Figuring out a due date is a hit or miss affair unless you know precisely, to the day, when you conceived and even then it’s only about 70% accurate.  Most babies are late rather than early.  And if you are here, you know that only too well! Maternal Changes: I guess the good news is that neither you nor your baby is going to get any bigger. ...

Pregnancy Week by Week – Week 39 There’s not too many of you left at week 39, you have been drifting away to the labor rooms on a regular basis.  Will there be anyone left for me to talk to here at Week 40?  Many, and I bet you will glad when this is all over with and you will have your new addition in your arms. We wish you and your newborn...

Pregnancy Week By Week – Week 38 We’ll be saying goodbye to a lot of our visitors over the next couple of weeks.  We sincerely hope you have enjoyed reading this column through your pregnancy and we do welcome your comments and any helpful advice you have for new moms-to-be. Maternal Changes: You should not be putting on any more significant...

Your baby is going to stop putting on so much weight from here on but that doesn’t mean you can stop eating healthy nutritious foods! Maternal Changes: He is still also working on his immune system, and you can help along with that once he is born, by breastfeeding.  Breast milk contains oodles of antibodies – breast fed babies are less likely...

Although you are anxious to get this all over with – your baby may not be born for another 4 weeks. Maternal Changes: For first-time Caucasian moms, an average pregnancy lasts 274 days from conception, which is approximately 288 days from the last menstrual period.  In non-Caucasian mothers, for example, African-American women, the average is 266...

What walks like a duck? A woman in her last weeks of pregnancy! Maternal Changes: Although you may feel like you are carrying around a sack of cement there is actually 5 lbs of baby in there now, plus the weight of the amniotic fluid, the umbilical cord, and the placenta.  That’s why you feel like you can hardly move, and when you do it’s very...

Now is the time to purchase and install a car seat for your baby’s ride home. Maternal Changes: Your baby has moved even further down into your pelvis at week 34.  That will take the pressure off your upper organs – lungs, stomach etc., but will exert more pressure on your bladder.  You may feel like you have to go to pee more than ever now. Fetal...

By this stage of pregnancy many women feel like they can’t take much more – if you are an expectant father PLEASE do everything you can to help her out! Maternal Changes: You should be gaining about a pound a week now and while mild swelling is normal, be sure to watch out for any abnormal swelling that occurs over the course of a couple of days...

If your baby was born now, chances are he would survive as he’s almost fully developed, right down to his cute little fingernails! Maternal Changes: Your bouncing gymnast is probably not moving around as much as he was, because there’s not much room in there! His movements feel quite weird, he’s just squirming and rumbling around, although occasionally...

Your baby will be gaining about 8 ounces a week from now until a couple of weeks before he’s born – which means you will too! Maternal Changes: Purchase nursing pads to protect your clothes and bras, as you may start leaking from everywhere, especially your nipples.  Everything about pregnancy from now on is uncomfortable and can be embarrassing...