustion of the problem with sleep or a feeling of heightened anxiety. Your appetite can also change, it can intensify, or on the contrary disappear. The good news is that this emotional explosion will take place within two to three weeks. Call your doctor if:
• You developed symptoms of abnormal vaginal bleeding: profuse bleeding, the release of large blood clots, or a bright red bleeding that lasts longer than four days or longer after childbirth. Call the emergency room if bleeding is accompanied by symptoms of shock, including dizziness, weakness, rapid heartbeat, rapid or slow breathing, and disorientation.
• You developed symptoms of infection: fever, pain in the lower abdomen and discharge with an unpleasant odor (symptoms of endometritis); difficulty urinating, painful urination, muddy or bloody urine (symptoms of urinary tract infection); redness, tenderness and swelling around the wound (due to episiotomy, caesarean section or rupture); soreness, redness of the chest, fever, chills, muscle pain and, possibly, headache (symptoms of mastitis or breast infection).
• You have symptoms of postpartum depression: the inability to sleep, even when the baby is sleeping, the emergence of any thoughts of harm to the child, causeless crying and bouts of hysteria.

How to recover as quickly as possible:

• Have a rest more. Use the child's sleep for your own rest.
• Limit the number of guests and the time you spend with them. Turn off the phone while you sleep.
• Adhere to a balanced diet.
• Drink more fluids. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and sweet water.
• Accept all suggestions for help with cooking, cleaning the house, caring for older children, etc. If no one offers you a favor, ask for it yourself.
• Talk to friends, relatives and other moms, their advice will help you cope with new responsibilities.

This Week's Activity: If you are planning to breastfeed a baby and have not yet bought a special bra, now is the time for this. Your chest probably increased in size than it was before pregnancy, and most likely will increase even more during feeding, so a new bra with good support is necessary for you. During the nearest shopping, do not forget to buy a bra strip to absorb the secretions, as well as an emollient cream for the nipples.

[1], [2], [3], [4], [5]