Around a week before giving birth, your baby’s head will drop down into your pelvis, although this will probably already have happened if this is your first baby. The bones in their skull are ready for birth and are able to slide over each other and overlap, allowing your baby’s head to pass through your cervix. Your baby is now around 50-51cm long and gaining about 1oz a day in weight.
Your baby’s development
You & your body
You’re tired, uncomfortable and want to deliver a healthy baby… soon! It’s time to get rest during this stage of late pregnancy because your labour could be long and tiring, and a new baby is very demanding. So rest while you can and get the rest of the world – and particularly your partner – to attend to your every whim.
Did you know?
By week 39 your baby is beginning to shed the greasy, white substance that keeps its skin protected whilst inside your tummy, called the vernix caseosa. They also begin to shed old skin cells as new ones are now developing.
More from pregnancy
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Pregnancy topics
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