Pregnant in week 35 – things are getting serious! In this stage of pregnancy, you’ll learn how your baby is developing, what to watch for with possible early contractions, and what it means if your baby is still breech.

Baby: Now your baby is 47 cm long and weighs 2.4 kg. Maybe not exactly, but roughly!

Premature birth

During the last weeks, the baby will put on weight and will most likely get the classic creases or folds on the arms and legs. Even if most of the baby is fully developed at this point, the baby would be considered premature (born too early) if born now. When born at week 35, the baby (most likely) needs help to maintain the right body temperature and get enough nutrition. This means that you would probably have to spend a couple of weeks in a neonatal ward or with care at home depending on how your child is doing, if they can eat and keep warm!

If your baby is in a breech presentation

At this point, the majority of all children are already lying head down, at the pelvic inlet as it is also called. During a visit to the midwifery clinic, the midwife will feel how the baby is lying with the help of her hands on the outside of the stomach.

About 5% of all foetuses lie with their legs or bottom down in the pelvic inlet, this is called breech presentation. If this is detected, you will be offered an attempt to turn them around in week 36-38 to get them in the correct position, head down. At week 35, the baby still has time to turn around, and there are exercises to do to help your baby:

Using the force of gravity, you can alternate between doing exercises with your head at a lower level than your pelvis. For example, you can try kneeling on a stool with your head resting on hands/forearms on the floor. Alternate this with lying on your back on the floor (or in bed) with your pelvis elevated. However, talk to your midwife before doing exercises to help the baby turn around – there are certain conditions where this is not recommended. Moxibustion is a type of chinease medicine; that if used in connection with positioning and acupuncture – increases your chance of turning a breech baby. You may be offered ECV (external cephalic version) to try to turn your baby, a doctor will press with his hands on the outside of your stomach to try to get the foetus to do a sort of somersault and turn into the correct position. About half of all such attempts are successful and in cases where they are not successful, the doctor will recommend trying again, a C-section or vaginal delivery depending on the circumstances.

Mother: Only five weeks until Delivery💜

Can you understand that you have been pregnant for over 200 days? Now there are only a couple of weeks left until what you have been waiting so long for finally happens – your first meeting with your child!

First contractions

Have you felt your uterus contract and become tense more and more often? These are called Braxton Hicks contractions and they usually come irregularly. The contractions occur because the uterus is training for the birth so that the labour pains will be more manageable so that you can push the baby out. Cramps are completely normal in the vast majority of cases, but they should not be painful when you are resting. Many people experience these contractions in the evening or at night despite rest – but as long as they subside, there’s no need to worry.

Sometimes cramps can feel limiting in everyday life. Something that can help or facilitate sometimes is deep breathing and relaxation. Deep breathing is also great to practice before dealing with labour pains!

It’s easy to think that cramping equals labour, but cramping that comes and goes with exertion or changes in position rarely affects the cervix, which is a must before the baby is born.

If your contractions/cramps become more regular and/or painful, if you detect blood or suspect that your water has broken, contact your healthcare provider.

Partner: Have you or you started doing a lot at home before the baby’s arrival? This is a phenomenon called “nesting” and is incredibly common among expectant parents.

Nesting!

The things you do around the house and the purchases you make are not just about making it comfortable but about being well prepared for your new life with a baby. So nest together and talk about what you think life will look like. Visualising life with a baby is an attempt to create a picture of what your family will be like but also what makes you feel good. So, it is good to talk about your expectations of parenthood and what you need when you feel worried, stressed or tired. It is above all good for the relationship to describe this to each other before the birth but also to yourselves, to be able to fantasise about life as a parent.

Feeling prepared?

Now is the time for you as a partner to prepare for the birth. It may seem difficult since you are not the one delivering the baby, but there are many ways to prepare anyway! You can read books, listen to podcasts, talk to other partners and of course talk to your partner about your thoughts and expectations about the birth.