| |
At 39 weeks pregnant, you only have one more week to go until your estimated
due date. Now that you’re this close to the finish line, have you made the final
preparations for your baby’s arrival? Is your hospital bag packed and ready to
go? Have you made a list of the names and phone numbers to call after your
baby is born?
Is Your Infant Car Seat Installed?
By this last week of your pregnancy week by week, you should also have a
certified infant car seat installed. You will not be able to leave the hospital with
your little bundle of joy until you have done this. Your newborn baby must ride
in an infant car seat that faces the back of the car until he or she is at least one
year old and weighs 20 pounds. The safest place for the infant car seat is in the
middle of the backseat of your car. This will protect your baby from injury in the
event of an accident.
A Flood of Mixed Emotions
Once all the preparations have been made and you get closer to your due date
at pregnancy week 39, you may start to feel a flood of mixed emotions. Part of
you may feel elated at the prospect of meeting your new baby - this bundle of joy
that you’ve carried around for nine months. Another part of you may start to feel
afraid. You may have fear about labor and delivery, or fear that you’ll be a bad
mother or that you won’t know how to care for your newborn infant.
Lay all your fears to rest at 39 weeks pregnant. Women have been delivering
babies since the beginning of time and raising them without any books or
instruction manuals. Most mothers have a natural instinct when it comes to
raising their children. Don’t worry - your maternal instinct will kick in when you
meet your baby for the first time!
Weight Gain During Pregnancy - Week 39
In addition to this whirlwind of mixed emotions about your impending childbirth
experience, you may also feel impatient at pregnancy week 39. You can’t wait
for your labor and delivery. Plus, your pregnancy weight gain at 39 weeks
pregnant might be anywhere between 25 and 30 pounds, possibly more.
Carrying all this weight around is strenuous for your back and makes all your
third trimester pregnancy symptoms even worse. No wonder you want your baby
out!
Get Ready for Lots of Phone Calls!
Fortunately, your family and friends are more than willing to keep you distracted
as you wait for your baby to come. Around pregnancy week 39, you will probably
find yourself bombarded with phone calls from family and friends with the same
question: “Have you had the baby yet?”
Some pregnant women at this week of their pregnancy week by week are
welcome to the intrusion, as it keeps their minds occupied. On the other hand,
you may want some peace and quiet before baby comes. At 39 weeks pregnant,
if this is the case, you can protect yourself from the onslaught of phone calls by telling people that you’ll call them once your baby arrives and you’re comfortably
situated. You can also turn off your phone if you don’t want to speak to anyone.
Try to Get Some Rest
At pregnancy week 39, try to get as much rest as you can. After your baby
arrives, you’ll be spending many sleepless days and nights caring and feeding
your little bundle of joy. You may want to stop working at this point of your
pregnancy week by week. You just never know when you’ll go into labor.
At 39 weeks pregnant, your baby is fully formed and ready to be delivered,
however some babies may want to stay in the womb for one or two additional
weeks. (After 42 weeks pregnant, your baby is considered “post-term” and
your doctor will induce labor, or perform a c-section, to get your baby out.)
Since your baby is fully mature at pregnancy week 39, he or she has reached
his or her birth weight and length. Your baby may weigh anywhere between 7
and 7.5 pounds, though some babies may weigh more and others less. Your little
one is likely to be between 19 and 21 inches long at this point in your pregnancy
week by week.
Your baby’s eyes are fully developed by pregnancy week 39, but the neural
networks continue to mature. As a result, your baby’s vision will be fuzzy in the
first few weeks after birth.
Were you a hairy baby when you were born? If so, there’s a possibility that your
baby will be born with a full head of hair! But you never know, your baby might
only have a few wispy strands, or no hair at all, at 39 weeks pregnant and when
he or she is born.
Since your baby is situated low in your pelvis during pregnancy week 39, you
probably have relief from any upper abdominal discomfort. However, in its place,
you may feel lots of pressure on your bladder . . . that means, lots of restroom
breaks!
Still feeling those kicks? All of your baby’s movements at 39 weeks pregnant are
helping build his or her muscle strength, as well as helping with coordination.
Since you are now 39 weeks pregnant, you will want to try to learn everything
you can about what happens during labor and delivery and what occurs
afterwards. One term you should become familiar with is “Apgar score” or “Apgar
test.”
Developed in the early 1950s by Dr. Virginia Apgar, the Apgar test is used to
quickly appraise your baby’s health immediately following birth, and it determines
whether your baby will need extra medical or emergency care. Your baby will
undergo the Apgar test at one-minute and five-minutes after birth. APGAR stands
for “Activity, Pulse, Grimace, Appearance, and Respiration.”
How Apgar Scores are Calculated
The Apgar test looks at the strength and regularity of your baby’s heart rate, lung
maturity, muscle tone and movement, skin color, and response to stimulation.
Depending on how well your baby does in each of these categories, his Apgar
score can range from zero (a deceased baby) to ten (a baby that is in perfect
health).
To determine your baby’s Apgar score at birth, your healthcare provider will
calculate a score of 0, 1, or 2, depending on well your baby does in each
category. Some doctors may use an Apgar score calculator similar to the below:
- Strength and Regularity of Heart Rate
»100 beats/minute or higher (2)
»Less than 100 beats/minute (1)
»No heartbeat (0)
- Lung Maturity
»Regular breathing (2)
»Irregular breathing (1)
»Not breathing (0)
- Muscle Tone and Movement
»Active (2)
»Moderate (1)
»Limp (0)
- Skin Color
»Pink (2)
»Bluish extremities (1)
»Completely Blue (0)
- Reflex Response to Stimuli
»Crying (2)
»Whimpering (1)
»Silence (0)
Normal Apgar Scores
In general, most healthy babies will receive an Apgar score of 8 or 9, which
indicates to your doctors that your baby is in great condition. (It’s rare for a baby
to have a 10 Apgar score, due to the fact that almost all newborn infants have
blue hands and feet.)
Low Apgar Score and What it Means
An Apgar score that is lower than 8 suggests that your baby needs medical
attention right away. However, if your baby scores low at one minute after birth,
and then scores higher at the 5-minute test, your baby will probably not have any
long-term problems.
The Apgar Test is Not a Fortune Teller!
Remember - don’t dwell on your baby’s Apgar score. The Apgar test is designed
to help your healthcare team assess your baby’s overall physical condition after
delivery, so they can determine whether your baby needs immediate medical
care. Your baby’s Apgar score does not predict your child’s long-term health,
intelligence, behavior, or future outcome.
Babies that have slightly lower Apgar scores at the one-minute mark after birth
tend to be premature babies, babies from a high-risk pregnancy, infants born via
c-section, and newborns of women who’ve had a complicated labor and delivery.
If your doctor or healthcare team is concerned about your baby’s Apgar score,
they will let you know. In the meanwhile, don’t worry about it. Chances are your
baby will be perfectly healthy.
Enjoy the rest of your pregnancy week 39!
Read about your Pregnancy Week by Week – 40 Weeks Pregnant
|
| |
|
