Though you could show up with just belly and your insurance card, travelling that empty-handed to the hospital or birthing center probably isn’t the best idea. Travelling light, however, is, so pack only what you think you’ll really use or need. Be sure to pack that bag early with as many—or as few—of the following [...]
Is it or isn’t it? Real labor probably has not begun if: 1.Contractions are not at all regular and don’t increase in frequency or severity. Real contractions won’t necessarily fall into a neat textbook pattern, but they will become more intense and more frequent over time. 2.Contractions subside if you walk around or change your [...]
Before there’s labor, there’s prelabor – a sort of preshow that sets things up before the main event. The physical changes of prelabor can precede real labor by a full month or more – or by only an hour or so. Prelabor is characterized by the beginning of cervical effacement and dilation, which your practitioner [...]
No one knows exactly what triggers real labor (and more women are concerned with “when” than”why”), but it’s believed that a combination of factors involved. This very intricate process begins the fetus, whose brain sets off a relay of chemical messages (which probably translate into something like, “Mom, let me out of here!” ) that kicks off a [...]
You’ll be spending more time than ever at your practitioner’s office this month with appointments scheduled weekly. These visits will be more interesting – the practitioner will estimate baby’s size and may even venture a prediction about how close you are to delivery – with the excitement growing as you approach the big day. In [...]
You may experience all of these symptoms at one time or another, or only a few of them. Some may have continued from last month, others may be new. Still others may be hardly noticed because you’ve become so used to them and/or because you are eclipsed by new and more exciting signs indicating that labor may [...]
Your Baby This Month Week 36. Weighing about 6 pounds and measuring somewhere around 20 inches tall, your baby is almost ready to be served up into your arms. Right now, most of baby’s system (from circulatory to musculoskeletal) are just about equipped for life on the outside. Though the digestive system is ready to roll, too, [...]