The fetus at 41 weeks of gestation is already fully ready for birth. All its organs are formed and functioning smoothly. The lungs are ready for the first breath, the stomach can already digest food, the endocrine glands in good faith do their job. Only the nervous system is still developing.
The child does not move so often, but 10 shocks in an hour should be palpable.
In the forty-first week of pregnancy, the baby continues to accumulate fat, and meconium accumulates in the intestine, which will come out in the first hours of life.
Dimensions, height and weight of the child
The size of the fetus in the forty-first week of pregnancy reaches 50-52 cm. The baby looks just like a newborn. Its pink skin tone is smooth and without wrinkles. The cannon from the body disappeared, a small amount of primordial grease remained in the folds.
Hair and nails have grown. It is recommended to cut long nails immediately after birth so that the baby does not scratch itself. The weight of the child at 41 weeks of gestation exceeds 3.5 kg.
What path does the baby have when he is born
The baby’s head will have to overcome 12-14 cm to the end of the “tunnel”. This will be the first victory in the life of a little man. During childbirth, not only mother has to work hard, the baby is no less involved in this difficult process. First, he needs to advance into the pelvic area, then overcome the vaginal muscles, which will gradually expand under the pressure of the head.
During the birth of a child is accompanied not only by a feeling of fear and pain, but also a feeling of loneliness. The baby will no longer hear your heartbeat, which he has become so used to for nine months.
From the very beginning of labor during labor, the baby should be helped to move along the birth canal.
To do this, you must:
- Relax as much as possible;
- Do not be afraid of anything;
- Try to talk with the baby between contractions, reassuring him and himself that everything works out well. During these breaks you need to breathe calmly and measuredly. You will still need strength when trying!
Condition and well-being of the future mother
What happens at 41 weeks gestation? No changes have occurred in the body since last week. Only waiting is tormenting. You should not rush the nature, because the doctors set you only the estimated date of delivery, and not 100% guaranteed.
Typical symptoms and sensations
The estimated date of birth has already passed, and the baby is not going to appear to the world. You, of course, are visited by anxieties on this subject. The doctor in this case, most likely, will offer you stimulation of labor. Incentive methods are different, it all depends on the situation.
Symptoms at 41 weeks of pregnancy concern any woman. If your stomach begins to hurt badly, you need to see a doctor. Perhaps this indicates an increased tone of the uterus. Try to avoid stress. Water discharge is accompanied by abundant watery discharge.
The feelings of expectant mothers this week converge to the smallest detail. You no longer need to worry about a miscarriage or premature birth, the bag in the maternity hospital is carefully packed, relatives know their obligations, you have mastered proper breathing, which is useful during labor.
As for physical sensations, they can be as follows:
- Abdominal discomfort, constipation, flatulence;
- Due to the displacement of the gallbladder, the outflow of bile is disturbed, which leads to painful sensations in the right hypochondrium;
- Intense and sometimes painful fetal movements can interfere with your sleep at night;
- Pain in the lower abdomen when walking intensifies;
- Moral and physical fatigue is palpable.
Discharge shortly before delivery
Abundant mucous discharge of white color and a thick consistency suggests that you have a cork that has closed the entrance to the uterus. The birth will begin soon. If the discharge also contains minor bloody impurities, then the birth will begin very quickly.
If there is a lot of blood, you need to urgently call an ambulance.
The cork may depart in parts, or maybe all at once. As soon as her departure begins, it is not recommended to have sex or take a bath, because the risk of introducing any infection into the body increases. However, it happens that the cork withdrawal passes unnoticed by a woman, for example, during urination or together with amniotic fluid.
Allocations can be not only mucous, but also water. This indicates the discharge of water. They can go out a little, should have a transparent color, and not have a smell. The brown or green color of the amniotic fluid may indicate that meconium has fallen into them. In this case, you urgently need to hurry to the hospital.
Size of abdomen and pain below
Stirring a child can cause pain, which leads to insomnia. When walking, pain in the lower abdomen intensifies. The skin of the rounded tummy becomes dry and stretches greatly. Please note that it will be almost impossible to get rid of stretch marks after pregnancy.
So the tummies look at 41 weeks:
What can be the birth
Delivery at 41 weeks of gestation is not late and proceed as usual. The main harbingers of the onset of labor are labor. Uterine contractions become very painful, frequent, and preserving periodicity. When the breaks between contractions will be 5-10 minutes, it’s time to go to the hospital. The main thing is not to be nervous, everything is natural.
It is important to focus on this process, be sure to breathe correctly, inhale slowly and exhale slowly.
Fights are better tolerated when standing or sitting on the ball (fitball), but not sitting or lying down. You must also listen to the recommendations of doctors. Take a break between fights.
Start pushing only at the command of the obstetrician. So you can avoid perineal tears.
It’s not worth it to be nervous and worried. You can bear the pain that women experience during childbirth, because your body is well adapted to this. During childbirth, it is not advisable to cry or scream, because you slow down the rhythm of breathing and spend more energy in vain.
When the baby shows its head, we can already say that almost everything is over. Taurus is much easier to give birth. After the newborn breathes the first breaths of air and cries, they will put it on your chest for the first colostrum tasting in his life.
Important medical examinations for 41 weeks
In order to find out how the baby feels and whether he has enough oxygen, a stir test is applied. Daily count the number of fetal movements for a certain period of time.
If there is less than 10 movements per hour during the baby’s wakefulness (that is, when you are at rest) – this is an alarming sign.
At the gynecologist’s appointment, as usual, your weighing is performed, the height of the uterine fundus is measured, and blood pressure is measured. With the help of ultrasound and cardiotocography, the condition of the child is determined and the fetal heartbeat is recorded with uterine contractions.
What tests need to be passed
At the forty-first obstetric week, you will need to donate blood and urine for analysis to verify the health of the baby. It is also recommended to monitor the level of hCG and compare it with the norms.
The purpose of ultrasound
Ultrasound in the forty-first week of pregnancy is carried out in order to:
- Determine the exact size of the baby;
- Calculate the amount of amniotic fluid;
- Conduct a Doppler examination, which allows you to evaluate the blood flow of the placenta;
- Examine the uterine cavity to exclude deterioration of blood flow and aging of the placenta.
If an ultrasound scan showed that everything is fine, then you have nothing to worry about. It remains only to wait for the birth to begin.
Possible pregnancy complications and consequences
Complications include postponed pregnancy. It can be detected by blood tests, using amnioscopy (translucence of amniotic fluid) and using colostrum analysis. Overexposure entails serious consequences for the baby.
What is a postponed pregnancy
First of all, you need to correctly determine your term. Ordinary pregnancy fits into a wide framework. But most often it is forty weeks from the last menstruation, plus or minus another two weeks, because not every woman can accurately say when the conception occurred.
If the pregnancy lasts more than 41 weeks, do not panic. The birth of a baby at 37 or 42 weeks is not considered early or late.
The boundary of the term of birth for each woman is different. It is determined by the cycle of menstruation. If it is more than 28 days, then usually the pregnancy lasts longer than 40 weeks. If the cycle is less than 28 days, then giving birth and at 36 weeks is considered normal.
Also, pregnancy can be prolonged due to various complications suffered in the first trimester. The hereditary factor also plays a role in the development of the child: if someone in the family of a woman has been carrying a baby longer, then she also has such a chance.
There is another interesting factor: for example, if the expectant mother is waiting for her husband from a business trip on a certain day, then her body will also wait, delaying labor. If, nevertheless, childbirth is delayed, it is necessary to regularly monitor the condition of the baby so as not to miss the moment when the pregnancy passes into the postponed stage.
A prolonged pregnancy is not dangerous in general. However, the risk of rupture of the genital tract of the mother during childbirth increases significantly, since the child has grown up very much and it will not be easy for him to be born.
Signs and causes of fetal overload
Symptoms of overloading:
- A decrease in the amount of amniotic fluid (usually found with weak labor);
- The absence of a flat bladder that fits the baby’s head (because of this, the cervix opens very slowly);
- The cervix is not mature;
- Too difficult the bones of the baby’s skull complicate the period of need;
- If, according to the results of ultrasound, the absence of grease flakes in amniotic fluid is detected;
- Placental aging;
- Hit in the amniotic fluid of meconium (primordial feces).
Reasons for overloading:
- The mother is not biologically ready for childbirth, the function of the central nervous system is impaired;
- Deficiency of certain vitamins in the fetus, immaturity of the immune system;
- Endocrine diseases of the mother, previous abortions, mental injuries;
- Heredity;
- Excessive control by doctors;
- Psychological fears of a future mother;
- Increased uterine tone;
- Unconscious fear. For example, when a woman was physically very active throughout her pregnancy, she relaxed greatly before childbirth.
Useful tips for expectant mothers
- Turn off your mobile to take a break from calls from overly curious relatives and friends. It’s better to redirect to your husband’s number. Let him answer all the calls and explain that the baby has not yet appeared. And you try to relax and calmly wait for that very moment;
- The advice and instructions of a doctor should be treated very carefully;
- Due to strong kicks and movements, the baby should not be nervous;
- It is recommended to eat properly;
- Labor activities should be stimulated with the help of doctors or on their own. The methods used are different;
- All things and documents for the hospital should already be prepared. So again, double-check everything and relax with a calm soul. Indeed, when the baby appears, then there will be no time to relax, there will be a lot of worries;
- Take a walk in the fresh air, buy something tasty, you can even afford to drink a glass of dry red wine, and then you will have to limit yourself a lot in case of breastfeeding;
- Sex in the last weeks of pregnancy is also useful if there are no contraindications. By the way, it is a good stimulation of childbirth;
- You can and should talk with the baby, because now he hears and understands everything well. It may also affect its imminent appearance;
- In your free time, you can engage in the study of various information about childbirth and newborn care.
This material is for informational purposes only, before using the information provided it is necessary to consult with a specialist.
