Week 37 Of Your Pregnancy

Your baby is fully developed and it is just a matter of time before he or she emerges into a new world. Nobody knows exactly what triggers the big event but when he or she is ready to emerge your body starts releasing chemicals prostaglandins that thin, soften and dilate the cervix. These trigger your uterus to start contracting and push the baby out of our body.

Week 37 Of Your Pregnancy

You can experience contractions and still not go through labor. A sure sign of labor is having your water break. However, early stage labor can last hours or even days. It is not time to go to the hospital until contractions start occurring about five minutes apart.

Changes To Your Body

Labor has three stages. It is not time to go to the hospital until you are in the second phase of active labor. This is when your cervix dilates from three to four centimeters to seven. In this stage the contractions last up to a minute or so can be very painful. The pain is felt through your stomach, lower back and upper thighs. This is usually the time when a woman asks for a pain relieving epidural.

Eventually you’ll progress to the transition phase, which is the end of the first stage of labor. Here, your cervix finishes dilating to 10 centimeters, and contractions are non-stop.

The official start of stage two of labor is when you begin to push the baby out of the womb. The baby’s head will appear near the opening of the vagina but it can take as long as forty-five minutes to finish delivering her. Once the baby’s head has emerged from the vagina the doctor usually checks the position of the umbilical cord.

As soon as the baby emerges, the umbilical cord will be cut — severing your baby from the placenta. You may ask to cradle your baby right away, and then she’ll be weighed and examined by a doctor or nurse.

While the baby is being measured and wrapped you will be busy delivering the placenta.

Lifestyle Considerations

Leave the cell phone at home. You may not be able to make calls in the hospital. Don’t forget to bring your camera to capture the first happy moments of your baby’s life in this world.

Good Advice

Everyone knows that hospital food is not that great. Pack some of your favourite foods and other nutritious snacks and treats for you to have in the hospital to keep your strength up.