Pregnancy Trimester 3
A pregnany typically lasts 9 months but in reality a pregnancy is more likely to be measured in weeks. An expected pregnancy will be 40 weeks long and the 3rd Trimester is taken to be approx weeks 14-24 weeks of your pregnancy.
During the third and final stage of your pregnancy this is when you will be preparing for the birth of your child. As the third trimester progresses you will begin to notice some very dramatic changes to the way your body looks and feels. Your stomach will expand further in order that it can accommodate the growing baby within it. Plus the expanding stomach helps to prepare itself for when the baby will be born. As a result of being so close to the baby’s birth your emotional state will begin to alter as well. Many women may find that control the way the feel becomes a lot more difficult and can become upset by the slightest thing. Also you will start to notice that your relationship with your baby has begun to change as well at this stage of the pregnancy. This is because you have become a great deal more familiar with not only when and how it moves but also when it chooses to sleep.
At this stage of the pregnancy because you are having to carry around this additional weight you may start to suffer from other problems. Many women at this stage of the pregnancy will find that they suffer from backache, indigestion along with feeling breathlessness. Plus they may also notice that their fingers and feet swell. The reason that this things occur is that it is during the third trimester your body is preparing itself for when the birth takes place. So in order to ensure that the birth is as comfortable and easier as possible the body’s muscles begin to relax. As this occurs they start to practice Braxton Hicks constructions and your body will also start to stimulate the production of colostrum from your breasts.
So what is likely to be happening to your baby during the third trimester of your pregnancy?
Below we take a look at how the baby will be developing inside the womb during this period.
Weeks 27 to 35
At the start of this stage of the pregnancy the baby is laying down even more stores of fat and their lungs are becoming stronger so that they are ready for when they will be born. On average a baby at this stage of the third trimester will measure around 9.5 inches (24.5cm) and weigh about 1.1 kg (2.5 pounds). During this stage of the pregnancy not only can they differentiate between night and day but will be able to recognize your voice. The body of your baby will be covered in a thick white grease called vernix and this will protect them from absorbing too much amniotic fluid. But by the time the baby is born then this will normally have vanished.
36 Weeks
This is when most babies will be born and at this stage of the pregnancy they will measure around 18 inches (46cm) and weigh around 2.75kg (6 pounds). By this stage they will not be growing as quickly but the will still be gaining weight. On average a healthy baby should be putting around 250g (9 oz) a week by this stage of the pregnancy. Also not only will the vernix be disappearing from your baby’s body so will the fine (lanugo) body hair.
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