Week by Week Pregnancy Guide: 39 Weeks
Now that you are 39 weeks pregnant, an important thing that will happen to your baby at this stage is that his endocrine system will generate more of stress hormones at the time of his birth compared to any other period in his life. These are the hormones that will help him to manage the systems of his body since the placenta will no longer be there.
While your baby is warming up to have his first breathe of air, his lungs will still be developing until when he is finally given birth to. And because of this, his lungs will be producing more of surfactant which will ensure that his air sacs do not stick together by the time he will be taking his first breath in. And by the time he takes in his first breath, of course, you will hear his cry. The essence of that cry is that he is breathing well.
And while he cries, there won’t be tears because his tear glands cannot produce tears at the moment until after few weeks of his birth. But then, if he does not cry, it is nothing to worry about. The reason is because there are some other babies who don’t cry at birth. All you need to watch out for is that he has begun to breathe.
One of the things you will notice about your baby once he is given birth to is that his skin seems to be white. Even if he is going to be dark-skinned later, you will still see it white at the moment. This is to tell you that there is a fat layer that has already been deposited over his blood vessels, so that it is now easy for you to kiss and pinch his cheeks. It is after pigmentation has occurred that his real skin color will now show.
More so, by now, the weight of your baby will be like a pumpkin. His weight will be around 7.25 pounds while he will be about 19.96 inches long.
You may discover the head of your baby is putting pressure on your pelvis so that you become uncomfortable. You may also experience some other early signs of labour like indigestion, cramps that are menstral-like, and others.
If you feel irregular contractions, it means you are experiencing a false labour. How to know if it is false is when you feel it, change your position or walk around; if you have either of these done and it goes, then it is false. But note that that false labour can end up as true in minutes after. You can call your doctor once you discover that the contractions are happening at regular intervals.
Another thing is that if your amniotic sac suddenly breaks and fluid gushes out, it means your labour is near. While some women have theirs break in the hospital, if yours happen before then, it is nothing to worry about; simply call your doctor.
So, for now, ensure you eat healthy diet. Exercise yourself lightly and try to sleep with your side to ensure that your baby is safe.
