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Your pregnancy - week by week

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Pregnancy calendar - week 39

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Make the most of sitting around with a magazine doing not very much at all! You have our full permission to get as much rest and relaxation as you need at this point. If you’d like some tips on getting rest during late pregnancy, we’re here to help.

Angela, baby care advisor and mum

Your baby’s development

Around a week before giving birth, your baby’s head will drop down into your pelvis, although this will probably already have happened if this is your first baby.

The bones in their skull are ready for birth and are able to slide over each other and overlap, allowing your baby’s head to pass through your cervix. Your baby is now around 50-51cm long and gaining about 1oz a day in weight.

Did you know?

By week 39 your baby is beginning to shed the greasy, white substance that keeps its skin protected whilst inside your tummy, called the vernix caseosa. They also begin to shed old skin cells as new ones are now developing.

You & your body

You’re tired, uncomfortable and want to deliver a healthy baby… soon! It’s time to get rest during this stage of late pregnancy because your labour could be long and tiring, and a new baby is very demanding. So rest while you can and get the rest of the world – and particularly your partner – to attend to your every whim.

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