Healthy pregnancy (18)
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- Fetal development: The first trimester
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Third trimester (9)
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Fetal development: The third trimester
Week 34: Baby's fingernails grow
Thirty-four weeks into your pregnancy, or 32 weeks after conception, your baby's fingernails have reached his or her fingertips.
By now your baby might be nearly 12 inches (300 millimeters) long from crown to rump. The pasty white coating that protects your baby's skin — the vernix caseosa — is about to get thicker.
Week 35: Protective coating thickens
Thirty-five weeks into your pregnancy, or 33 weeks after conception, your baby's limbs are becoming chubby. Your baby is gaining weight rapidly — about 1/2 pound (227 grams) a week for the next month.
Week 36: Rapid weight gain begins
Thirty-six weeks into your pregnancy, or 34 weeks after conception, the crowded conditions inside your uterus might make it harder for your baby to give you a punch. However, you'll probably still feel lots of stretches, rolls and wiggles. You might want to check on your baby's movements from time to time (kick count) — especially if you think you've noticed decreased activity. Ask your health care provider how many movements you should detect in a certain number of hours.
Week 37: Baby is full term
Thirty-seven weeks into your pregnancy, or 35 weeks after conception, your baby will be considered full term. Your baby's organs are ready to function on their own. To prepare for birth, your baby might descend into the head-down position.
Week 38: Baby develops a firm grasp
Thirty-eight weeks into your pregnancy, or 36 weeks after conception, your baby is developing a firm grasp.
Your baby's toenails have reached the tips of his or her toes. His or her brain might weigh about 14 ounces (397 grams). After birth, your baby's brain will continue to grow. Your baby has mostly shed all of his or her lanugo.
By now your baby might weigh about 6 1/2 pounds (2,900 grams).
Week 39: Placenta provides antibodies
Thirty-nine weeks into your pregnancy, or 37 weeks after conception, your baby's chest is becoming more prominent. For boys, the testes continue to descend into the scrotum.
The placenta continues to supply your baby with antibodies that will help fight infection after birth. If you breast-feed your baby, your milk will provide additional antibodies.
Week 40: Your due date arrives
Forty weeks into your pregnancy, or 38 weeks after conception, your baby might be about 18 to 20 inches long (457 to 508 millimeters) and weigh 6 to 9 pounds (2,720 to 4,080 grams). Remember, however, that healthy babies come in different sizes.
Don't be alarmed if your due date comes and goes without incident. It's just as normal to deliver a baby a week or two late — or early — as it is to deliver on your due date.
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- Healthy pregnancy: Stages of pregnancy. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.4women.gov/pregnancy/you-are-pregnant/stages-of-pregnancy.cfm#second. Accessed March 31, 2011.
- How your baby grows during pregnancy. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp156.cfm. Accessed March 31, 2011.
- Cunningham FG, et al. Fetal growth and development. In: Cunningham FG, et al. Williams Obstetrics. 23rd ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2010:1. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=6037835. Accessed March 31, 2011.
- Moore KL, et al. The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2003:4.
- What to expect after your due date. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp069.cfm. Accessed March 31, 2011.
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Your Pregnancy and Childbirth: Month to Month. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; 2010:117.
- Why breastfeeding is important. The National Women's Health Information Center. http://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/why-breastfeeding-is-important/#a. Accessed June 1, 2011.
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