You are 36 Weeks Pregnant!
WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH YOU
Welcome to the last month of your pregnancy. You may find it very hard to get in a comfortable position! Sleeping on your side with one or two pillows between your legs and one at your back may be comforting. If you have difficulty sleeping, try drinking warm milk, chicken broth or "sleepy time tea." And then, just as you get to sleep, you might need to get up again ... to use the bathroom.
You may have your first internal exam to see if your cervix has softened, effaced and dilated, or if your baby's head is dipping into your pelvis. Keep in mind that many women go to full term despite total effacement, a centimeter or two of dilatation and a fully engaged fetal head. Likewise, a woman whose cervix is "long, thick and closed" may give birth the next day.
Many couples enjoy making love, right up to the end of pregnancy. Feel free to enjoy, as long as you have not experienced third trimester bleeding, your placenta is high, and your membranes are intact. Research actually has shown that the prostaglandin in semen may help to ripen your cervix and may start contractions -- when your baby is ready. And of course, sharing intimacy with your partner is a great way to stay connected as you both prepare for this incredible event!
WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH YOUR BABY
Your baby weighs about 5 to 5 1/2 pounds and is approximately 16 1/2 to 17 inches in length. Even though your baby is gaining rapidly, you may find that your weight is beginning to stabilize. Some mothers even lose one to two pounds during the final month while others continue to gain about one pound per week.
EATING FOR TWO
Eating nutritiously isn't just for proper fetal growth or maternal weight management. In fact, studies indicate that good nutrition may help to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), the mysterious and abrupt death in infants that peaks in incidence between two and four months and affects around 5,000 babies each year. Here are some pregnancy risk factors that increase the incidence of SIDS:
-- Mothers who eat poorly during pregnancy
-- Mothers who smoke during pregnancy
-- Mothers who have used heroin or cocaine during pregnancy
-- Mothers who don't get regular prenatal checkups
FACT OF THE WEEK
What exactly is a non-stress test? Performed at a birth center or hospital, this procedure evaluates your baby's well being through an external fetal monitor.
The test lasts from 20 minutes to an hour and records fetal heart rate and movements. Two small monitors are placed on your abdomen, and information is relayed to an external monitoring machine. Your practitioner may suggest a non-stress test if you have experienced any of the following:
-- Gestational diabetes
-- High blood pressure
-- Diminishing fetal movement or a sudden increase in fetal movement followed by little movement
-- A post due-date pregnancy
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