The Home Stretch…You Go Girl! - The Third Trimester

You have made it to the final lap, the third trimester of your pregnancy!  All of your pregnancy aches and pains will soon be a distant memory as your bundle of joy will be arriving shortly.   A flood of emotions will undoubtedly be present—how am I going to birth this baby, will the baby be healthy, what type of mom will I be?  No need to worry.  When your newborn is handed over to you, your questions will all change into an overwhelming love for this miracle of life.

Let’s talk about this miracle of life forming inside you.  By the end of the seventh month, the baby will be fifteen inches long and weigh up to three pounds.  The baby’s skin is red and wrinkled because there is practically no fat under it.  The baby can respond to stimuli including pain, light, and sound.  By the end of the eighth month, the baby will be up to eighteen inches in length and weigh four to six pounds.  The bones continue to harden as the baby develops.  By the end of the ninth month, the baby will be twenty plus inches and weigh six to eight pounds.  The baby will have smooth skin, and the bones of the head will be soft and flexible for delivery.

At the beginning of your third trimester, you will feel the baby moving, kicking, and rolling quite a bit.  During the last few weeks, fetal activity will begin to subside a bit because of the limited space inside your womb.   If you notice that fetal movement has virtually stopped for a long period of time, don’t hesitate to call your doctor just to make sure everything is okay.

You will definitely begin to visit the doctor more frequently during the last trimester.  From 28-36 weeks, your doctor will probably want to see you every two weeks, assuming everything is normal, and then weekly from week 36 until delivery.  During these visits, your doctor will continue to check the size of the uterus, listen to the baby’s heartbeat, check your blood pressure, and check the position of the baby.

At 26-28 weeks, your doctor will probably order a glucose test to check for gestational diabetes.  Usually your physician will have you fast for a period of time, drink a specified sugary drink, and then test your blood one hour later.  Approximately 3% of pregnant women develop diabetes during pregnancy. 

At 35 to 37 weeks of pregnancy, your doctor may also order a Strept B test, technically known as Group B Streptococcus or GBS.  If a woman tests positive for GBS, then she  should be treated with antibiotics (usually penicillin) during labor only to prevent any infection from passing to the baby.

As your due date approaches, you have several decisions to make.  What is my birth plan?  Am I going to breastfeed or bottle-feed?  Is the nursery ready?  Who will care for my other children when I am at the hospital?  No doubt, your life is about to radically change whether this is your first baby or you have other children.  Take some time this last trimester just for you!  Kick off your shoes (that is if they still fit!), put your feet up, and take some time to dream about your little one.  You go girl!  You made it to the final stretch, and you are going to be a wonderful mom!