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Your 40th Week
All the milestones are safely passed and you will meet your baby any day now.
The membranes of the amniotic sac will rupture once labor starts, and the fluid that has cushioned the baby for months will drain away.
At full term the baby has the rounded chubby cheeks typical of new babies.
The skull bones are separated by membranes that allow for movement between bones and an easier passage of the head through the birth canal.
At 40 weeks the average crown to heel length is 19.6 in (49.8 cm) and the average weight is 6.8 lb (3.1 kg).
The umbilical cord is about the same length as your baby.
Shortly after the baby is born, further contractions will separate the placenta from the wall of the uterus. The doctor may gently deliver it by pulling on the umbilical cord.
Like many moms-to-be, you may have to linger in suspense beyond the "last" day of pregnancy. Without a doubt, the big event is about to happen very soon and it will be worth the waiting, wondering, and worrying. Once you see and hold your baby, you won't spend much time looking back over the past 40 weeks, but you'll certainly marvel at the miracle of it all.
Excerpted from Pregnancy Day by Day.
Copyright © 2009 Dorling Kindersley Limited.
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