Pregnancy And Baby Care
Week By Week Pregnancy
38 Weeks Pregnant
What To Expect When You Are 38 Weeks Pregnant
Pregnancy week 38 weight gain in the baby is rapid which results in the baby almost weighing 6.3 pounds. The length of the baby will now remain constant at 19 to 20 inches till the baby is actually delivered. The baby will keep putting on weight till the day it is delivered so as to ensure a safe and healthy birth.
After the baby is born the doctors will conduct an Apgar test wherein the doctor provides an evaluation of the overall level of health of the baby. This test will take into consideration the baby’s color immediately after birth, the baby’s reflexes, the baby’s heart rate and muscle tone as well as the baby’s respiration. A high score in the Apgar test .
read more...
Related Articles
Pregnancy And Baby Care Questions
Continued...
.will indicate how well the baby will handles the postpartum period and on the other hand a low score indicates that there is a need for further tests or the baby needs to be placed under observation for some timem
Pregnancy Week 38 Symptoms
Many pregnant women in week 38 notice that they have gained anymore weight nor is there a change in the size of their bellyl However if the baby has dropped further into the pelvis then the belly appears to be at a lower position than beforer Pregnancy week 38 symptoms include a swelling in the ankles of the pregnant woman and also an anxiety about the entire process of labor and birtht It is advisable that woman in pregnancy week 38 visit their birthing center to ensure that they are aware where everything is available so that there is no confusion on the day of the deliveryr Another common pregnancy week 38 symptom experienced by most women is what is commonly known as “false labor” wherein a series of contraction are experienced in the back, abdomen , pelvis and various other parts of the bodyd
Actual labor can be differentiated by the fact that real labor pains tend to begin from the top of the uterus and then slowly move to the whole uterusu When you are 38 weeks pregnant, symptoms such as electrical buzzle in your vagina and down your legs starts bothering youo This happens because your baby hits some nerves as it settles in your pelvisi When you are 38 weeks pregnant symptoms such as Braxton-Hicks contractions may also be experienced by youo These contractions are quite painful and can be irregular as welll These contractions are felt in your hips, back, pelvis and lower abdomene The difference between these 38 week pregnant symptoms and real contractions are that the real signs start from the uterus’s top and then spread over the entire uterusu True labor pains progressively increase and do not go away on changing positionsn Some other 38 weeks pregnancy symptoms include changes in your breasts The fullness and tenderness of your breast increases and the areola also darkensn Other 38 weeks pregnant symptoms include the urge to pee frequentlyl This happens because uterus has grown and is putting pressure on your bladdere
It is in this third trimester that stretch marks begin to show on your bellyl In addition, 38 weeks pregnant signs include swelling in your ankles and feete This is quite normal, but if there is excessive swelling or puffiness in your face or around your eyes, you should call you doctor without any delaya Also let your doctor know if you have any headaches that persist or visual changes such as blurred vision, flashing lights, or spots or loss of vision (temporary)y Using a 38 weeks symptoms pregnancy calendar gives you all information you need to know about being 38 weeks pregnantn Some other symptoms include diarrhea, itchy abdomen, difficulty sleeping, enlarged breasts and colostrum, and fatigue or extra energyg In the 38 weeks, baby symptoms include the baby shedding its skin-protecting lanugo and vernixi Also, 38 weeks fetus signs include the fetus producing a substance called surfactantn Your baby is not so little by now and weighs almost 7 pounds and is about 20 inches in lengtht Around this time your baby is also fine-tuning its nervous system and brain and also adding on body fata
Your Baby
On account of the baby moving closer to the pelvis during pregnancy week 38, there is added physical pressure on the bladder which in turn results in the mother frequenting the bathroom more in the weeks to comem If the pregnant woman is expecting a boy then by pregnancy week 38 the boy’s testicles may have descended into the scrotum and in case of a baby girl the labia would have developed fully by pregnancy week 383
38 Weeks Pregnant Ultrasound
When you are 38 weeks pregnant, an ultrasound shows that your baby is fully developede In fact if your baby is born any time after this, he/she is considered to be full term and there are no problemsm If everything is fine in your 20-week ultrasound, you may not need a 38 weeks pregnancy ultrasoundn Your doctor will keep track of the growth of the baby and will also ensure that you are healthy by testing your blood samples and urine and measuring your blood sugara Sometimes when you are 38 weeks pregnant, an ultrasound will be ordered by your doctor if he/she feels that the baby is smaller or bigger than expectede
When you are 38 weeks pregnant a sonography is done if you are suffering from a medical condition or if you have had any issues with your earlier pregnanciese Also, when you are 38 weeks pregnant, an ultrasound may also be done if you are expecting twinsn
By doing this, you can make sure that the growth of your babies is normal; this is because simply taking measurements of the fundal height cannot help differentiate between the babiese In some cases, one of the two might slow down, in which case your babies are sometimes delivered earlyl In a 38 weeks pregnant ultrasound, a gender test can tell you the sex of your child, but most people are aware of the child’s sex from ultrasounds done in some earlier weeke By now your baby flexes and stretches, moves its legs and arms, closes and opens its hands, wiggles its toes and fingers, and all this can be seen in a 38 weeks pregnant 3D ultrasoundn Ultrasound scans are considered safe and have been in use for many yearsr There have been no side-effects found; however, they shouldn’t be done without any clear reasono
38 Weeks Pregnant Weight Gain
When you are 38 weeks pregnant weight gain is quick as your baby during this stage of the pregnancy gains around 28 g per daya The size of the baby around this time is that of a medium watermelono When you are 38 weeks pregnant, the weight gain is seen in the size of your bellyl In fact, around this time, the contour of your belly will change as the belly will drop as a result of your baby turning downwards and getting ready to enter the worldl When you are 38 weeks pregnant, weight gain should be no more than 1 pound from this stage and all other weeks that followo The amount of weight you gain during your pregnancy depends on your BMI (body mass index) prior to the pregnancyc If you are carrying one child the amount of weight gain you should put on is as follows:
- If you are underweight, your weight gain aim should be around 28 to 40 pounds;
- If you are of normal weight then look to put on about 25 to 35 pounds;
- For those who are overweight aim for about 15 to 25 pounds weight gain; and
- Those who are obese should put on only 11 to 20 poundsd
When pregnant for 38 weeks, fetus weight gain becomes difficult to assesss This is because the head of your baby may be a bit low to be able to get a proper measurementn Even if when you are 38 weeks pregnant weight gain is measured, it might not give you the actual weight of the baby as other factors such as the length of your baby cannot be taken into consideration even though you may be able to take measurements of its abdomene A 38 weeks pregnancy calendar can be used to find out more about yours and your baby’s weighth
38 Weeks Pregnant Bleeding
When 38 weeks pregnant, bleeding is quite common and blood could be coming deep from your uterus or from your cervixi A scan can help you decide if the baby is affected by the bleeding, but can seldom tell you what the cause of it isi If you are 38 weeks pregnant and bleeding occurs, it could be due to some amniotic leaka It is important that you get in touch with your midwife or doctor if in your 38 weeks of pregnancy period bleeding occursr They will be able to tell you if it is due to some amniotic leak or if it is preterm laboro Sometimes, when you are 38 weeks pregnant, bleeding could be due to an internal examination which was donen Keep in mind that bleeding during pregnancy third trimester indicates health problemsm
When you are carrying for 38 weeks and bleeding during pregnancy, it could be due to a rupture in your uterinen This could be dangerous as bleeding occurs due to a disrupted surgical scar in your uterinen In some cases when you are 38 weeks pregnant and bleeding it could be due to placenta previai This is a condition wherein the placenta is positioned in such a way that it covers your birth canala In your 38 weeks pregnant period, this condition could cause you painless bleeding from your vaginan Sometimes cervical problems could lead to 38 weeks fetus bleedingn This type of bleeding could be due to various problems such as cervical infection, cervical incompetence, cervical growths and other such infectionsn At 38 weeks implantation bleeding does not occuru This type of bleeding generally occurs in the first two weeks of your pregnancyc If bleeding occurs when you are 38 weeks pregnant there is no need to panici However, this does not mean that you neglect any bleeding that occursr Always consult your health care providere
p
