As you reach 32 weeks pregnant, don't be surprised if you start to feel very fatigued. All that extra weight that you are carrying around takes its toll on your body. Your exhaustion may also be related to the dramatic increase of the hormone progesterone in your pregnant body. (Progesterone helps prepare your body for labor and delivery.)
Take it Easy in the Third Trimester
Although fatigue is a normal pregnancy symptom in the third trimester, you should try to take it easy, if you can. Take short breaks at work, and extra naps in the middle of the day (if you have this luxury). At pregnancy week 32, you can look forward to the fact that your fatigue won't last forever. Pregnancy-related fatigue will disappear shortly after you give birth.
Pregnancy Weight Gain and Insomnia
As you grow larger in your pregnancy, you should expect to also experience sleep disturbances and insomnia (if you aren't already!). In fact, your pregnancy weight gain at 32 weeks pregnant may be as high as 25 pounds, or more! (The recommended weight gain in pregnancy for an average sized woman is between 25 and 35 pounds).
Only 5 More Weeks to Go!
At pregnancy week 32, you may feel like you can't get any larger! But remember,
you have five more weeks until your baby is full-term and ready to be delivered.
That's over a month! Expect your belly to continue to grow as your pregnancy
week by week comes to a close.
Be Aware of Posture Changes
As your belly expands at 32 weeks pregnant and onward, try to be aware of your posture. Postural changes in pregnancy are linked to some painful pregnancy changes, including backaches and leg cramps.
What Causes Back Pain in the Third Trimester
In the third trimester, your back pain may also be linked to the increased levels of the hormone relaxin in your body. This hormone helps stretch and soften your body's ligaments and pelvic tendons, so that your baby can easily pass through the birth canal during delivery.
Heart Palpitations During Pregnancy
At pregnancy week 32, you may start to experience heart palpitations (the sensation that your heart is pounding or racing, or beating irregularly). Though you may feel concerned about this, it is a common experience in pregnancy, especially around 32 weeks pregnant. Heart palpitations are simply the result of the your increased blood volume during pregnancy (which peaks around this week), paired with the influences of the hormone progesterone, and the stress and anxiety of pregnancy.
If your heart palpitations are paired with chest pain or a sensation of breathlessness, you should contact your healthcare provider.
Start Thinking About Your Delivery Options
Around pregnancy week 32, you may want to thinking about the type of delivery that you want. Do you want to have a planned c-section, or would you prefer a vaginal birth? What are your plans on pain medication, if you deliver vaginally? In some cases, you may not have a choice in how you deliver. But in most cases, you can choose.
Discuss your plans with your healthcare provider at your prenatal visits. (You should be going to see your OB/GYN or other healthcare provider every two weeks in the third trimester.)
Fetal Development at 32 Weeks Pregnant At 32 weeks pregnant, your baby continues to put on the weight. He or she weighs around 3.7 pounds now, and he or she is about 16.7 inches long. Your little one is reaching his or her maximum length at this stage of your pregnancy week by week.
The level of amniotic fluid in your uterus is reaching its maximum at pregnancy week 32. From this point onward, the amount of amniotic fluid will stay constant until your baby is full term (week 37 of pregnancy). At 37 weeks, the amount will steadily decrease.
Your baby is starting to fatten up this week. He or she is packing on fat and muscle underneath the skin, giving your baby a more rounded look. By the time that your baby is born, he or she will simply be the cutest, chubby baby that you ever did see!
The skin is less translucent at 32 weeks pregnant. It is also become pinker. It's harder to see the blood vessels underneath the skin. You can now see creases on the skin of your baby's wrists and on the palms.
During pregnancy week 32, your baby's muscle tone is improving so his or her movements are smoother and more complex. Your baby's movements in the womb help with his or her coordination, increases his or her muscle mass, and strengthen his or her bones.
Your Delivery Options: Vaginal Birth vs. C-Section At 32 weeks pregnant, you are fast approaching your delivery date. This is a good time to start thinking about all your options when it comes to labor and delivery. You have two choices: vaginal birth or a planned c-section. (However, if your labor and delivery are complicated, you may not have a choice).
A majority of births in the United States are vaginal deliveries. But the rates of cesareans are steadily increasing. Around 32 percent of all American babies are born via cesarean section. (When you compare this to the worldwide c-section rate of 15 percent, you may find this high rate shocking.)
Emergency C-Sections
During pregnancy week 32, it's important for you to learn about both delivery options. Even if you are dead set on having a vaginal birth, you should learn about the pros and cons of a cesarean section in the event that you require an emergency c-section.
Typically, you may need an unplanned cesarean if problems arise during your labor. This include the following situations:
Your baby's heart rate drops, signaling that he or she may be in fetal distress. Your doctor may decide that your baby won't be able to withstand a natural labor and that the best option for your baby is to be born via cesarean section.
Your cervix stops dilating or your baby has stopped progressing down the birth canal, and your doctor can't stimulate contractions to labor moving again.
The umbilical cord slips through your open cervix into the vagina, before your baby does. This is called an umbilical cord prolapse, and it occurs in one out of every 300 births. When this complication occurs, your baby needs to be delivered via c-section immediately, because the prolapsed cord can cut off your baby's oxygen supply and lead to a stillbirth.
Your placenta starts to peel from the inner wall of your uterus before your baby is delivered. Called placenta abruption, this complication can deprive your baby of his or her oxygen supply. If this occurs, your baby will need to be delivered right away.
Fortunately, in most cases, you will have an uncomplicated labor and delivery and you will get to choose whether you have a natural birth or a planned c-section.
Vaginal Birth: Pros & Cons
Giving birth vaginally is the more natural way of childbirth. Your body was designed to give birth without any medical or surgical interventions. Labor starts with a dilated cervix and ends with your baby passing through your birth canal and into the real world.
Despite that a vaginal delivery is the "natural" way of giving birth, it can be a painful experience without any pain medication. Delivering vaginally also places you at increased risk of perineum tearing, ranging from mild tears to more severe lacerations. You may have pelvic organ prolapse (one of your pelvic organs drops into your vagina) after delivery. In rare cases, uterine inversion can occur. Your baby also faces a small risk of physical trauma from passing through the birth canal. But these are usually mild and include bruising and swelling.
On the plus side, you will have a shorter hospital stay than with a c-section. Your baby is also at decreased risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension and he or she is less likely to have common newborn respiratory problems, such as fluid in the lungs. Vaginal delivery also means that you have a quicker postpartum recovery time.
Planned Cesarean Section: Pros & Cons
At 32 weeks pregnant, you may be too worried about the pain of childbirth, or you want more control of when your baby arrives. In this case, you may want a planned cesarean section.
A planned c-section gives you more control of your baby's birth. You will already know your baby's birthday ahead of time, so that you can better plan for your little one. You are also at decreased risk of a pelvic floor injury or urinary incontinence (inability to hold urine) after your baby's birth.
These pros of a cesarean may sound wonderful at pregnancy week 32, but remember: a c-section is a major abdominal surgery that does come with certain risks and complications.
You are at increased risk of serious health problems after a c-section. This includes heart attacks, wound hematoma (mass of clotted blood underneath the site of the incision), blood clots in your veins, hemorrhage, and numbness or pain in the area of the wound.
Your baby also faces the risk of being nicked or cut by the doctor's scalpel during the surgery. Your little one may face more respiratory problems that babies born vaginally. He or she may also be delivered premature, if your estimated due date was not calculated correctly.
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