In this article, you can read all about the 40th week of pregnancy. You’ll get information about your baby’s development, changes in the mother’s body, and useful tips for this stage of your journey toward becoming a family.

Baby: Now your baby is approximately 51 cm long and weighs around 3.5 kg. And the week of your due date is here! YOU DID IT 🎉

Your baby is getting ready for birth

The birth is approaching and your baby is therefore gathering a lot of energy and antibodies from the placenta that will protect them for its first days of life. If the birth is stressful, your baby has energy stored up to compensate for these stresses, such as the short-term lack of oxygen that is very common during childbirth.

The energy reserves that your baby has are enough to support them for the first day of life if the birth was normal. This is why newborn babies do not *need* to be fed for the first 24 hours, but of course a baby will be breastfed or bottle-fed if they show interest in it.

If you want to breastfeed and your newborn does not want to feed during the first 24 hours, it is recommended that you stimulate the breast milk/breasts with your hand every few hours to send signals to the brain to produce breast milk. Shape your hand into a C-grip around your breast. Push your hand back towards your rib cage, then gently squeeze the grip while gently twisting your C-grip and bringing your fingers out towards the nipple. Try to hold your whole breast so you get all the milk ducts involved for effective milking. You should therefore bring the C-grip backwards, together and forwards! But remember, it should not hurt.

Umbilical blood samples

Once your baby has come out, it is time to cut the umbilical cord, which is done after a few minutes or a little longer and then a cord clamp is attached to the umbilical stump. After the birth, the healthcare staff may ask you if they can take blood samples from the umbilical cord. Some hospitals routinely test all babies, while others do it based on the birth. This could be, for example, if you suspect that the baby was unwell during the birth or was deprived of oxygen. Samples from the umbilical cord can then be analysed.

When the placenta comes out

Some time after the umbilical cord has been cut, it will be time for the placenta to come out. You may feel your stomach tighten like a cramp and get the feeling like you want to push, this is a physiological delivery of the plancenta or third stage or the midwife will manage it and adminster an injection to help your uterus to contract and will feel your abdomen for a contraction and the midwife will guide the placenta out by gently pulling on the umbilical cord, while pressing on your stomach.

What happens if the placenta does not come out?

Sometimes the placenta may need to be removed by hand if it does not come out. This will be done by an obstetrician in the operating room and you will be given anaesthesia if this does happen.

If the uterus does not contract after childbirth, it will bleed profusely, so it is important to quickly ensure that the placenta comes out. This takes place under anaesthesia in the operating room and is performed by an obstetrician.

When the placenta is out, the midwife will inspect that it is intact, that the amniotic membranes are intact and that there are three umbilical vessels in it. The side of the placenta that the baby had against it in the womb is usually compared to a tree as the blood vessels look like branches and trunk, while the lower vessels look like the roots of the tree. The midwives usually call this the tree of life!

After giving birth

For the first two hours after birth, it is recommended that the baby lie skin-to-skin without clothes or nappy with the mother with a blanket or towel over it. Namely, it promotes your baby’s and the parent’s connection while your baby will begin to regulate its normal body temperature. This, in turn, causes your baby to save energy, which is good for keeping blood sugars stable. Last but not least, it is the peak for the levels of oxytocin that stay high in the arms of the mother – which in turn causes the uterus to contract. Everything goes hand in hand!

If the birth was an immediate C-section, the mother is usually put to sleep, then the baby can come to the partner or companion and lie skin to skin. The mother will be cared for in the recovery ward and then the partner and your baby can greet you there so everyone can be together. If the mother was awake during the C-section, everyone is together the whole time.

Mother: This week you will FINALLY reach your due date! Does it feel like something is up yet? We are so impressed with you – you made it and reached your milestone!

Do you have cramps?

Now you will most likely feel like cramps come and go. It is most common to feel these tightenings during the evenings and nights because the levels of oxytocin are at their highest when you are sleeping and/or resting. If the pain subsides, you do not need to do anything about them, but we understand that you would probably prefer them to go away at this point.

Inducing labour

Sometimes labour needs to be induced if it is not starting naturally. This decision is taken by an obstetrician based on the condition of the baby and or the pregnant woman. It may also be based on the length of the pregnancy. In the UK, the timing of induction varies based on the length of the pregnancy and the hospital trust you are booked at, but the latest point is normally week 42+0.However this is your decsion and you may wish to discuss your otions and make an informed choice regarding induction for whats right for you and your baby. If there is another reason for the birth to be induced, this will usually have already been planned with the pregnant woman and an obstetrician over the course of the pregnancy.

What does inducing labour mean?

There are two main ways labour can be induced: Hormones can be put inside your vagina using a vaginal tablet (pessary) or a gel, or given as a tablet that you swallow. Devices such as balloon catheter (small balloon, full of water) or an osmotic dilator (a type of sponge) can be used to widen the cervix. You may also need to have your waters broken and a hormone drip to encourage contractions.
You will have a scheduled visit with the midwife shortly after your due date, and if you have not given birth, the midwife will have a conversation around your options; potentially booking an induction or awaiting for spontaneous labour to occur, the risks and benefits should be considered so that you can make an informed choice. Normally if induction is agreed, the midwife will contact the maternity ward, and book a date with the midwife in charge. The timing of a planned induction varies depending on the hospital trust. If you have given birth, the appointment will be automatically cancelled.

Colostrum

Colostrum is your baby’s first diet that is tailored specifically for them and so the amount of colostrum can vary. For some pregnant women, their breasts will leak colostrum during pregnancy. For some there may be a lot, while for others there may be nothing at all. Whether or not your breasts leak during pregnancy will not affect how well breastfeeding will go or not.

When your baby is 24 hours old and for the 24 hours after that, your baby needs to replenish its energy stores and be breastfed to maintain a stable blood sugar level. The more your baby is breastfed and your breasts are stimulated, the more milk will be produced and the faster milk production starts! The recommendation is then to breastfeed at least 8-10 times per day, but many babies breastfeed even more than that.

The colostrum that your baby eats at the beginning contains more protein and less fat and carbohydrates than mature breast milk, which will start to flow a few days after birth. Colostrum also contains antibodies that protect the baby against infections.

If your baby uses formula, you will be guided by the midwife in the hospital postnatal ward or by a private or community midwife.The midwife will then go through what amount is suitable to give your baby in the first 24 hours and the days after you have returned home.

Baby Journey after giving birth!

Thank you for allowing us to guide you through your pregnancy right up to your due date. We hope that you have received a lot of valuable information on this journey and that you feel prepared for your first days and weeks with your baby.
Once you’ve given birth, we hope you will come back to us and register your child’s birth 💕 This means we can be here for you for five more years and guide you through everything that comes with the toddler years – such as attachment, sleep difficulties, introduction of food, your child’s development, your parental relationship and much more. We have experienced experts from various fields to help you so that you can take advantage of the very best tips available.

Birth Story

As soon as you have registered your child’s birth and found your footing in life with a new baby, you can write down your birth story in the app. This function is found on the home screen, in the same place where you usually click to read about your pregnancy week!

Partner: Soon your baby will finally be here! Now you need to be patient, patient.. and even more patient.

Once labour starts, it doesn’t have to be as fast as in the movies – it can even take a couple of days. So practicing patience already now is good, it’s a quality you will definitely need as a parent.

Preparation and rest

Until the time comes, it is good to rest as much as you can together with your pregnant woman so that you both have a lot of energy when the labour starts. If you have a little extra energy, we would like to advise you to go through all our [checklists](https://babyjourney.se/checklists/) and tick off the last things before the baby’s arrival.

Mental Target Images

Feeling frustrated when you are so close to the finish line is common, sometimes also coupled with concern about how the baby feels and will feel at birth. Take out a couple of mental goal images and moments you are longing for now and talk about them with your partner. It is positive to share these target images with each other, so please make it as vivid and detailed as possible. Imagine a walk in the sunshine, describe how it feels when you walk there in the sun with your baby in the pram. Where are you going and what is your baby doing?

Soon all this waiting will be over and you will finally get to hold your baby for the first time!