What to Expect at Week 39 of Pregnancy

On your week 39 of pregnancy, your baby should weigh about 7 to 7.5 pounds and measure between 19 and 21 inches long. He will continue to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth. During this week, it's not uncommon to experience early signs of labor such as mild contractions or Braxton-Hicks Contraction. If you start experiencing early signs of labor, you need to start timing them. If they come at irregular intervals and do not increase in intensity, they are probably just false labor pains. If you're having true labor, the contractions would be at regular or timed intervals, as you near deliver, they will increase in strength or intensity.

During this stage, your doctor should do an abdominal examination to check your baby's growth and position. The internal exam's purpose is to see whether your cervix has started ripening- softening, thinning out and opening. Even so, there's still no way for your doctor to tell you the exact date and time when your baby is coming.

Even during your week 39 of pregnancy, your baby should remain active right up to delivery so make sure you pay attention to your baby's movements. If there seems to be a decrease, inform your care provider at the soonest time possible, the same goes when you think your water may have broken.

Your baby's heart rate may be monitored during labor and delivery. This will help your doctor and the rest of your healthcare team to evaluate your baby during labor to make sure that everything is going well. On week 39 of pregnancy, when the uterus contracts, the oxygenated blood flows to the placenta is restricted. Since this is a natural process, it shouldn't be a problem for most babies. In some rare cases though, this can result to fetal distress.

Whether you're pregnant or want to get pregnant, ePregnancyBlog.com has a ton of resources for you. Stop by and read our week by week pregnancy guide, learn about the symptoms of pregnancy, watch a ultrasound video showing each week of a baby's development during your pregnancy (absolutely fascinating!), get free stuff for you and your baby, and so much more!

It's all at http://ePregnancyBlog.com. New pregnancy articles added daily.