Your Baby - Week Thirty-Seven
This is your thirty-ninth week of your pregnancy. Your baby is now thirty-seven weeks old.
His or her development is almost totally complete by this time. Your baby may weigh a little over seven pounds by now. His or her crown to rump measurement is about fourteen and one half inches and the total length of your baby is about twenty-one and one half inches long. These are average weights and heights; so do not worry if your healthcare provider feels your baby is not that size. All babies are different as are all moms.
Your baby's languo, the fine hair that has been covering your baby throughout most of its development is gone now. You may find that when your baby is born he or she may still have some. That is normal and will disappear in the weeks after the birth.
The baby's lungs are rapidly maturing and the surfactant production is increasing. This is to enable your baby to be able to breathe when it finally leaves the womb.
The baby is too large to move comfortably in the uterus now and will, if he or she has not already, assume the correct position in your birth canal. Your healthcare provider will do a cervical exam at this point and maybe an ultrasound to determine the position of the baby. If you have any questions about the birth, now is the time to discuss this with your healthcare provider.
Your uterus is now six and one half inches to about eight inches above your belly button. Your uterus is no longer pressing on your diaphragm. This will result in you having an easier time with breathing than in the previous weeks. When your uterus shifts you know that something has got to give, and that is your bladder. Now your uterus is pressing on your bladder that means you have to urinate more often. When you are pregnant you give a little and get a little!
