You are 38 weeks pregnant

Your baby

Now that everything has fully developed, your baby’s body is simply putting finishing touches on organs and systems. The lungs, brain and nervous system, for example, are continuing to mature...Read more

Your body

If you haven’t lost your mucus plug yet (a phenomenon also referred to as ‘the bloody show’), you may right around now. But again, some women never lose theirs before labour - and...Read more

Your life right now

Like a lot of women on the brink of giving birth, you probably have an idea in your head of how labour and delivery will go - or at least an ideal-world vision of it. And that’s fine! In fact...Read more

Mums like me

Bottles for newborns: ‘I second the idea of buying a single bottle of many different nipple styles. I went through five or six different nipple styles before I found the best one for my littl...Read more

Now that everything has fully developed, your baby’s body is simply putting finishing touches on organs and systems. The lungs, brain and nervous system, for example, are continuing to mature this week. But in general, it's all systems go! He’ll be able to breathe on his own, eat, digest, poo - all that good stuff. He has also put enough fat on his bones so he’ll be able to better maintain his body temperature and blood glucose levels after birth.

If you haven’t lost your mucus plug yet (a phenomenon also referred to as ‘the bloody show’), you may right around now. But again, some women never lose theirs before labour - and that’s normal. So don’t worry if you don’t pass it. At this stage, you also may notice Braxton-Hicks contractions increase - either in intensity, frequency, or both. Remember to keep tracking your baby’s movements, and call your doc if you notice them lessen at all. Trust your gut and don’t worry about ringing him up and having it turn out to be nothing. Doctors would much rather you err on the safe side!

Like a lot of women on the brink of giving birth, you probably have an idea in your head of how labour and delivery will go - or at least an ideal-world vision of it. And that’s fine! In fact, imagining a best-possible scenario can be helpful in terms of reducing your anxiety going into the experience. But try to remain flexible, because the truth is that the actual event may not match up with the way you expected it to go. Definitely don’t expect the worst—just expect that you can’t know how it will all unfold until it happens. Your water may break at the office, after labour begins, or not until you get to the hospital. It may take two hours to deliver - or 20. The baby may sail right out, or need to be delivered via C-section. So keep an open mind and trust your baby, your body and your midwife. It will make the wild ride that much easier to get through.

Bottles for newborns: ‘I second the idea of buying a single bottle of many different nipple styles. I went through five or six different nipple styles before I found the best one for my little one.’ – keeyamah

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