The third trimester is the last phase of your pregnancy. It lasts from weeks 29 to 40, or months 7, 8, and 9. During this trimester, your baby grows, develops, and starts to change position to get ready for birth. Now that you've reached the third trimester, you're in the home stretch of your pregnancy. You've only got a few more weeks to go, but this part of your pregnancy can be the most challenging. In the third trimester, your baby keeps growing. By the end, a full-term baby usually is between 19 and 21 inches long and between 6 and 9 pounds. Your baby begins to turn itself head-down to get ready for delivery. At week 36, the baby’s head should begin to move into your pelvic area, also called lightening. It will stay in this down-facing position for the last 2 weeks of your pregnancy. Your baby develops in other important ways in the third trimester. During this phase, it’s able to:
Your baby’s brain continues to develop. Its lungs and kidneys mature. It gains muscle tone and about 16% body fat. The bones at the top of its skull are soft to ease delivery. Most babies have blue eyes at this stage, and they’ll stay that color until a few days or weeks after they’re born. It also has nails on its toes and reaching to the ends of its fingers. If it’s a boy, the testes have descended into the scrotum. During the third trimester, the vernix caseosa, a protective coating, covers your fetus’ skin. Soft body hair called the lanugo falls out and is almost gone by the end of week 40.
Any of these symptoms could be a sign that something is wrong with your pregnancy. Don't wait for your regular prenatal visit to talk about it. Call your doctor right away if you experience:
Expecting twins? You might want to add these things to your third trimester to-do list:
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