Week 40

My Baby This Week

Congratulations! Your big day has arrived and baby’s safe in your arms! If you’re one of the many first time mothers who have to wait up to 2 weeks after the estimated due date for their baby, don’t despair! It’s very common for this to happen, and you’ll just need a little more patience!

At 40 weeks, baby will have an average weight of 3.5 kg and measure up 48 to 51 cm in length. They often arrive covered with vernix and blood (ie: slimy and grimy!), and have slightly misshaped heads! Don’t be alarmed.

As baby journeys through the birth canal, his head will turn sideways instinctively, in order to squeeze through the narrow opening. His shoulders will emerge one at a time as he turns. The doctor will “catch” the baby and present it to you – sometimes offering the father the privilege of cutting the umbilical cord!

If you intend to store his umbilical cord blood, you should have this arranged well before you’re admitted. Umbilical cord blood is rich in stem cells that can be cryogenically frozen and used later on the treat certain diseases such as leukemia. It’s not very expensive to store his blood, other than the initial setup charge, and serves as a sort of backup or insurance policy for your baby’s health. In UK, many parents opt for this.

Though it’s a tremendous relief for you when baby’s pushed out of the birth canal, he will be harassed by strange hands, wiping him dry and putting suction hoses into his nose and mouth! Right after birth, your doctor will suction mucus out of his mouth and nose, and you'll hear that long-awaited first cry!

Within minutes, a neonatologist will then have baby’s respiration, muscle tone, skin color and reflexes checked to determine your baby's “Apgar” score. Also baby will receive antibiotic eyedrops and a vitamin K injection to help with blood clotting. At birth, the neonatologist will also check for abnormalities of the unirary tract and for dislocation.

What’s Happening To My Body?

While the doctors and nurses check on your baby, you’ll continue to have contractions to help you deliver the placenta, which weighs 1.2 kg and is a dark bluish-red in color, covered with a membrane. This is the stuff that nourished your baby whilst he was in the womb. Some mothers actually ask for the placenta to be returned to them, as they plan to use for cosmetic purposes. Rumor has it that many hospitals in UK sell these discarded placenta to cosmetic companies!

For natural or forcep-assisted births, the process usually takes an average of 18 hours from the onset of labor contractions. For caesarean sections, the baby will be delivered in the first 10 minutes of the procedure, and the placenta removed shortly afterwards. The entire procedure takes no more than 40 minutes.

If you know that you’re going for a C-section in advance, you might be able to choose a particular date for your baby’s birth.

Congratulations, you’re a proud new mother!