YOUR BABY:
Rapid brain growth continues. At this stage, the baby’s eyes are almost always blue and can distinguish bright sunlight and artificial light through the uterine wall. The baby can hear distinct sounds now, like familiar voices and music. It is practicing opening its eyes. By the end of the month, your baby's movements will peak. The baby is too big to move around now, but can still kick strongly and roll around. The baby is now around 18 inches long and weighs about 5 pounds.
You may feel contractions more strongly this month and your breasts may leak colostrum, a yellowish fluid that precedes milk production. There may be an increase in constipation. Backaches may be more bothersome as the growing baby puts more stress on your body. Leg cramps, swelling of the ankles and feet, lower abdominal achiness, hemorrhoids and varicose veins continue. You may exhibit signs of clumsiness, since your center of gravity as changed. Your uterus now takes up a large part of your abdomen, and is now around 4 inches above your navel.
Your weight and blood pressure will be recorded. Urine testing is also performed to check for the presence of sugar and protein. The height of the uterus and fetal growth will be measured to evaluate the overall growth of the baby. You can discuss any symptoms or discomforts you may be experiencing. Fetal heart monitoring is performed. By your 32nd week, you will probably visit your midwife every 2 weeks. A Group B streptococcus swab may be performed between the 32nd and 36th week. This test involves a culture of the cervix to check for the presence of strept B infection. If the infection is present, the mother is treated with antibiotics. An ultrasound may be performed.
MoonDragon's MDBS Birthing Guidelines: Group B Strep
Make sure you’ve collected all of the necessary baby items—clothes, car seat, furniture and other things you may need. If you are planning a homebirth, make sure you have all the supplies you need for your delivery. Your midwife will have given you a list for needed items. Talk with your midwife about the delivery. You will learn the signs to predict labor and how far apart contractions should be before calling your midwife or heading to the hospital or birth center for your delivery. If you are having a homebirth, you will need to let your midwife know when contractions have started or if your water has broken (with or without contractions) and allow her travel time to get to your home. Your midwife may do a home visit, if she hasn't already, to do a "dry run" and be sure she can find your home without problems and to check on your supplies and become familiar with your home. If you are planning on having children or other family members present at your homebirth, your midwife may want to discuss your plans with your birth guests and let them know what to expect for your labor and birth.
Continue taking your prenatal supplements as recommended by your midwife or health care provider. Often a prenatal vitamin supplement may be recommended in addition to a good prenatal nutritional program with adequate protein, vitamins, minerals (including sodium) and calories.
A diet with adequate protein is important to help prevent toxemia of pregnancy, called preeclampsia/eclampsia. Although researchers and practitioners do not know exactly why toxemia occurs, it has been show that a good nutritional program with sufficient protein and salt has helped to prevent or reduce symptoms associated with the disorder. Salt your food to taste. Your expanded blood volume requires a certain amount of salt to maintain your bodily fluid. Nutrition is important to help your baby put on the weight it needs for survival outside the uterus. As the uterus grows, it may be more difficult to eat a full meal because of the upward pressure of the uterus against the stomach and intestines. Break your meals up into 6 to 8 smaller meals throughout the day instead of 3 larger ones. Not only will this help with your digestion issues, but it will help keep your blood sugar on a more even level to help fatigue. Be sure to include dark green leafy vegetables and other iron-rich foods in your diet if you have problems with anemia. It is important that your blood has sufficient iron and other necessary components for clotting to prevent problems with hemorrhaging after your baby is born.
Continue to get daily moderate exercise, such as walking, which is good for the muscles you will be using during labor, and swimming. As your uterus grows, your center of balance shifts, You may want to avoid high heeled shoes and instead wear shoes with small wider heels to help with balance and to prevent falls. Be careful how you move since your ligaments are being stretched in your abdomen. A wrong move can prove to be very painful if you pull your ligaments while trying to move or stretch. If you must bend or lift something, do it with your legs and not your back. Consider learning prenatal yoga to help you with stretching and moving your body and breathing control as well as meditation and relaxation.
Ask your midwife or health care provider before taking any prescription drugs or over-the-counter products. You should not be smoking and drinking alcohol or using street drugs.
Maintain and positive lifestyle and outlook. Keep stress down since it has a negative effect on your baby. Practice your relaxation and breathing techniques that you are learning or have learned in a childbirth class.
MoonDragon's Pregnancy Information: Pregnancy Calendar Index
Photos obtained from A Child Is Born by Lennart Nilsson
and Pregnancy - in anatomical illustrations by the Carnation Company
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