Photo: UGC If the 39th week of pregnancy has begun, then it’s time for the expectant mother to pack her maternity suitcase. Childbirth can begin any day, and it is necessary to prepare for this event. Familiarize yourself with the changes that occur in the mother's body, the signs that foreshadow delivery, find out what the fetus looks like at 39 weeks.
Pregnant activity at 39 weeks
At the 39th week, pregnant women begin active “nesting” - a condition in which a woman strives with all her might to restore order and create as much comfort as possible in the house. At this time, women can feel a surge of strength, unusual lightness (despite the huge belly at 39 weeks of pregnancy) and the desire to “move mountains.” But don’t be too zealous: such intense physical activity may well provoke labor at 39 weeks. Entrust the cleaning and arrangement of the house to the future dad or caring relatives.
Pregnancy and walking
For a successful delivery and good health of the expectant mother and child, doctors recommend not to neglect long walks. Ideally, in late pregnancy, you need to walk for at least 3 hours a day, if there are no problems and bed rest is not indicated for you. Fetal hypoxia is a dangerous phenomenon throughout pregnancy, and the end of the third trimester is no exception. To prevent it, it is important not only to breathe fresh air, but also to continue to eat right, perform feasible exercises for pregnant women, and avoid stress and any conditions that negatively affect you and your pregnancy.
At 39 weeks of pregnancy, many women lose up to 2 kg in weight. There is nothing wrong with this - the body removes excess fluid. At the 39th week of pregnancy, the total gain in women averages from 10 to 15 kg, but it can be either more or less. This depends on the characteristics of the expectant mother’s body and is one of the harbingers of an early birth.
Weight gain at 39 weeks of pregnancy ranges from 8.8 kg (with a BMI of more than 26) to 14.8 kg (with a BMI of less than 19.8). To calculate your individual weight gain at 39 weeks, use the pregnancy weight gain calculator.
Methods of pain relief during childbirth
Perhaps what women fear most is the severe pain that accompanies the process of childbirth. Therefore, the question of pain relief often arises.
Occasionally, epidural or epidural anesthesia is used during vaginal birth. In this case, the lower part of the body becomes insensitive, the muscles relax, but the cervix continues to dilate. Anesthesia helps to lengthen pushing. Indications for pain relief are cardiovascular disease in a woman, slow dilatation of the uterus, or an extremely low threshold for pain sensitivity.
Anesthesia is also performed when it is necessary to begin an emergency operation. It is important to understand that anesthesia for a child is dangerous due to side effects, therefore anesthesia is not performed only to reduce labor pain.
What does a baby look like at 39 weeks
At 39 weeks, the baby is about the size of a watermelon.
At week 39, the baby’s height is 48-49 cm and weight is almost 3200 g. What happens at this time:
- the Baby's head drops and presses against the entrance to the pelvis;
- the fundus of the uterus drops lower, and it becomes easier for you to breathe, as the pressure on the diaphragm decreases;
- The baby’s body begins to produce the hormone cortisol, which promotes the final maturation of the lungs. This means that the Baby is prepared for independent breathing;
- the child has accumulated sufficient subcutaneous fat;
- The baby's skin is pink.
Photo 3D ultrasound at 39 weeks of pregnancy
What kind of discharge can there be?
Discharge at this stage should be milky white, with a uniform consistency. A slight sour odor may also be present. Pinkish or transparent mucus in the discharge is normal and should not be alarmed. In this way, part of the mucous plug comes off, which closes the entrance to the uterus.
Pathology is indicated by discharges such as:
- Purulent mucous discharge;
- Discharge with flakes;
- Curdled discharge;
- Green or yellow discharge.
If such discharge is detected, you must consult a doctor and treat the existing infection. If this is not done, then the risk of infection of the child during childbirth is high.
When amniotic fluid ruptures, even in small quantities, you must go to the maternity hospital. The discharge appears as a thin, watery discharge that may be clear or yellowish. Sometimes they go away immediately, and sometimes in small portions. The latter option indicates that the walls of the placenta have become thinner and have begun to leak fluid. In any case, medical consultation is necessary; the breaking of water cannot be ignored. Thus, when the placenta wall becomes thinner, the child becomes extremely vulnerable to various infections.
Discharge with blood requires the woman to promptly call a medical team. Most often, this indicates abruption of the placenta, which has a normal location. Sometimes blood in the discharge is a sign of placenta previa. However, by this time, presentation is excluded from the list of pathologies, since the woman has undergone many examinations.
What you need to know about starting breastfeeding
For some mothers, breastfeeding a baby seems natural and necessary, for others it is unpleasant, and for others it doesn’t even occur to them to think about it before the baby is born.
The intention to breastfeed your baby arises gradually and, if you work on it purposefully, becomes strong by the time of birth. Your body obeys the demands of the brain and launches a program for uninterrupted milk production. How to create an intention? And how to make it gain strength? Focus on the positive aspects of breastfeeding:
- your milk is the most physiological for the Baby, so you will avoid many problems with stool, diathesis, regurgitation, vomiting, colic, heartbreaking crying, spending on medications, etc., which arise with artificial or mixed feeding;
- Breastfeeding burns up to 500 (!) kilocalories every day. Those who care about their figure will appreciate it;
- When breastfeeding, your baby’s immunity is stronger, and the risk of being exposed to a viral attack is much lower. This means that breast milk is a reliable protection for the Baby’s health;
- This frees up a colossal amount of time that non-breastfeeding mothers spend on washing bottles and nipples (as well as selecting and purchasing them), sterilization, and preparing food that the Baby may not even like! Whereas he got used to your breast milk from the first weeks of his life before birth - however, the role of milk was played by amniotic fluid;
- It’s better to spend money on meat and fruit for you and Baby than on artificial formula - isn’t it?
- Your baby’s weight gain will be a special source of your pride: the pediatrician will not blame you for not feeding your son or daughter, nor for overfeeding him/her;
- In the process of breastfeeding, the Baby develops trust in the world - the basis for the successful development of his psyche and social success in general. In addition, during the process of breastfeeding, the Baby experiences a strong attachment to you, which will soon turn into a feeling of love for life;
- Breastfeeding forms the correct bite naturally;
- Mom's milk is always there, whether you and your Baby are visiting grandma, in a clinic, on a country trip, on a walk or in a shopping and entertainment center. Moreover, breast milk does not need to be heated or cooled. Also, you don’t have to worry that the stored quantity may not be enough for your Baby. Breastfeeding gives you and your baby independence from place and time.
The baby expects that his first food will be exclusively mother’s milk, and then he will be able to please you with a smile and a good mood, be healthy, sleep soundly and develop quickly.
Recommendations
You can become a mother at any moment. Get ready for the upcoming birth, gather your strength, and worry less. If pain scares you, remember that there are ways to relieve pain during labor. It is also useful to think that all the pain will pass, and it will be replaced by a gentle feeling of joy from meeting the baby. In addition, many women have gone through this more than once and speak of childbirth as a painful period, but leading to relief.
It will be useful to remember breathing techniques that alleviate the condition of a woman in labor. If you know how to breathe correctly during labor, it will be easier for you to follow the commands of your obstetricians and gynecologists. Most importantly, listen to what they tell you and strictly do what is asked of you. This way you will not only make the work of doctors easier, but also reduce the likelihood of ruptures, severe pain and prolonged labor.
Tests and studies during pregnancy
Visiting a doctor monitoring pregnancy: once a week.
Weighing, measuring blood pressure, measuring the height of the uterine fundus, listening to the fetal heartbeat. General urine test - before each visit to the doctor. Indicates the quality of kidney function.
Dopplerography (a study that allows you to evaluate blood flow in the vessels of the uterus, placenta and main vessels of the child) - in the last weeks of pregnancy or if the expected date of birth has already passed, according to indications . The study allows you to find out whether the child is getting enough oxygen and nutrients.
Cardiotocography (CTG, synchronous recording of fetal heartbeats and uterine contractions) - in the last weeks of pregnancy or if the expected date of birth has already passed, according to indications. The child’s condition is assessed and intrauterine hypoxia is excluded.
Other causes of pain
The reasons given above are the most common, so when it is said that the back hurts a lot during pregnancy, then they are almost always talking about them. But there are a number of other problems that can lead to such pain.
Pancreatitis
This disease is an inflammation in the pancreas. Fortunately, this disease is quite rare, but it is precisely when the back hurts at the beginning of pregnancy. The development of this disease is facilitated by disturbances in the outflow of bile, alcohol consumption, poor diet (rich fatty and meat foods), stress and hereditary predisposition. Pancreatitis in the acute phase makes itself felt by acute pain in the lower back and abdomen (upper part), while the pain is girdling in nature. Abnormal bowel movements, vomiting, and low blood pressure are common. In such a situation, you need to urgently go to the hospital.
Diagnosis of this disease requires a number of laboratory tests of urine and blood, it is necessary to undergo ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, etc. Most often, treatment has to be done in a hospital. In this case, a strict diet is prescribed, a number of drugs that should normalize the functioning of the pancreas, painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs. If the situation does not improve, then sometimes it is necessary to resort to surgery.
Pyelonephritis
This is a kidney disease that causes nagging and aching pain. In this case, during pregnancy, your back hurts in the lumbar region on the left or right. It’s even worse when you have to deal with renal colic, which is associated with the movement of a stone into the ureter from the renal pelvis. With colic during pregnancy, the lower back hurts very much, and it is not possible to find a position in which the pain will ease. The pain may also spread towards the urethra or groin. Another noticeable symptom is that the urine becomes quite cloudy, and sometimes blood can be seen. An increase in temperature may also occur.
To determine the diagnosis, the doctor sends the patient for an ultrasound; it is also necessary to conduct laboratory tests of urine and blood tests. When treating pyelonephritis, antibacterial drugs are first prescribed, which are selected individually, taking into account the sensitivity of microorganisms that caused the inflammatory process. Treatment in some cases is carried out on an outpatient basis, but it is preferable to be treated in a hospital. In case of renal colic, antispasmodics and painkillers are used to reduce pain, and certain inflammation prevention is also carried out.
Good to know
How to prepare for childbirth so as not to regret it later?
What is programmed childbirth?
What you need to know about childbirth?
How does labor begin?
Back to front: breech birth
Before childbirth. Has the plug come off? Has your stomach dropped? Childbirth is coming soon!
All texts for pages about mother and baby were kindly provided by RAMA Publishing - these are chapters from the book by Svetlana Klaas “Your Favorite Little Man from Conception to Birth”, reviewer Irina Nikolaevna Kononova, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Ural State Medical Academy (Ekaterinburg).
Position of the baby in the uterus
By this time the child had taken his final position. There is not enough room for him in the uterus, so the fetus’s legs are pressed to the stomach and the arms are folded on the chest. This is the most suitable position for the easiest passage through the birth canal. In 95% of cases, the baby's head is pressed against the pelvis.
Sometimes the baby may be in a breech position. There is no need to panic about this, since it will be possible to give birth naturally, without harming the health of the woman or baby. If the doctor suspects any threat, a caesarean section will be performed.
All women whose baby is in a breech position are sent to the maternity hospital even before labor begins. There, a control ultrasound is performed, during which the size of the child is assessed, its location is clarified and the method of delivery is determined.
