Street Peeper Zimbabwe Street Peeper September 2017 | Page 59

It may feel as if there's no way
your belly can get any bigger,
but there's no doubt about it —
it will get bigger over the
course of the third trimester of
pregnancy. A lot bigger. Here’s
what to expect from your body
and your rapidly-maturing baby
in these final few weeks.
and 8, he’ll be getting all of her
calcium from you — so be sure
to eat plenty of calcium-rich
foods.
Hair, skin and nails: By week 32
of pregnancy, baby’s formerly
see-through skin will become
opaque. In week 36, fat contin-
ues to accumulate as your baby
sheds his vernix (the waxy sub-
WHEN DOES THE THIRD TRI-
stance that protects his skin
MESTER START?
from your amniotic fluid) and
The third trimester begins
lanugo (the hairy coat that keeps
in week 28 of pregnancy and
him warm in there).
lasts until you give birth, which Digestive system: In the final
may be around week 40 of preg- weeks of pregnancy, meconium
nancy. In other words, your
— or baby’s first poop, consist-
third trimester lasts from month ing mostly of blood cells, vernix
7 through month 9 of pregnancy. and lanugo — starts to build up
It’s likely, however, that labor
in baby’s intestines.
will start a couple of weeks ear-
lier or later — in fact, at least 50 Five Senses: Your baby’s touch
percent of all babies are late-
receptors will be fully developed
comers. If you do make it to (or around week 29 or week 30.
past) week 40, you can try a few By week 31 of pregnancy, your
tricks to naturally induce labor baby will get signals from all five
on your own. But once you
senses, perceiving light and
reach week 42 of pregnancy,
dark, tasting what you eat,
you’ll be officially considered
and listening to the sound of
overdue, at which point your
your voice.
doctor will induce labor if it
Brain: In the third trimester
doesn’t begin on its own.
your baby’s brain will grow
In the meantime, hang in there! faster than ever, test-driving
You’re almost to the finish line. some nifty skills including blink-
ing, dreaming and regulating his
BABY’S GROWTH DURING THE own body temperature.
THIRD TRIMESTER
Your little one will get a whole
Around week 34 of pregnancy,
lot larger in the third trimester, baby’s body turns southward,
growing from about 2 1/2
settling into a heads-down, bot-
pounds and 16 inches long in
tom-up position — unless, of
week 28 of pregnancy to be-
course, your baby remains stub-
tween 6 and 9 pounds and 19 to bornly in the breech position (in
22 inches long in week 40. In-
which case your doctor will
deed, your baby is growing fast likely attempt to manually turn
— so don't be surprised if his
baby around week 37).
increase in size along with a de- CHANGES IN YOUR BODY
crease in living space leads to
With that busy baby inside your
some serious kicks and pokes in belly, you're probably feeling
your gut.
lots of fetal activity. You may
Here are a few of the highlights also be experiencing changes in
happening in your third trimes- your body as your bump gets
ter of pregnancy:
bigger than ever, including:
Bones: As your baby transforms Abdominal achiness: As your
cartilage to bone in months 7
round ligaments (which support
your lower abdomen) stretch to
accommodate your growing
bump, you may feel crampy or
sharp pain. There’s not much
you can do other than take it
easy.
Fatigue: You’ll feel more zapped
this trimester because of the de-
mands pregnancy is putting on
your body, so eat well and fre-
quently, stay active and solve
pregnancy sleep problems.
Heartburn: In the last few weeks
of pregnancy, your uterus will
push your stomach and its con-
tents upward, causing that per-
sistent burn. If it’s really bother-
ing you, talk to your doctor
about proton-pump inhibitors
(PPIs) or H2 blockers, which are
safe to use during pregnan