Pregnancy Signs & Symptoms, Week by Week Pregnancy Guide

Have you entered your nine-month pregnancy? You have reached the time of delivery.

In the nine-month pregnancy, you will be having some discomfort with sitting, sleeping, etc, having your baby bigger in size. Your baby is almost ready for labor in four weeks.

During this period of nine-month pregnancy, the baby’s lungs will be fully developed and surfactant production will be increased, which helps the baby to breath after birth.

The baby’s intestine will be collected with meconium called baby’s first bowel movement and the baby starts urinating.

When you are 9 months pregnant, your baby needs to put a good weight.  The lanugo hair or downy hair and vernix disappear. Because of the decreased space in uterus due to increasing size of the baby, the baby cannot move in the uterus. Now, your baby can turn the head and suck the thumb.

The baby can develop immunities to protect against many infections although the immune system is somewhat immature. The baby will receive antibodies through placenta and after birth from your milk.

The weight of the baby will be six to seven pounds with height of approximately seventeen to eighteen inches. Approximately, the baby gains about one ounce a day in this month.

Many women will have some common symptoms during this nine-month pregnancy such as fatigue, constipation, heartburn, shortness of breath, lower back pain, difficulty sleeping, nausea, leg cramps, stretch marks etc.

You can have swollen breasts as your breasts will be filled with milk that is triggered by the placenta and your breasts will be leaky.

As your body is ready for labor, you will be having heavy vaginal discharge. Confirm with your doctor about the position of your baby. If the baby is in breech position you might need a cesarean section.

In the thirty-sixth week of pregnancy, at any moment your baby drops down to birth canal. Have weekly checkups with your health care professional.

In the thirty-eighth week, your doctor will perform internal exam to see if your cervix is soft, dilated, effaced, and if the head of the baby is dropped into your pelvis.

You will be getting contractions frequently. They can be stronger.  Lie down for sometime if you get contractions because if they are false contractions they will disappear by lying down. If the contractions are severe enough to labor, they will not stop even with changing positions.

True labor contractions start at the top of the uterus and radiates to the entire uterus and low back and into the pelvis.

As the baby drops down the uterus in the nine-month pregnancy, it will be pressing on bladder and you will be required to go to bathroom for every two minutes. You may feel tired all the time. Most of your pain moves to your back.

Remember that the due date is just the estimation and your baby will born at anytime between thirty eight to forty two weeks.

Pregnancy is a wonderful experience. Welcome your baby into this world with lots of love and affection.