37th week of pregnancy for mom and baby - 9th month of pregnancy
Mother's health
The date of delivery is approaching. "Finally" ... this is what you will think if you have lived the last few days with great difficulty! You've gained a lot of weight these past few weeks, mainly due to more consistent water retention. During this time, you can probably take up to 400 grams per week.
Rest assured, this substantial weight gain will stop a few days before giving birth. The last few weeks, in fact, it is above all the weight of your baby, the placenta and the amniotic fluid to increase.
See also
35th week of pregnancy for mom and baby - 9th month of pregnancy
The development of the child
By now, your baby is ready to come into the world too! Her intrauterine development is about to end: she currently measures 48 cm and weighs about 3 kg. The time to be born is approaching: it is now, since the little one begins to have little space. That is why, among other things, it moves even less.
In the body of your future baby, the brain is one of the organs that take up the most space: it represents 1/10 of its body weight.This explains why babies have a fairly large head compared to the rest of the body when compared to adults.
During the first few years of life, your baby's brain will still develop a great deal. After birth, his brain weight will still increase by almost one kg, while your baby will learn and discover many new things ...
Our advice
Fear of suffering during childbirth
The sight of blood terrifies you and you have a thousand fears ... Will you suffer a lot during childbirth? You already imagine your screams of pain, just like in the movies ...
The collective imagination has always associated childbirth with suffering. Women tend to conform to this dimension and some even enjoy amplifying the suffering experienced in telling about their birth.
For some years, however, the attitude towards the pain of childbirth has been changing. Medicine has begun to deal with this suffering, looking for a way to limit it as much as possible.
Women who fear suffering often opt for an epidural. However, sometimes there are contraindications (platelet problems, fever ...) that prevent them from using this method. If you cannot or do not want to give birth under anesthesia , there are other means of relieving pain, such as administering pain relievers.
If you are terrified of suffering during childbirth, here are some reassurances that can help you find peace of mind. Peridural (or epidural) anesthesia allows you to relieve pain related to childbirth and does not hurt more than a normal puncture.
However, if you wish to give birth without medical intervention, it is good that you know that there are methods of preparation for childbirth that can help you during labor, in managing pain: breathing techniques, yoga, haptonomy, prenatal singing, relaxation sessions in the pool ... Or a doctor can prescribe painkillers.
Some details on the epidural
In order to carry out the epidural it is necessary, three / four weeks before the birth, to perform a check by the anesthetist. The anesthetist will listen to the heart and lungs of the woman, take the blood pressure measurement and check the spine to see if there are problems with performing the epidural.
He will inquire if the expectant mother has already undergone general or local anesthesia, if these anesthesia have been well tolerated or if she has had any reaction to specific drugs and, if so, to which drugs. He will ask if he is allergic to any particular drug and will want to see the results of the blood tests, necessary to perform the perdural (blood count, coagulation tests) and the electrocardiogram.
Finally, she will compile a short dossier that will accompany the mother to the labor room. The pre-anesthetic examination allows to check the presence of some contraindications to the epidural (blood clotting, hemoglobin level ...). Side effects are possible: headache, feeling of swollen legs that can last for a few hours. L " epidural cancels the pains of childbirth, but does not eliminate the perception of what is happening!
Good to know
Being conscious allows you to witness the birth of your child without suffering. But every future mother is free to choose for herself.
If the pain is really unbearable, it is always possible to request an epidural during labor.
In fact, the mandatory blood tests to check tolerance to this anesthesia are systematically done in case of pregnancy, even if you do not ask for it specifically. The birth, especially when it comes to the first, lasts several hours: you have plenty of time to change your mind, then!
Not to be forgotten
Begin to prepare the room and the necessary for the baby
Seventh and last obligatory prenatal gynecological examination, blood analysis, complete urine examination
