How your baby gets ready for delivery
Just as your life is changing, your baby also is going through dramatic changes as she prepares to greet the world. During your last trimester of pregnancy, your baby continues to grow longer and heavier. She’s also putting on a layer of fat underneath her skin that will help maintain her body temperature once she’s born.
At this time in your pregnancy, you are supplying your baby with DHA & ARA and infection-fighting proteins called antibodies, through the placenta. If you breastfeed, your milk will continue providing more antibodies after your baby is born. Many of your baby’s organs and systems are fully developed now. But some, including the brain and digestive tract, will keep developing even after birth.
Meanwhile your baby’s sucking muscles are already primed for action. In fact, most babies suck on their fingers or arms while still in the womb. By the time your baby is born, she’ll have a powerful sucking instinct that helps feeding get off to a strong start.
More developments in the womb:
- Your baby’s nervous system is working better every day.
- As lungs continue to develop, your baby is practicing the motions of breathing.
- In preparation for birth, your baby puts on more weight and shifts head-down in your uterus.
- Your body begins providing your baby with antibodies that help her ward off infection once she's born.
- As the big day nears, your baby drops lower in your pelvis to prepare for her grand entrance into the world!