The following information -- and much more -- can also be found in the free weekly email Lamaze Pregnancy Week by Week. Sign up now to receive helpful information for your stage of pregnancy. Subscribers will be given the opportunity to complete a Lamaze Parent Satisfaction Survey after their pregnancy and receive a Lamaze Toys coupon. We want to hear about your birth experience and the impact that childbirth education may have had so that we can continue to make sure parents have the information they need for the safest, healthiest birth possible.
You're in week 29 of your pregnancy!
You want your birth to be as safe and healthy as possible for you and your baby. The Six Lamaze Healthy Birth Practices outline ways to increase your chances of a safe and healthy birth. These evidence-based birth practices encourage you to rely on your body’s own natural ability to give birth:
- Let labor begin on its own
- Walk, move, and change positions
- Have continuous support
- Avoid unnecessary interventions
- Get upright and follow urges to push
- Keep your baby with you
This week, we’ll explore healthy birth practice #1: Let labor begin on its own.
What's New with Baby
Although still fairly soft, your baby’s bones have completely formed. Your little one has ‘soft spots’ on his head. These soft spots, called fontanels, are small membrane-covered spaces between the bony plates of his scalp. These gaps help the skull change shape during birth to make his passage through the birth canal a little easier. The slightly elongated shape of a newborn’s head will return to normal after a few days. The two fontanels, one larger one near the front of the head and one smaller one near the back of the head, will take some time before they are completely closed by bone. The smaller posterior fontanel will close by about 3 months after birth and the larger anterior fontanel will close between 18 to 24 months. He’s grown to about 15 inches long and weighs 3 pounds, and is about the size of a head of cauliflower.
What's New with You
Your precious little one is taking up more real estate in your abdomen, pushing many of your organs up, down, or out of the way. Because of this, your stomach will have less room and you may need to eat smaller meals more frequently. Your body naturally slows down digestion in pregnancy, in order to get as much nutrition as possible from the foods you eat. For some women, the unfortunate result is heartburn. Try some of these tricks for easing heartburn-related discomfort:
- Drink water when you’re thirsty, and consider consuming liquids in between meals rather than with meals.
- Keep nutritious snacks on hand to eat between meals, such as raw almonds.
- Take a leisurely walk after a meal to help with digestion.
- If you find greasy or spicy foods trigger your heartburn, avoid eating them late in the day.
Story from a Mama who has been there
“My labor started on the way to church, on Mother’s Day. It felt great that I was able to enjoy early labor among my church community and then was able to run several errands throughout the beginning of the afternoon. The long, slow start helped me get emotionally ready for the baby.”
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Pregnancy Healthy Birth Practice Induction Lamaze Pregnancy Week by Week Third Trimester Let Labor Begin on its Own