Your Pregnancy Week 37

Your Baby

Your baby is continuing to grow and gain weight during these last few weeks. Also, he is practicing breathing movements in preparation for the outside world. Your baby will also turn his head toward light and sound just as a newborn would. Around this time your baby's head must be down, but if not, he could be in a breech position (the baby's bottom or legs come into the pelvis first). By the end of this week, your pregnancy would have come full term. Your baby can be born any day now. Your baby is anywhere from 19 to 20 inches long and weighs approximately 6.5 pounds.

Your Body

Your pregnancy is considered a term pregnancy at this point and nothing will be done to stop labor in most circumstances. Any vaginal discharge you may have been having will have more cervical mucus in it as your body begins to prepare for labor. You should plan to take a tour of your birth facility if you have not previously. If you are having a homebirth try to invite everyone over for a quick run through of what you expect.

If you have not given any thought to whether you will breastfeed or bottle feed, now would be the time to do so. There are lots of great books, pamphlets and literature out there about both methods, so be sure to adopt the one that is right for you, your baby and your family.


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