37. one week of pregnancy is the moment when you can definitely stop being afraid of premature birth - at the end of the 37th week, pregnancy is considered full-term. Before you give birth, however, you will still suffer from ailments typical of late pregnancy.

Contents:

  1. 37. week of pregnancy: how is your baby developing?
  2. 37. week of pregnancy: what's happening to you?
  3. 37. week of pregnancy: the most important recommendations

37. week of pregnancy: how your baby develops

At 37 weeks gestation, the fetus weighs about 2.8-3.1 kg and is about 48-51 cm long. If the baby was born right now, there would be nothing to worry about: a baby born in the 37th week of pregnancy is considered to be able to live independently outside the abdomen, and the pregnancy - term.

All systems and organs of the fetus are fully functional and ready for operation. However, the longer he stays in his stomach, the better, because the antibodies he takes from his mother are constantly getting into his blood.

  • How to provide the fetus with peace and a sense of security?

As in the previous weeks, the little one is gaining weight (in the 37th week he will gain another 300 g) and is growing. While awake, he exercises his breathing skill by drawing in and spitting out the amniotic fluid. He continues to grab the umbilical cord, squeeze it, and release it, exercising his hands in this way.

There is already a specific bond between you and your child: the child's behavior tells you how he feels, and you can correctly read the signals he sends. You know when your baby is restless and when it is relaxed. This phenomenon is called prenatal communication, and it often develops around the 37th week of pregnancy.

  • What does the fetus see, feel and hear?

The fetal adrenal glands already produce cortisone, a hormone that affects how the lungs work in the future. The fetal hair has almost completely disappeared. There is also less and less fetal fluid on the baby's body, which until recently covered his skin almost completely.

From the 37th week of pregnancy, the fetus will not change its position - if it has not yet turned its head down, you will probably have a caesarean section.

Learn 10 ways to have a light birth!

37. week of pregnancy: what's happening to you

In the 37th week of pregnancy you may have very frequentpredictive contractions - the closer to labor, the more intense and longer they will be (they can last up to every two minutes). What is new, however, may be a slight pain, similar to what you felt during your period.

Are you afraid that you will not be able to distinguish them from those in labor? Take it easy - even if they are quite strong, but not accompanied by other symptoms that may indicate an impending delivery - such as spotting, mucus plug breakage, back pain - nothing to worry about.

  • Symptoms of childbirth: how can you tell if it's already giving birth?

If you want to find out if this is just a false alarm, take a relaxant or a warm bath - after your contractions stop, you still have some time to give birth.

Thanks to the pregnancy hormones, your dreams can now be very realistic and colorful. Perhaps, like many other women in their 37th week of pregnancy, you will mostly dream about your baby, especially when you are already holding it in your arms.

You may now feel severe perineal pain and an almost constant pressure on your bladder. Unfortunately, it will be like that until childbirth. Swelling, itching of the skin on the stomach, insomnia, backache - in late pregnancy these ailments are completely normal, and even if they made you forget about yourself for a while, now they will probably come back and stay with you until the birth.

  • Remedies for constant fatigue in pregnancy

Although your breathing will be a bit easier than it was a few weeks ago, you may now feel like your nose is constantly blocked. This is not a symptom of infection, but an effect of the pregnancy hormones.

At the end of this week, during a gynecological examination, the doctor may already find out the initial dilatation of the cervix. What's next? You should then limit your activity and live calmer than before, and strictly follow the doctor's instructions.

Pregnancy calculator

For every expectant mother it is important to know which week of pregnancy she is in. If you want to calculate the week of pregnancy and due date, use our calculator.

What you want to know:

37. week of pregnancy: the most important recommendations

-If you haven't done the tests that need to be done between the 33rd and 37th week of pregnancy so far, you only have a moment for that. As a reminder: these tests are blood count, urinalysis, vaginal cleanliness, HBs, and HIV testing. You also need to perform a culture from the vaginal vestibule and the area around the anus for B-hemolytic streptococci and cytology, if you haven't had one before. VDRL and HCV tests are also performed in women at increased risk of infection.

  • Visits to the gynecologist and pregnancy tests

The 37th week of pregnancy is usually much calmer than before. Sometimes you can even get the impression that the baby does not give a sign of life for a long time. Usually this is nothing to worry about, but to make sure everything is ok, it's a good idea to count your baby's movements, and when you don't feel them, eat something, change position, go for a short walk - and try counting again.

Only if you feel nothing for the next hour, call the doctor or go to the hospital right away for the delivery room. Make sure that nothing is missing in the hospital bag. Haven't you packed it yet? Be sure to do it today. Hardly any birth starts on time, so it may happen that your baby is born earlier than the doctor has predicted.

Also read:

Third trimester of pregnancy

38. week of pregnancy

39. week of pregnancy

40. week of pregnancy

Category:

Pregnant examinations