The Third Term of Pregnancy

When reaching the last term of pregnancy which is the third, you are finally ready for the third act. By now you should already be used to your big stomach, the morning sickness is something that is in the past and you are enjoying the feeling of feeling the baby, only now you will feel how it actually moves and kicks inside your womb. In the third term the baby will continue growing and the doctor will still be on top of your health and the baby’s. The mother will also start preparing for when the baby arrives which include getting a maternity leave at work if you are a working mother, starting up classes that will prepare you for the delivery, and many other things. 

How the Baby Gets Ready To Be Born
At twenty-eight weeks, the baby is around thirty-five centimete rs in size and weighs around 1,135 grams. But around the end of the third term, at around forty weeks, the probable date, that baby is around fifty centimeters and weighs around 2,700 to 3,600 grams somewhat. The fetus spends most of the third term growing, accumulating fat and finishes developing several organs, specifically the central nervous system. The legs and arms become chubbier and the skin gets thicker and soft.

During the third term, the baby is less susceptible to infections, and therefore is less susceptible to medications, but some of the agents in medication can still affect that baby’s growth. Generally in the last two months the baby spends a good amount of time preparing to do the transition from life in the uterus to go onto the outside world. The changes the baby goes through are less dramatic then before, but maturity and growth that occur at this stage are very important.

The fetus generally places itself in a head down position between week twenty-eight and thirty-four. This way the bottom and the legs, which are the biggest part of the baby’s body, occupy the biggest part of the uterus, the top part. In around four percent of one-baby pregnancies, the baby can be in a sitting position, or be in a transversal position, in other words, crossed in the uterus.

At week thirty-six the growing reduces and the volume of the amniotic liquid is in its maximum level. After this point, the amount of amniotic liquid may start to decrease due to that the blood flow of the baby’s kidneys reduces as the placenta ages, and the baby produces less urine meaning there is less amniotic liquid. In fact most doctors routinely check during the last weeks, by feeling the abdomen that the amniotic liquid stays in a normal level.