Pregnancy & Baby 

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Pregnancy week 36

A week by week guide to what’s happening to you and your baby

WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH YOU

Welcome to your last month of pregnancy. Your baby's getting ready for the world and soon may ‘engage’, or settle into your pelvis. This process, sometimes referred to as ‘lightening’, will make it easier for you to breathe ... and eat.

Your baby has been happily taking from your body's store of iron, but as his or her iron stores are near completion you may find that your haemoglobin level begins to rise.

WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH YOUR BABY

Your baby is now 32cm crown to rump, or 17 1/2 inches head to toe. He or she weighs in at a whopping five pounds, nine ounces. Even though your weight gain will slow this month, and you may even lose a pound or two during the final weeks, your baby is gaining weight rapidly, sometimes as much as a half a pound a week.

HEALTHY EATING

Eating nutritiously isn't just for proper foetal growth or maternal weight management. Studies indicate that good nutrition helps to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) or cot death. The risk of cot death peaks in incidence between two and four months and affects about 5,000 babies each year. When caring for a baby, to reduce the risk of cot death:

Stop smoking - fathers too
Place your baby on his or her back to sleep
Do not let anyone smoke in the same room as your baby
Do not let your baby get too hot or too cold

FACT OF THE WEEK

There is a procedure that evaluates your baby's well-being through an external foetal monitor. This is called a non-stress test. The test lasts from 20 minutes to an hour and records foetal heart rate and movements. Two small monitors are placed on your abdomen, and information is relayed to an external monitoring machine. Your doctor may suggest a non-stress test if you have experienced any of the following:

Gestational diabetes
High blood pressure
Diminishing foetal movement or a sudden increase in foetal movement followed by little movement
A post due-date pregnancy

Find out what to expect in week 37 of your pregnancy.

For a list of all the pregnancy week by week articles click here

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