This is another week less. The mother’s tension is increasing anticipating about labour and baby is finally making its big move. The developments in the 34th week
Pregnancy are enumerated below.
Changes in the Baby
The baby keeps on growing. It is putting on more weight and increasing in length. It weighs around 5 pounds and measures about 18 – 20 inches in length. In
Pregnancy Week 34 the baby’s body is filling out and new muscles are being formed. More fat is being deposited under the skin. This will help the baby to withstand the temperature differences outside when it is born. The fat acts as an insulator keeping the baby warm.
The central nervous system of the baby is fully functional and the lungs have almost developed. The liver has started functioning and the
baby has developed immunity towards mild infections. The bones are also becoming stronger. The baby is almost completely developed by this week. Although
delivery anytime after the 37th week is considered safe, babies born in this week have more than 95 percent chances of surviving without much of medical intervention. You can acquire more information for this in
Pregnancy Week by Week.
Just like any newborn the baby opens its eyes when awake and closes it when asleep. The finger nails have grown and are sharp. You will have to clip them in a few days after delivery to prevent the baby from scratching itself. The vernix on the skin becomes thicker and lanugo has almost disappeared. The baby can grasp firmly now.
In this week the baby moves to the pelvis. In this
Pregnancy Week 34 the mother can feel the weight of the baby shift downwards. The baby is mostly lying in a head down position ready to come out any time.
Changes in the Mother
With the baby moving into the pelvis the mother feels more comfortable. Her breathlessness reduces because the uterus has descended and it is no longer pushing against the diaphragm and other internal organs to make space for the growing baby. But the bad news in this
Week 34 is that now the uterus is resting against the urinary bladder making her run to the loo every half an hour!
The Braxton Hicks contractions are stronger. But they are still not painful. These are false contractions to prepare the body for the real labour. The mother must practice the breathing lessons she is learning in the child birth classes. This will help her to relax... It is very important for the mother to be relaxed because studies have proved that the
labour pains are directly proportional to the anxiety the mother is feeling. This is because stress causes the uterine muscles to tense making the contractions more painful. The stress also increases the level of catecholamine in the blood. This will curb the production of oxytocin which is essential for a smooth delivery.
During the last few weeks the mother has to pay lot of attention to her diet. In
Pregnancy Week 34 she has to include calcium iron and calcium rich supplements in her food. The baby will be drawing calcium from the mother’s bones to meet its requirements. If the calcium is not adequately replenished it will affect the bones of the mother in the long run. Iron is also important because the volume of blood in the mother’s body is increasing to compensate the loss of blood during delivery.
The common complaints during
Pregnancy of this week are the same as before. They include sleeplessness, weight gain, anxiety of labour, aches and pains etc. There is nothing that good sleep and adequate rest cannot solve.
