Week 38
Your baby is now about 48.6 cm (19 in) long and weighs around 2.9 kg (6.4 lb). That is close to birth size, but babies vary widely, and a healthy baby can be well above or below this. Your baby keeps gaining about 200 grams (7 oz) a week, mostly as fat. The grip is strong, and the body is storing iron and receiving antibodies from you through the placenta. From today you are early term. Your body may feel crowded and tired, and sleep can be hard to come by. This week turns towards the first hour after birth: skin-to-skin contact and the first feed. It also looks at how you might feel in the days after, and the last practical details at home.
Day 260 · 37 weeks 0 days
Your baby is early term today
Today you reach 37 weeks. If labour starts on its own from now on, your baby is no longer considered preterm. Most babies born at this point breathe, feed and keep warm without extra help.
Inside, your baby is still busy. The lungs are making more surfactant, the substance that keeps the tiny air sacs open with each breath. The brain is growing fast, and the liver and gut are maturing. Antibodies are crossing the placenta from your blood, which will protect your baby against some infections in the first months.
Your baby is also storing iron, which helps carry them through the early months of milk feeding. The skin is losing its wrinkled look as fat fills out underneath, and the nails may reach the fingertips or beyond. Newborns sometimes arrive with scratches on their faces for that reason. There is less room now, so movements may feel more like rolls, stretches and pushes than kicks. Your baby should still move as much as before, with the same pattern you have come to know.
Try this: Spend a few minutes tonight lying on your side with a hand on your bump, noticing how your baby moves now compared with a month ago.
Day 261 · 37 weeks 1 day
Sleep is hard now, so rest when you can
Few people sleep well at the end of pregnancy. Your bump makes it hard to get comfortable, you get up to pee several times a night, and heartburn, leg cramps or a busy mind can keep you awake. Some people also have vivid dreams about the birth or the baby.
The habits from week 31 still apply. A few more things help now. A long body pillow can do the work of several, supporting your knees, bump and back at once. Getting in and out of bed is harder, so roll onto your side with your knees together and push up with your arms, as you read in week
- 35. A night light on the way to the bathroom lowers the chance of a stumble when you are half asleep.
Try to have most of your drinks earlier in the day, then sip in the evening, to cut down on night-time trips to the bathroom.
During the day, rest without guilt. A nap, or just lying down with your feet up, counts. You are not lazy. You are growing a person and getting ready for a big physical event.
Try this: Book a 30-minute rest into today, with your phone in another room.
Day 262 · 37 weeks 2 days
Eat well now, and plan to eat in early labour
Your appetite may shrink in these last weeks because there is so little room. Small, frequent meals and snacks work better than three big ones. Aim for foods that give steady energy and fibre, such as whole grains, beans, vegetables, fruit, nuts, eggs and yogurt. Fibre and water also help with the constipation that is common now.
Keep drinking. You need more fluid than usual, and being well hydrated can help you feel less tired. Water, milk and soups all count. Keep caffeine within the limit you read about in the first weeks.
It also helps to think about food for labour. In early labour, eating light, easy food and drinking regularly gives you energy for the hours ahead. Toast, crackers, bananas, rice, yogurt, broth and honey are good choices. Most people do not feel like eating much once labour is strong, so eat while you can.
Policies on eating and drinking in active labour vary between birth units. Many now allow light snacks and clear fluids for people with a straightforward labour. Ask your care provider what is usual where you are giving birth.
Try this: Add some easy labour snacks and a refillable water bottle with a straw to your bag today.
Day 263 · 37 weeks 3 days
Skin-to-skin is the best first welcome
In the minutes after birth, your baby can be placed straight onto your bare chest, naked or in just a diaper, with a warm blanket over you both. This is called skin-to-skin contact. It is now standard care in many places for healthy babies, after both vaginal and caesarean births.
Skin-to-skin does a lot. Your body warms your baby better than a heater can. It helps steady their heart rate, breathing and blood sugar. It calms both of you, and it gives your baby their best chance to find the breast and feed when they are ready. It is also good for bonding, whatever way you plan to feed.
The current advice is to keep your baby on your chest without interruption for at least the first hour, or until after the first feed. Weighing and measuring can usually wait. Many checks can be done with your baby lying on you.
If you need medical care, or your baby does, skin-to-skin may be delayed. Your partner or support person can hold your baby skin-to-skin instead. It can happen later too, and it helps on any day in the weeks ahead. Try this: Add a line to your birth plan: "We would like uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact for the first hour, if we are both well."
Day 264 · 37 weeks 4 days
Your baby knows how to look for the first feed
A healthy newborn placed skin-to-skin often goes through a series of steps on their own. After a first cry, they rest. Then they start to wake, look around, and move their mouth. They may bob their head, crawl a little, and root towards the nipple. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour or more.
If you plan to breastfeed or chestfeed, this is a good time for the first feed. Your body has been making colostrum for weeks. It is thick, yellow and small in amount, which is exactly right for a newborn's tiny stomach. A good latch takes in a big mouthful of breast, not just the nipple. A nurse or midwife can help you with positioning.
If you are formula feeding, the first feed can still happen skin-to-skin. Hold your baby close, look into their eyes, and let them pace the bottle. Either way, the first feed does not need to be perfect. Many babies are sleepy after birth, and some take a while to get going. The first days of feeding are covered in a later chapter.
Call your care provider if, in the first days, your baby is hard to wake for feeds, has very few wet diapers, or looks more yellow.
Try this: Ask at your next visit who can help with feeding at your birth unit, and whether there is a lactation consultant.
Day 265 · 37 weeks 5 days
Feelings after birth can swing widely
It helps to know now what the days after birth can feel like. Many people feel joy and relief. Many also feel tearful, anxious, irritable or overwhelmed, often around three to five days after the birth. This is called the baby blues. It affects most new parents, is linked to hormone shifts and lack of sleep, and usually fades within two weeks.
Postpartum depression is different. It lasts longer and runs deeper. It can bring constant low mood, loss of interest, trouble bonding, guilt, or feeling hopeless. Postpartum anxiety, with racing thoughts and constant worry, is also common. These affect roughly 1 in 7 birthing parents, and partners can be affected too. They are not a sign of weakness, and they are very treatable.
Having support lined up before the birth helps. So does knowing that you can speak up.
Call your care provider if low mood or anxiety lasts more than two weeks, gets worse, or stops you from caring for yourself or your baby. Get help right away if you have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, or you see or hear things others do not. Call your local emergency number or a crisis line.
Try this: Write down the name of one person you would tell if you were struggling after the birth, and tell them now that you might.
Day 266 · 37 weeks 6 days
Tie up the loose ends at home
Labour could start any day now, so it is worth checking the practical details. You will have less to think about when the time comes. Make sure the car seat is fitted and the hospital bag is by the door. If you have other children, confirm who will care for them, and have a backup in case labour starts at night. Arrange who will feed and walk any pets. Know how you will get to the birth unit at any hour, including a taxi number if no one can drive you.
Put copies of key papers in your bag: your health card or insurance details, your prenatal records if you hold them, and your birth plan. Charge your phone and pack a long charging cable.
At home, a few things make the first week easier. Stock up on basic food, toiletries and pads. Freeze a few meals. Clear a spot by the bed for water, snacks and a lamp for night feeds.
None of this has to be perfect. The goal is fewer last-minute phone calls and less to remember while you are in labour.
For your partner: Cook and freeze two or three meals this week, and set up the spot by the bed for night feeds.