8 months and 1 weeks
3rd Trimester
7 more weeks to go
It will soon be the middle of the third trimester- sure, a milestone! By this week, your baby has reached the length he'll measure at birth, but he's still busy putting on about half a pound a week. Continue counting the kicks, mum, as you cope with shortness of breath! Don't worry if you're feeling forgetful. You've got a lot on your mind. Stress and fatigue can interfere with your ability to concentrate. Try not to lift heavy weights. If really needed, bend at your knees to lift and keep the weight close to your body. Your bigger belly has made you unstable and any sudden movement could cause a sudden rush of blood to your head could making you dizzy.
अष्टमेऽस्थिरीभवत्योजः । (सुश्रुत शारीरस्थान )
Ayurveda says that currently, there is instability of oja. The baby needs to stay in the womb because it is still devoid of oja.
At around Week 28, a weak sucking reflex had begun. By now, there is a good coordination of sucking and swallowing. A new reflex called ‘rooting reflex’ is taking shape. This is when the baby turns his head and opens mouth when his cheek is touched. This is to get ready for breastfeeding. He can smell too, but right now, there isn’t air in the amniotic fluid to test that sense out.
Your baby is rapidly losing that wrinkled look and her skin is less red and transparent. It's becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.
Your baby's brain and nervous system are now fully developed. All bones are now fully developed, but still a bit soft and malleable, especially the plates in their skull. These bones need to remain so in order to make the passage through the narrow birth canal easier. Some spots on the skull will continue to remain soft in the first year. These areas, called fontanelles, are normal gaps that allow room for the baby’s brain to continue developing.
Your baby drinks up to half a litre of amniotic fluid a day! This helps prepare your baby’s gastrointestinal system for life in the new world, soon.
Eat well, mum, since the baby needs to gain weight. He will almost double his weight by the time he's born. The iMumz diet plans will help you give the baby good calories.
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Fingers, wrists, and hands may get numb. Just like other tissues are retaining fluid, your wrists are doing, too. It is creating pressure in the carpal tunnel, a bony canal in your wrist.
You may prefer airy, cooler spaces since your metabolic rate is high. Headaches can also reappear. So, please drink lots of water.
Pregnancy and hormones cause changes in your entire body—including your respiratory system. In Week 33, the growing uterus has been pushing the lungs into a corner, causing this. About 62% of pregnant people report dyspnea or shortness of breath.
The pressure of the uterus and the baby’s kicks may be making your ribs sore. The lucky ones escape with just some aches while some may get a painful swelling of the cartilage in the chest wall called costochondritis.
Managing Rib pain
Add a pinch of sendha namak (rock salt) in warm til taila (sesame oil) and apply this oil on the chest and back with gentle pressure in circular motion followed by a hot water shower.
A hot water bag gentle press will also help to reduce some pain.
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Managing chest burn
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The iMumz App has helpful tips in its feed section and the nutrient rich weekly diet plans backed by Ayurvedic science base to help you manage pregnancy fatigue.
Check the baby's position
Near the end of pregnancy, your doctor might check to see if your baby is positioned headfirst in the uterus.
If your baby is positioned rump-first (frank breech) or feet-first (complete breech) after week 36 of pregnancy, it's unlikely that the baby will move to a headfirst position before labor. You might be able to have an external cephalic version. During this procedure, your health care provider will apply pressure to your abdomen and physically manipulate your baby to a headfirst position.
This is typically done with ultrasound guidance by an experienced doctor. If you prefer not to have this procedure, or if your baby remains in a breech position, your doctor provider will discuss planning a C-section delivery.
Your baby is piling on weight to get ready for birth and you can help her by eating healthy fats. Healthy fats include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which are found in nuts, avocados, plant-based oils (including sunflower, corn, soybean and olive oil).
Peanut-Almond Butter and Banana Chips
Two tbsp of Peanut butter has 16 grams of healthy fat. Almonds and cashews are similar.
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iMumz provides micro nutrients week by week for your pregnancy nutrition. Diet charts and recipes are made by mothers to give your daily dose of health for your baby and you.
Vaginal, pelvic, or lower abdomen pressure is common as the uterus grows. Some may feel an intense pressure in the vagina, while others will have a dull ache throughout the pelvis, or feel like a weight is bearing down on their entire lower body.
As the pelvic floor weakens, this pressure can cause a feeling of fullness in the vagina or generalized pain and pressure in the hips and pelvis.
For some women in the later stages of pregnancy, a pressure in the pelvis may be an early sign of labour. If cramping in the stomach also occurs or they feel a sensation of something pressing down on the uterus, it could mean that they are about to give birth.
Do watch for these conditions:
Bladder infections
For some women, pressure or pain can indicate a bladder infection. Did you know that women become prone to these infections in pregnancy?
If the vaginal or pelvic pressure is accompanied by pain during urination, or fever, it is essential to see a doctor.
Bladder infections are easy to treat, but, without treatment, they can worsen and increase the risk of health issues during pregnancy.
Pelvic organ prolapse (POP)
When vaginal pressure is intense, it could be a sign of POP. POP happens when organs in or near the pelvis move down, sometimes into the vagina or rectum.
POP is treatable but can cause incontinence, intense pain, and severe complications.
Women who suddenly feel intense pressure, have difficulty controlling their bowel or bladder, or notice that something seems to be pushing down into their vagina, should consult a doctor.
A weak cervix
Women who feel unexplained vaginal pressure, especially early in pregnancy, should get their cervix checked. A previous cervical procedure or injury, including those resulting from childbirth, may increase the risk of a weak cervix.
This weak cervix, also called cervical incompetence or cervical insufficiency is to be taken seriously since it can cause miscarriage or the pregnant woman can go into premature labor because the cervix is not strong enough to support the uterus.
Third trimester fatigue is due to:
Your growing baby bump. Your baby is growing fast, and you're carrying more weight than you were earlier on in pregnancy. Going about your daily chores with all that extra weight is a cause for the tiredness.
Other causes that lead to it are:
For the vast majority of women, fatigue during pregnancy is completely normal and won’t harm them or their baby.
The iMumz App has yoga exercises and webinars that can help you manage these conditions very well.
Pain of childbirth is excruciating and totally unbearable.
Labour is a natural process and your body prepares well for it. If you continue doing exercises throughout the 9 months, both your mind and body will be well-prepared. Despite what you may have seen on YouTube or elsewhere, there’s no reliable unit to measure pain. A lot of women report that they dealt with labour very competently.
Garbh Samvad
Your baby is listening to you, your affirmations, your directions, your instructions. It may sound weird, but yes, you can make a JOINT birth plan with your baby. Don’t underestimate the value of this communication.
Your baby will stay strong inside during your contractions. The tiny human will send huge hope to you in those tough times. Do talk with your baby about these things and experience the magic of bond.
Prenatal communication increases neurogenesis, the birth of neurons, in the memory-center of the brain, the hippocampus. The hippocampus is a major brain structure present in all mammals involved in the consolidation of short-term to long-term memory, and in spatial navigation. Prenatal communication and music stimulation changes the expressions of proteins at the molecular level, which allows more neurons to be born and to communicate with one another, leading to an enhancement in spatial memory.
Your brain is a magical organ. The more positive picture you draw for your brain the better it will work for you and direct your body to pass the labor phase. Talking to your baby is the process which addresses both the mother's heart and brain.
iMumz app has magical talk-to-baby audios which will help you to give appropriate inputs to your baby.
Download the iMumz app now to practice prenatal yoga along with the experts.
The award-winning iMumz App is helping 350,000 + women make their pregnancies healthier and happier.
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