Congratulations! You have completed this 9-month journey and at any moment you may give birth and hold your little baby in your arms. Now you must be ready for your little one to enter the outside world, you have arranged his toys in the room and installed his car seat and are coordinated with the hospital and your doctor. Now, in the 40th week of pregnancy, you must be ready at the moment, for example, that your phone is charged and your car is full of gas. This week you may have a lot of mental tension, but it is completely normal. Take a deep breath and read what you need to pay attention to this week.
The state of the fetus in the fortieth week of pregnancy
It is very difficult to estimate the average size of the fetus in the 40th week , but an average baby weighs about 3500 grams and is about 51.2 cm long. Every day your baby gets a little bigger, his nails and hair continue to grow. The bones of her skull are still slightly separated, so that the skull can be a little more compressed and pass through the birth canal more easily. Until about a year after birth, there will be some soft spots called fontanelles in his skull.
The fetus is now fat. 15% of his body is made up of fat, which regulates his body temperature. Also, most of the body hair of the fetus has disappeared, but there is still a thin layer of white and sticky substance on the skin.
As a result of the breakdown of red blood cells in the body of the fetus, a substance called bilirubin is produced, which is transferred to your body along with other waste materials through the fetal placenta. After the baby is born and the umbilical cord is cut, he has to dispose of these substances himself. In this case, the accumulation of a large amount of bilirubin produced in the child’s body causes him to suffer from jaundice, which will last for several days after birth. The traditional symptoms of jaundice are slight yellowing of the skin and whiteness of the eyes. In this case, there is usually nothing to worry about, and exposure to light will gradually bring him back to normal. At 40 weeks, your baby will recognize your voice better than anyone else.
To ensure the health of the fetus, its heartbeat is monitored, and if the air does not reach it, it can be detected with the help of the heartbeat. Usually, the heart rate of the fetus is around 120 to 160 beats per minute. The fetal heart rate is usually monitored every half hour. It is possible that the sound of the fetal heart becomes lower or higher than normal, which is due to the decrease in blood supply through the placenta to the fetus. In this situation, the midwife or doctor searches for the cause and advises you to sleep on your left side and breathe with an oxygen mask until the fetal heart rate improves.
Height: 51.2 cm
Weight: 3500 grams
Mother’s condition in the fortieth week of pregnancy
Despite all the medical advances, there is still no way to estimate the exact time of delivery. Childbirth may occur earlier than the scheduled time, especially if you made a mistake in determining the time of sperm closure. This happens mostly when the delivery time is determined only on the first day of the last menstrual period and you did not have an ultrasound in the first half of your pregnancy. However, even if the time of delivery is determined carefully, the pregnancy period of some women becomes a little longer, and experts do not have any explanation for this matter.
Of course, it is not too late for your delivery, and if another week or two passes, your delivery will be called late. But to be sure of the child’s condition, the doctor will ask you to take a test to see your child this week or at the beginning of the 41st week at the latest. If you have already struggled with some pregnancy complications, you have started doing this test a few weeks earlier.
A detailed bio-physical test, abbreviated as BPP, includes a detailed examination of your baby’s condition through ultrasound and observation of general body movements, breathing, muscle tone (the amount of normal muscle tension as measured by opening and closing the arms or pulling and releasing the muscles). is determined) and the volume of amniotic fluid around him (which indicates the state of the placenta). This test may also include twenty minutes of careful heart rate monitoring. Of course, an alternative BPP test may be used, which includes checking the baby’s heart rate with a special device and then checking the volume of amniotic fluid with ultrasound. These tests are usually done twice a week.
If the tests of the fetus are not reassuring, for example, the volume of amniotic fluid is too low, you will be planned in such a way that induction of labor is done as soon as possible.
Your doctor will also check your cervix to make sure it is ready for delivery. In the internal examination, the dilatation of the cervix is measured, in the sense that the amount of softening and thinning of the cervix and its dilation can largely indicate the time and manner of labor. If labor pain does not occur naturally, labor induction will be done between 41 and 42 weeks.
Important symptoms of the fortieth week of pregnancy
Anxiety is one of the important symptoms of these pregnant mothers in the 40th week of pregnancy . This anxiety is with you until the baby is born, but you have to find a way to reduce your stress and anxiety.
Braxton Hicks contractions are significant this week, so if you notice that the number has increased, it is better to start timing and counting to see if they are equal, then you will know that you are in the early stage of labor.
What should we eat in the fortieth week of pregnancy?
Don’t be in a hurry to start dieting and exercise immediately after giving birth, give yourself some time so that your doctor can remind you of the right time to start exercising and dieting. If you breastfeed your baby, forget to lose weight for at least two weeks after giving birth until you are sure that your baby is getting enough milk. When you are breastfeeding, your body needs 500 calories of energy per day, which is much more than before pregnancy, so try to eat enough healthy foods.
Proper nutrition during childbirth
You can eat Sangak bread with jam or honey for breakfast, which has good energy. Choose bread with whole grains because it will keep you full longer. Do not eat butter or peanut butter. Choose body fat foods. You can also use dates, biscuits and dry fruits. For lunch, you can think of simple pasta. A small plate of plain pasta is what you need right now because it has carbs. You can use thin soup for easy digestion. If you are really hungry, try to resist until you get to the hospital. You should be smart enough not to eat fatty and fibrous things. At the same time, remind your wife not to starve and eat because you also need her help, and your wife is all focused on you now. Carry some healthy snacks with you to give her.
Ultrasound of the fortieth week of pregnancy
Ultrasound is performed in the 40th week of pregnancy to determine the baby’s weight. This image shows a cross-section of the baby’s abdomen and it is possible to determine the exact weight of the baby according to its gender.
List of important tasks in the 40th week of pregnancy
- If you can continue your walk until before the due date of delivery, because it will strengthen your muscles and regulate blood sugar, strengthen your heart and lungs, strengthen your spirit and sense of well-being and strength in your body and soul. Choose routes for walking that have places to stop and rest and go to the bathroom.
- Prepare yourself for the rupture of the water bag so that you are not shocked if this happens.
- Be sure to count the time of contractions.
Baby vision during delivery
The first thing you’re probably looking for after your baby’s exciting arrival is to make sure it’s a boy or a girl. When this issue becomes clear, you will probably notice that the baby has a little dust on it, which includes blood, vernix, fluff and amniotic fluid. From your child’s point of view, you look a little blurry. At the beginning of birth, children can only look up to about 2.5 cm, but remember to say hello to the newly born because it is very likely that he will recognize your voice and your wife’s.
take a rest
Watch a few movies, read a novel, catch up on your favorite magazines or movies, sleep or take a nap whenever you can. Do not forget the tea. If you are still going to work, ask if you can take time off now or do your work at home. You are late in your pregnancy and deserve time off. If you are constantly active from now until delivery, you will have no energy left when your baby is about to be born.
Prohibitions on childbirth
Regarding the factors that make childbirth difficult, we can mention eating salty foods and sitting in very cold places during pregnancy. Also, overeating during pregnancy causes the fetus to grow and makes childbirth difficult. It is better to avoid eating pistachios, meat and eggs in the last days of pregnancy.
Babies heavier than 4 kg
Carrying a fetus weighing between 2.7 and 4 kg may put you at risk. Also, giving birth to a baby weighing more than 4 kg causes problems for both the mother and the child. The probability of giving birth to heavy babies is much higher in women who were overweight during pregnancy or who have diabetes. However, most of these children around the world are born in perfect health, and their mothers give birth without any problems to their babies with a weight of 4 to 4.5 or even 5 kg through natural delivery.
If your doctor predicts that your child is overweight, he may recommend an ultrasound test to measure the diameter and circumference of the child’s head and estimate his weight. However, if there is no specific problem and the uterus is not yet ready to give birth, your doctor will often not do anything to induce labor and induce pain. Many small women can give birth naturally to babies weighing 4 kg. In the same way, there are women who, despite being large, have a small pelvis and the weight of their newborn cannot be more than 3 kg.
Home methods of pain induction
Most of the methods used by pregnant women do not give results and some of them are even harmful. We inform you in advance that some of these methods are unfortunate and unpleasant. For example, some women consume spicy foods or chocolate with the idea that the spice or caffeine in it will act as a stimulant and cause contractions to begin. But the only result is heartburn and swollen ankles because it puts pressure on your digestive system. Others believe that walking causes childbirth, and their reason is that the gravity of the earth pulls the fetus down, and as a result, the pressure it brings to the cervix will cause it to open. Although walking a long way may cause uterine contractions to begin, walking will not have much effect until the cervix is dilated enough, and at the same time, the contractions will stop after stopping. The same goes for sex. Orgasm and prostaglandin in semen, a type of natural fatty acid that helps soften and expand the cervix, can cause uterine contractions, but sexual intercourse will not be useful until the baby is ready to be born.
Some women who are disappointed consume a little castor oil to stimulate the production of prostaglandin and start uterine contractions, but they suffer from diarrhea due to the laxative nature of castor oil. Although the use of herbal decoctions seems to be a good way to induce pain. There is anecdotal evidence of their effectiveness, and in some cases, harm has also been observed.
When the due date passes
The first question is whether the estimated date for your delivery is correct or not, because in most cases it seems that the due date has passed (often 9 days late) because the date was not calculated correctly. The basis of the calendar and doctors’ calculation in this case is three months after the first day of the last menstrual period plus 7. Of course, this calculation is correct for women who have a 28-day menstrual cycle. The fact is that most children are born between 38 and 42 weeks. So this date range is wider than you think. Approximately one out of every 10 babies is born late, that is, from the 42nd week. Still no one knows exactly why some children are born earlier and others later. But research shows that among all the factors that affect the delay or acceleration of childbirth, the racial characteristics and the number of children have the greatest effect. If your pregnancy lasts longer than 41 weeks, your doctor will carefully check the health of the baby through the monitor and may ask you to count the number of beats that indicate the baby’s movements.
Postpartum exercise
After giving birth, you must be happy to be able to wear underwear and go outside for a walk. However, you should wait until your doctor approves you to exercise again. But you can plan for it now.
Start by walking first. Take a 5 minute walk and then come home and see how you feel. If you don’t have bleeding, pain or strain, walk for 6 minutes tomorrow and 7 minutes the day after tomorrow. Carry your baby for walks during these few days. Ask your wife to take care of her until you get home. Let your body tell you how much activity you need during the first few weeks. After you have walked well for a week or two without any problems, you can gradually add stretching and sports to it.
If you feed your baby with your own milk, don’t think about dieting until two weeks after giving birth. During these few days, some of your excess weight will decrease by itself, and the rest of it will be lost later with your increased activity. So eat enough nutritious and healthy foods.
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