the final weeks - coles baby club

As you enter the final stretch of your pregnancy, you'll experience plenty of physical and emotional changes — just as you did in the first and second trimesters.

Common physical changes include abdominal growth and back pain as your growing abdomen shifts your centre of gravity; your ankles may swell in late pregnancy; you may experience fatigue and shortness of breath because your growing uterus leaves your lungs with limited space to expand. The length of pregnancy varies from woman to woman. You may be surprised by the onset of labour before your due date, but most women experience a period of waiting before the baby comes, which can seem endless at the time.

What to do in the final days

You are on the threshold of labour and it's possible that any fears or anxieties you have about labour and birth may surface at this time. It may be helpful to confide in someone you feel close to and make use of the emotional support around you.
Although you may feel physically tired towards the end of pregnancy, you might also find that you have a sudden burst of energy and want to clean the house from top to bottom. This is to do with 'nesting' and making sure that your home is ready for your baby.
If you're planning to have your baby in hospital, make sure that you have your bag packed, or, if you're having a home birth, that everything is ready.
If you want to take some special things into hospital with you, sort them out. You may have made a birth plan – ie. a statement of your wishes for how the birth will take place (your childbirth educator should be able to give you more details regarding birth plans, or you can find ideas in many books ). If you do have a birth plan, put it in your bag too.
This is the time to dream, rest and sleep, and to spend plenty of time relaxing.
In the days approaching the birth, it is wise to surrender to these rhythms and sleep when you feel like it rather than only at night when the increase in uterine activity may keep you awake.

Pre-labour

Pre-labour can last for days and identifying the start of 'real' contractions is not always easy. There are various signs that might occur in the days leading up to labour, which may show that you don't have long to go.

Braxton Hicks

These contractions are 'practice' contractions, or strong tightenings of the uterus, which can be quite painful. Braxton Hicks contractions are erratic, and varying in length and duration. You can distinguish them from real contractions by changing your activity, which causes them to stop. These contractions soften the cervix, rather than dilating it.

The show

This is the plug of mucus which has sealed the cervix shut during pregnancy. As the cervix starts to soften and open a little, the plug comes away. You may notice this as a pinkish discharge. The show can occur at any time from immediately before labour to up to two weeks before labour starts. In many cases, though, it doesn't come away until during labour, when you may not notice it. You may also notice a low backache, caused by the baby settling down into the pelvis, and you may suffer from diarrhoea or a frequent need to empty your bowels. Although these are all things that may indicate that labour isn't far off, they aren't actually part of the labour process.

Labour

If you notice the following, it is likely you are in the early stages of labour:

Waters breaking

For about 10 per cent of women, the breaking of the waters is the first indication that labour is imminent. When this happens, some women feel a distinct 'pop' or 'ping' and then a gush of warm clear fluid; others just notice a gentle trickle. For most women, though, the waters don't break until they're well into labour.

Contractions

These are muscular tightenings of the uterus, which dilate the cervix so that your baby can be born. Once these contractions have started, you are in labour.
It is often much better to stay at home with someone calm and experienced for support in early labour. It may be many hours before you move into the second stage of labour. Spend the time getting used to dealing with the feelings of contractions by relaxing, breathing, massage and so on.Once the contractions are around seven to 10 minutes apart, you might like to start timing them. If you are unsure whether to stay home or head to the hospital, ring and speak to one of the midwives. They will help you decide what to do. Once your contractions are five minutes apart, or if you no longer feel comfortable being at home, go to the hospital.

If your waters break or if you start bleeding from the vagina, go immediately to hospital.