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Month Seven | Month Eight | Month Nine
The Seventh Month
Welcome to your third and final trimester! This is the trimester where you'll really start to grow heavy
with child and your excitement at the approaching birth will probably be tinged with anxiety and, later,
impatience to meet your baby. If your baby were born now he'd have a good chance of survivial, but there's
plenty more development and growth to be done in the womb this trimester, so we want him to stay right where
he is for a while longer. If you haven't already started thinking about it then this is the time to start preparing your body for birth in a few months' time.
By the start of month seven you are probably feeling a lot of movement from your little baby as she kicks
and turns in the amniotic fluid, building up her muscle strength for after the birth. In a few weeks' time
though, the space she'll have to move around in will gradually shrink as grows and bulks up with fat
deposits, filling out your womb. So the kinds of movements you feel may gradually change between now and the
birth. Have a read up on what to expect if you're at all worried about your baby's fetal movements.
Body changes
While last trimester may have seen a gradual growing of your bump, this trimester you might feel as though
you mushroom, and the extra weight you're carrying around may start to cause you some discomfort. Do make
sure that you give yourself plenty of opportunity to rest and put your feet up, and if you're sitting in an
office all day try raising your legs, as well as getting up regulalry for a potter around. The combination
of an awkward bump and active baby - babies are usually more active when you take a break - may be keeping
you awake at night, if so then we've got plenty of ideas to help you
get a good night's rest.
The growing weight of your womb also exerts more downward pressure on your bladder now, so you will
probably find yourself wanting the loo even more often, and you may have the odd leak of urine. This
pregnancy-related incontinence isn't at all unusual and is most likely to happen when you laugh, sneeze or
cough. Many women accept this as a less pleasant aspect of pregnancy, but you can help the situation by
strengthening the appropriate muscles with kegel floor exercises.
If you haven't already started your antenatal classes then they'll probably start around now.
If you've let the matter slide and haven't yet signed up then don't give up on the idea: While you're
unlikely to get on an NHS or NCT course at this stage there are other options, including privately-run one-
day sessions for busy parents to be (although these are usually relatively expensive).
Exercise
The usual weight gain of the third trimester may mean that some forms of exercise are no longer comfortable.
Exercise is, as before, great preparation for labour and a useful way of helping to deal with all those
pregancy aches and pains, including varicose veins and haemorrhoids, so it's a good idea to tweak your exercise so it's
still comfortable, rather than giving up altogether. Low impact exercise such as swimming, walking, water
aerobics or yoga are all within the comfort zone of most pregnant
women. If you're one of the very few still out there running, feeling good and enjoying it, then great! But
however you choose to exercise, do listen to your body, rather than a stop-clock and be aware of the
signs that you are overdoing it.
Month Eight
Body changes
By the eighth month you are now gaining about a pound a week, or half a kilogramme, and you’re probably
feeling a little ungainly! As the muscles and ligaments around your pelvis loosen further, in preparation
for birth, you’re more likely to have backache and you might find yourself developing that waddle you've
probably noticed on other heavily pregnant women. You can help lessen backache by keeping your back as
straight as you can and trying to maintain good posture. Apart from
that try a warm bath to soothe your joints, yoga for pregnancy to keep you supple, and keep requesting those
massages and back rubs from your partner. By now you might be finding it quite difficult to get in or out of
the bath, so move very slowly and avoid straining your pelvis and lower back. As time goes on you may need
help negotiating the bathtub.
If all the extra carrying around you are doing is affecting your energy levels then don't despair, there are
several good ways of giving your energy a boost during pregnancy,
not least through the usual twin forces of diet and exercise. It's quite usual by this stage of pregnancy
for you to experience some swelling of your feet and hands, particularly if your feet are hot or you've been
on your feet a lot. Some women even go up a shoe size in pregnancy, and you may find that your rings no
longer fit you. This swelling, called oedema is usually nothing at
all to worry about but there is a small risk for pregnant women of developing pre-eclampsia, which would require medical attention quickly, so if
you have prolonged swelling or swelling on your face and hands (particularly if sudden), have a bad
headache, nausea, vomiting or a rise in blood pressure then contact your doctor right away.
By month eight, some women will already have felt the practice contractions of the womb that are known as Braxton Hicks contractions. All women will have Braxton Hicks, as the
womb prepares for birth, but not everyone feels them. For some women, however, they can be surprisingly
strong, and quite disconcerting - particularly if you're a first-timer. You'll know that these aren't real
contractions by the fact that they are irregular, but if you do start experiencing regular contractions, and
they are painful then do contact your midwife or GP. Contact your midwife or GP immediately if the pain is
in your back, abdomen or pelvis, or if there is a discharge when you have the contractions. You'll also need
to tell your midwife or GP about any contractions right away if there has been some concern about premature
birth during your pregnancy so far.
Diet and nutrition
You may well have experience pregnancy-related indigestion and
wind in the first trimester and don't be surprised if these twin discomforts, as well as heartburn,
make a return now as your womb squashes up your digestive tract. You can make life easier on your body by
eating smaller, more frequent and easily-digested foods and avoiding all those common causes of bloating and
wind.
A good diet is also particularly important now that your baby
has started to store the vitamins and minerals needed to grow
his own healthy bones and blood, so do make sure that you are getting enough iron, calcium, folic acid, potassium and protein in your diet.
Thinking ahead
It's never too early to start preparing your body for birth, but in
the eighth month it's not too late either. By now you will probably have heard plenty about birthing options and should have quite a good idea of the kind of
birth you are hoping for - whether you're hoping for an elective or an active
birth. If you haven't read up on pain relief options and birthing
positions then get it's time to catch up. If you haven't yet written a birth plan then this can be quite a good idea, but remember that
this is really a useful tool to help you crystallise your ideas and communicate your preferences to the
birth team and not a blue-print for what will happen in the delivery room. There's no guarantee of what will
happen once you go into labour, so try not to set your heart on a certain scenario.
If you're expecting twins or have another reason to expect an early delivery then you'll want to already be
thinking about getting your overnight bag ready, and you'll need
to take a few more things if you're expecting a longer hospital
stay.
By now the nesting instinct has probably kicked in and you'll have made good headway getting your newborn baby essentials ready - make sure you sort out the
important items before being distracted by the plethora of nice-to-haves.
Month Nine
Month nine can be a strange month for expectant mums: by now you're probably dying to meet your baby and be
ready to say goodbye to all that extra weight, bulk and discomfort - particularly if it's the summertime. If
you've already started maternity leave then you may find yourself growing particularly impatient for the
birth. In just a couple of weeks your baby will, in fact, be ready to be born - a baby born after 37 weeks
isn't considered to be premature - and you may well know mums due around the same time as you who have
already met their babies. But most babies will stay put until nearer their due date, so you're probably
going to have to be patient for a few weeks longer.
Body changes
For all women in the last month of pregnancy, the body prepares for labour with softening ligaments, ready
to allow your pelvis and sacro-iliac to expand. As your baby's head engages you are likely to feel physical
changes: as your baby drops down any pressure you were feeling on your ribs may lessen, and you may have
welcome relief from indigestion and heartburn too. However, the baby's new position will mean that his or
her weight will fall more on your pelvis, which may be uncomfortable and increase your chances of
experiencing stress incontinence: If you haven't started your pelvic floor exercises then these will help,
and it's never too late to start. In the final days of pregnancy the weight of your baby on the pelvis is
likely to be increasingly uncomfortable and you may have difficulty walking.
You're probably finding that you tire quickly now, and that you can carry less and walk less far than you
could just a few weeks ago. This is perfectly normal, just adjust the expectations you have of yourself and
make sure your partner knows what to expect too.
If you haven't yet experienced any swelling then you can expect to do so in these last few weeks. If your
rings are starting to get a little tight it's probably a good idea to remove them, rather than to wait until
they become stuck - it's never much fun to have to get a ring cut off your finger!
If you have been suffering from SPD in your pregnancy then the baby's newly engaged position may relieve
some of your symptoms, taking pressure off affected joints, on the other hand the new position may
exacerbate your discomfort.
Anticipating the birth
It's natural at this time that your thoughts will turn increasingly to the anticipated birth you may worry
about the start of labour and how to recognise a false alarm. If
you are anxious about labour and birth then you may find it reassuring to read up and prepare yourself with
plenty of knowledge about what can happen during labour - although no-one will be able to tell you what
actually will happen in your particular case.
There are several things you can do to make the early stages of labour easier on yourself, but you may not have time to find out what
these are when labour actually gets underway, so it's a good idea to read up on them now. It's probably
still not too late to help prepare your body for labour, and taking
some positive steps may help to relieve any anxieties you have and make you feel a small measure of control.
Scattiness and clumsiness
You've probably already experienced more scattiness and clumsiness than usual in the last trimester of
pregnancy, and going into the last month you may get even worse. Don't think you're going mad when you try
to toast a plate or store the car keys in the fridge (yes, I have done both), it's all perfectly natural.
Your changing weight and balance is partly responsible for a growing tendency to drop things or even walk
into walls and doors. You might find it frustrating, but try to see the funny side and lessen the chance of
upsets by leaving handling the expensive china and climbing stepping stools to someone else.
Thinking ahead
Apart from preparing yourself for birth and labour you'll also be thinking about your life with your new baby, and making sure you have all the essentials you'll need. It's a good idea to have a look through our buyer's guides and reviews before spending a lot of money on those key items. You may also want to prepare yourself a little by reading up on the first few hours after birth, your baby's first 48 hours and what happens when you leave the hospital.
Take advantage of the time you have
Your mind may be a whirl of preparation and anxieties, nesting urges and antenatal appointments, but once
baby is here you'll never have so much time to yourself, or with your partner, again (and that's true no
matter how many children you already have!). So besides all the preparations, take time to treat yourself
whether that's to time reading a good book, going to yoga, going out to a cafe or exhibition, getting
yourself a haircut, or simply sitting in a cafe with the newspaper. Being good to yourself will make you
feel good and put you in a more positive frame of mind.
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