This week of pregnancy, your baby is about 18 inches in length and weighs almost 3 1/2 pounds. Your baby’s lungs and digestive tract are almost fully developed, although they are still continuing to mature. Each and every week your baby spends in the womb are important so he or she will be able to breath unassisted after birth more easily. Your baby’s sexual organs continue to grow and develop. If your baby is a boy, his testicles are descending into the scrotum and if your baby is a girl, her clitoris is relatively prominent because it’s not covered by the labia. Your baby’s skin is becoming more pinker, rather than red, because of more and more fat layers building up underneath.
Your uterus fills a large part of your abdomen now and you may notice that you are becoming more and more clumsy, as you get bigger and your posture may be off slightly. You might be walking a little differently and you may appear to “waddle” like a duck, caused from your ligaments softening, which make your hips spread. You may have started childbirth classes by now to learn about what happens when you go to the hospital, what labor is like, what your pain relief options are and how to breath and relax during labor and delivery.
