Eighth month of pregnancy

Cloudless and easy period left behind. Eighth month of pregnancy sets new tasks for the future mother, which are becoming more and more difficult to solve. Births are just around the corner, excitement is growing, and well-being is deteriorating. Patience and the right attitude to the changes occurring in the body, will help the expectant mother to survive this difficult time.

The eighth month is the middle of the third trimester. This time is traditionally considered prenatal, preparatory. It may seem to a woman that her first trimester, with all its excitements, was already so long ago that the experiences were already forgotten. There is already a feeling of fatigue and a desire to give birth quickly to make it easier.

All existing symptoms may worsen, and the expectant mother should not be afraid of this. It's just that her body is really tired, the immune system is depleted, internal processes of preparation for childbirth invisible to the eye begin. Instead of worrying, it’s better to get down to work - collect a bag for childbirth, choose a maternity hospital and sign an exchange card there, start attending courses for expectant mothers, where women will be taught the correct behavior and breathing during childbirth, the subtleties of child care in his first days, the establishment of breastfeeding - this knowledge is very useful.

The eighth month corresponds to the week 30-34 and takes several days from the 35th week, if we measure the period by the usual and usual calendar method. The obstetric period, equal to the eighth month, includes 29-32 weeks. In pregnancy, not 9 obstetric months, but 10.

Speaking of 8 months, we will consider the term from 30 to 34.5 weeks.

The dangerous period for the baby is over. The threats of the first trimester, when the formation of the baby’s organs was actively going on, remained far behind. The baby is well protected by the placenta, and so far it copes well with its tasks - it feeds, oxygenates, protects and acts as a shock absorber.

The kid prettier every day - adds weight, acquires cute roundness, which make newborns so cute. The shoulders were rounded up, which used to be sharply sticking out. The skills that the crumb possessed during the seven months in the womb allow him to survive if the birth takes place now. But it's still dangerous to give birth, because the baby will be considered premature.

The main danger of birth at 8 months lies in the immaturity of the lung tissue - the surfactant, which does not allow the alveoli to stick together after the first breath, has not accumulated enough. The consequences of childbirth in the period from 30 to 34.5 weeks can be very deplorable - acute respiratory failure, ischemia and cerebral infarction, systemic hypothermia due to low weight and a small amount of subcutaneous fat. Nature has provided everything so that the child will stay in the womb a little more, and you need to contribute to this with all your might.

Let's look at how the baby feels during the eighth month.

The baby looks almost like a newborn, but you need to understand that the organs and systems of the crumbs have not yet fully matured. How much a baby should weigh at this time is harder to say, because the weight is gained rapidly, and the genetic data of all the children is different. There are already babies who weigh about 2 kilograms, and there are crumbs with a weight of only one and a half kilograms.Average is the weight of 1800 grams. The height of children may also differ (there are tall people, and there are short people), on average, children grow up to 40-42 centimeters.

The skin of the child is no longer red. Subcutaneous fat has accumulated enough to smooth the skin and become soft pink. If the child is dark-skinned or dark-skinned, then a pigment is already being produced that paints its skin in the desired color provided by the genome.

For the baby, the free period ended when he could move as he liked; there was no place in the uterus. In order not to lead to overstretching and an increase in pressure inside the uterus, the amount of amniotic fluid begins to decrease. Those who are now in the pelvic or transverse presentation, already, most likely, will not unfold - a chance for it is 1 in a few thousand. Baby grows up to about 43 cm and increases the weight to 2 kilograms.

The placenta begins to produce oxytocin, a hormone that, at the right time, having accumulated in the right quantity, will cause uterine contractions - contractions. He will become a generic dominant.

The accumulation of surfactant in the lung tissue continues. Weight gain is also ongoing. The baby grows up a little more - up to 44-45 centimeters, and weighs up to 2.1 kilograms. This week, many undergo the final third prenatal screening and leave the doctor’s office disappointed: firstly, the child is no longer visible on the monitor, the doctor can only examine certain parts of his body - the head, limbs, kidneys, heart, stomach, secondly, In most cases, the gender of the child cannot be seen - the pose of the baby does not allow. Those who have not yet found out the sex or received contradictory answers from the doctors in earlier periods will now have to wait for the childbirth - determining the sex of the baby in the delivery room has the highest accuracy - 100%.

The kid starts to move a little less. He is very closely, the movements are given with great difficulty. But mimicry in children at this time is simply gorgeous. To see it, you can go to a three-dimensional or four-dimensional ultrasound - you will have both smiles, half-smiles, and frowning faces, and a surprised expression on your face.

The fruit gained in weight about 300-400 grams per week. Now, many kids have crossed the psychologically critical level of 2.5 kilograms. At birth with such a weight, the child receives the most favorable, lightest degree of prematurity, provided that he has everything in order with the lungs.

The placenta began to wear out. In it, the aging process begins from this period, which will be determined by ultrasound in degrees. While this is the first degree of maturity, the child’s condition is compensated, which means that the aging process of the “children's place” does not harm the baby in any way.

Together with degenerative aging, the placenta begins to produce the hormone prolactin. It allows the mammary glands to prepare as much as possible for the upcoming breastfeeding.

The first 3 days of this week close the eighth month of pregnancy and sum up a sort of result. There will be only one calendar month, which separates the woman from the meeting with her baby. By the end of the eighth month, the baby comes up with an increase of almost 46-47 centimeters, with a weight of 2, 4 kilograms to 2.9 kilograms.

The main event of the month is becoming a child of his own eye color - the iris is no longer blue, as all fruits have before this date, but such as it should be (thanks to the parents!). The head, which used to make the child look like a humanoid from a fantastic thriller, has come to a harmonious relationship with other body sizes, now its area is no more than one fifth, and this will continue until the birth. Such a child will be born on time.

A woman becomes restricted in her movements, as the uterus grows at an incredibly fast pace, the general condition worsens, all this cannot but affect the psychological and emotional state - many are beginning to feel very anxious, they become tearful, irritable.

A small belly at 8 months is a rarity rather than a rule. Usually a solid tum has already appeared in women with wide hips, and in women with narrow ones, regardless of weight and body size. It is impossible to hide it under clothes, and there is no need - the woman is on maternity leave and now she decides where and when she should go and walk at all.

The belly grows fast. If you take two selfie photos at the beginning of the eighth month and at the end, it will be easier for a woman to visually see the huge difference in size. The bottom of the uterus props up the ribs, because of this there is a feeling of lack of air, shortness of breath, the ribs themselves can hurt, which have to diverge slightly in order to make room. Compounding condition of the baby himself. If he dwells in headache, then the blows with his legs under the aching ribs are a unique and incomparable feeling.

The center of gravity has shifted, it is becoming more and more difficult for a woman to put on shoes and bend down and even look under her feet when walking is not always the case, and therefore the risk of falling and getting injured increases. Due to the stretching of the ligaments that hold a solid-sized uterus, sometimes the lower abdomen aches and hurts, the lower back is pulled, and the back can hurt.

The movements have decreased, but have become more sensitive for the future mother - the waters have become less, and therefore each kick is perceived rather painfully. The future mother already knows how to determine, by the nature of the movements of the baby, not only how he feels, but also his preferences, because the children already like something, but something does not. From this month, children become more dependent on meteorological conditions - they are actively responding to weather changes.

A woman should count the movements and record the data in a special notebook or notebook. Ways of counting are different, usually a woman has a favorite, but it should be remembered that, despite the crowdedness, still, at least 10 movements must be recorded in 12 hours, while the child’s hiccups are not considered as movement.

If the fetus becomes very active, pushes strongly, moves frequently and much, you should consult a doctor - this may be a sign of hypoxia in its initial stages. If there is little movement and they are sluggish, again the path must lie to the doctor and as soon as possible - a decrease in the physical activity and heartbeat of the child may indicate dangerous uncompensated hypoxia, which can lead to the death of the child or irreversible consequences for his nervous system and brain.

At this time, the woman is in dire need of the support of her family and a specialist psychologist. Her mood again begins to manage hormones, because before the birth of hormones begins to change. Estrogens, which are replaced by progesterone, contribute to the formation of anxiety, increase fears. They need to work with them, and this is also taught in courses for future mothers, and therefore there is no reason to refuse to attend courses in the antenatal clinic.

The fear of childbirth and the likelihood of giving birth to a sick baby is added to the fear of being lonely, abandoned, because the shape has changed, and intimate life has often not changed for the better with it. There are fears - “and what if it changes?”, “And if you lose love?”.

Training contractions, which many begin early, may increase, and now the woman’s uterus tone may begin to experience more often. This is not a sign of childbirth, no need to worry. But it is important to be able to distinguish training fights from real ones. The fact that the real birth begins, you will be prompted by two main features.

• The contractions have become regular and are repeated at specific intervals (for example, every 15 or 20 minutes), do not go away when the position of the body changes, do not go away when a warm shower is taken, but only intensify.
• Send amniotic fluid (there may be options - moved away entirely or leaking). If the water is removed entirely, will have to give birth. If they are leaking a little, then modern medicine has plenty of ways to prolong the pregnancy, give the child a couple more weeks, but only in the hospital.

Blood from the genital tract can talk about problems with the placenta, for example, about its detachment.

Most often, women now complain that pubis is sore. The reason for this pain is quite respectful - in the woman's body, the hormone relaxin is produced, softening the bones and pelvic ligaments before childbirth. You do not need to do anything, just be patient. But if the pubic symphysis starts to hurt so badly that a woman cannot walk, stand, sit, you should definitely consult a doctor - the development of a symphysitis is not excluded, at which a caesarean section can be shown.

Pain in the knees and heels, in the lower back caused by a large load on the legs and spine.

Excretions may become more abundant, and this is due to estrogen. White thick discharge with itching - thrush, be sure to have time to treat it before giving birth. Bleeding and saturated brown discharge are dangerous, you need to immediately call an “ambulance”. Yellow saturated and yellow-green discharge talk about infection. You also need to get treatment as soon as possible so that the birth tract is clean and safe for the child.

The breast can be ill under the influence of prolactin, which has already started in small quantities to organize the milk ducts. The claims of women that “milk came” on this period is not true - only colostrum can come so far. The arrival of milk is possible only a few days after birth.

Women again begin to suffer from insomnia, but this time not because of the effects of progesterone, but because of the need to sleep only on their side.

Dizzy due to the fact that the volume of circulating blood increased. For the same reason, sometimes bouts of weakness occur. And again urination becomes frequent. Now even a simple cough can cause urine leakage in a woman (a reason to look after hygienic urological pads).

Heartburn and belching are tortured because of the pressure of the uterus on the stomach, diarrhea or constipation can also be associated with the pressure of the uterus, but already on the intestinal loops and the gall bladder.

At 8 months, the woman is undergoing the third prenatal screening. It is usually held from 31 to 35 weeks. He no longer aims to look for genetic abnormalities in the fetus, like the first two screenings, he must answer another important question - how and when to give birth.

It can be the basis for the decision to conduct a planned cesarean section, if the woman has evidence to do so. Be sure to pass this examination for women after IVF, women with multiple pregnancies, expectant mothers aged 35 years and older.

The examination includes ultrasound, CTG, Doppler ultrasound to assess blood flow and the state of the placenta.

In the eighth month it is undesirable to go on long journeys. On the car can "shake", and doctors do not recommend to fly. If it is very necessary to fly by plane right now, you should get a certificate from the obstetrician-gynecologist that he does not object to the flight.

Here are some more tips.

• Sex is useful and necessary, but provided that there are no complications, that the doctor does not object. Poses should exclude deep penetration. After separation of the mucus plug (a lump of mucus with a drop of blood), after the beginning of the leakage of water it is impossible to engage in sex - there is a high risk of infection in the uterus.
• If your teeth hurt, you can treat them, but without radiography.
• It is better to dye hair and grow nails after childbirth. The placenta is aging and not all harmful substances from paint or manicure can hold back.
• If a woman gets sick, a cold, flu or acute respiratory viral infection has occurred, the temperature has risen, you should not worry - the baby is not in danger, but it can increase the likelihood of premature birth, and therefore it is important to call a therapist and get an appointment.
• Food should be balanced, gradually increase the amount of plant fiber. Eliminate any alcohol (wine, champagne, beer), since alcohol can be a factor that provokes premature birth.

About 8 months of pregnancy, see the following video.