What to expect 37 weeks pregnant
What to expect at 37 weeks pregnant. What happens during the 37th week of pregnancy?
This is an amazing week because you are now classed as officially full term!! This means that baby could arrive any day now, which is so exciting!
How big is baby at 37 weeks pregnant?
Babies born around this time on average weigh about 6 pounds 7oz! Baby is now as long as the head of a romaine lettuce.
What is baby doing at 37 weeks?
Your baby’s digestive system is now lined with meconium – a sticky tar-like substance that will be your baby’s first poo. It contains things like the lanugo. Lanugo was the fuzzy coating your baby had on their body; this is now coming off and baby is ingesting it. Ideally we want baby to have this first poo after their born. What is less ideal is for baby to have their first poo whilst still in the womb. This can be seen when your water breaks if they are a greeny colour. If this happens, tell your midwife straight away and they will most likely invite you into hospital for an assessment.
Baby will now be starting to move further down into your pelvis. Your midwife will have most likely written something in your notes like “1/5 engaged” or “2/5 engaged”. Think about your pelvis and baby’s head. Your midwife is looking at how many 5ths of your baby’s head is in your pelvis. If it is just 1/5, she will write “1/5 engaged”. If over half of baby’s head is sitting nicely in your pelvis then your midwife will write “3/5 engaged”.
It is unlikely for baby to get more engaged than this in pregnancy before you are in labour. Your contractions are what will help baby move further into your pelvis. If you are a first-time mum and your baby is 3/5 engaged, this is a really positive sign that labour is coming. If you have had a baby before then it is really common for baby’s not to become engaged until labour, so do not be disheartened if your baby is not engaged yet!
What are some signs and symptoms of your labour starting?
A bloody show
This is when your mucus plug starts to come away. You may notice very thick discharge, sometimes with streaks of blood in it. This shows that your cervix is becoming think and starting to open in preparation for labour.
Braxton Hicks
These are contractions that don’t end in labour, but are still a sign that your body is getting ready for labour. They are your uterus contracting, but are often less than labour contractions. You can tell the difference between Braxton Hicks and labour contractions because B H will often stop when you go to the toilet, and they will also not intensify like labour contractions.
Contractions
Keep an eye on your contractions. If they become regular and close together then this is a good time to start timing them.
Diarrhea
It is very normal in either early labour or before labour starts to have diarrhea.
What to do this week:
Hospital bag at the ready
Make sure your hospital bag (get a free hospital bag list here) is ready to grab along with your hospital notes. This way they are ready and raring to go for when labour starts.
A plan of where you are giving birth
Last week we spoke about this in our What to expect at 36 weeks blog. Depending on where you live from the hospital you may want to plan your route, and even do a rekky if you would make you feel more prepared. Also ensure now you have a plan in place for who will look after any pets you have or if you already have children who will be babysitting them when you go into labour.
