Pregnancy Calendar : Week 40

How big is your baby? Congratulations! If you have not gone into labor yet, then you have successfully carried your baby to full term. Your baby will be weighing in at around 3.462kg (7.63 pounds) and measuring 51.2cm (20.16 inches). How big are you? Your uterus now sits about 16-20cm above your bellybutton and about 36-40cm above your pubic symphysis. What to do when you begin labor When the first signs of labor set in relax and do the following while you wait to arrive at the hospital:

• At the beginning of each contraction, take a deep breath and exhale slowly.
• Be sure to measure the time from the start of one contraction to the start of the next one and perhaps jot them down somewhere.
• Get up and move about. This may help distract you from the pain, and it may also help relieve the lower back pain you will be feeling.
• Get your partner to message your shoulders, neck, back and feet.
• Take a warm shower or bath.

Congratulations! Your pregnancy will now be drawing to an end. Your family has now grown by an extra one, two or even perhaps three. The birth of a child is a life changing experience, both for good and perhaps for bad, as you will not have a good nights sleep for years to come! There is one certainty from all of this: the sleepless nights will become less, and your love for your children will grow in leaps and bounds, and no-one, no-one, can ever replace them to you, or you to them. Visit our Media Center for pictures of your growing baby Tell Us About Your Baby Remember that you can tell us about your baby and you can recieve a week by week update as to how your baby is growing and developing. This includes information and articles on:

• Baby development & milestones
• Nutritional requirements & feeding
• Sleeping patterns
• Caring for and teaching your baby

To give us your information about baby, click here