Final stretch: what to expect during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy?

Article originally published July 22, 2021

You start to have a nice little (big) belly that takes up more and more space and a baby inside that doesn’t hesitate take your organs for a stepping stone.

You’re a little old on monthly appointments with your doctor or midwife and peeing in a bottle has no more secrets for you. You also know how not to give a damn, and it’s a small win.

Now that you’ve completed the second trimester, what do you need to do in the last few months with your unborn baby? Schedule appointments, over and over (I promise it will be over soon).

The seventh month of pregnancy, welcome to the last trimester

Okay, you might start getting a little bored. You are short of breath quickly, you may have aching legs, back … Not great fishing, what. But it’s not forced either, every pregnancy is different and if it happens you’re in great shape as one cheerleader before a basketball game, without the pompoms.

Apart from these evils (or not evils), you must, like the previous months, have a consultation with your midwife, doctor or gynecologist for a check-up. This is to verify that everything is fine for you and your unborn baby. Cervical exam, blood pressure measurement, weight measurement, some pee in a bottle and presto, you’re comfortable until next month.

But by the way, speaking of next month, it’s time to do it book two very important meetings : the last ultrasound and the appointment with an anesthetist.

The eighth month of pregnancy starts to get hot

Yes, it is getting more and more complicated to do simple things because of your huge belly, like looking at your feet while standing. Don’t worry, nothing is missing and you will soon be able to admire your toes again.

Otherwise, for the more serious side, the eighth month is very important at the level of medical examinations, as it is time to see your baby in utero for the last time thanks to morphological ultrasound of the last trimester.

During this echo we will check the position of the animal (is it upside down? Down? Dance the lambada?) But also the position of the placenta. We will also check the progress of the baby’s growth and can give you an estimate of the birth weight. All these indications will help you to anticipate your delivery a little.

Speaking of anticipation, you can slip too your birth plan in your maternity record, which will instruct the medical team on how you want to deliver (with or without an epidural, in such and such a position, whether you want to cut the cord right away or not, that sort of thing.)

The second very important meeting is the one with the anesthetist. Yes, this appointment is a must, even if you don’t want to have an epidural, because we may be mega determined to give birth without dying, you are also free to change your mind once the contractions have started and that we suffer like jaja. This appointment will let you know if you are a good candidate for anesthesia and if you have no contraindications.

The eighth month is also the start of maternity leave, which must begin six weeks before delivery. Time to tidy up the office, schedule a very professional little auto email that says “hi, I’ll give birth soon, kisses” to hide your favorite mug so no one steals it in your absence (and no, Virginie? ) and to leave the space open with head held high and heavy stomach (after having sent the Social Security and CAF thecertificate of your maternity leave signed by your employer).

The ninth month of pregnancy, the stretch at home

It’s official, your belly is as big as Brazil. You are at the end of your pregnancyyou may have trouble tying your shoes on your own but that’s it, it’s almost over.

A final check is foreseen.And for now, that’s it.

You definitely need to examine the slightest pain coming from your belly to know if it is labor contractions or just a stuck fart, your breasts ready to explode, you get text messages from loved ones almost every day asking if “so, that’s it? and you Google maybe four times a day the phrase” how to induce labor naturallyt ”so much that you can’t take it anymore.

You are ready and totally ready, your maternity suitcase with everything you need is ready, you have calculated the fastest route to go to the maternity ward, you are at the starting blocks.

If your baby is not really in a hurry and you get to the deadline of your pregnancy, you have a baby go to the maternity ward to find out where she is. And if all goes well and labor has not started, you are sent home, heartbroken, chewing.

Come on, anyway, your uterus squatter will eventually come out, he won’t stay there until he turns 18.

And if you think that after giving birth, I highly recommend that you read the next article in this series which will tell you about fourth trimester of pregnancythis hell of diapers, postpartum, milk waves and episode scars.

Soon!

Photo credit image of one: film Incredulous: instructions for use