39 Weeks Quiz

A baby’s brain at 35 weeks weighs two-thirds of what it will weigh at 39-40 weeks, and important functions related to cognition, perception, reason and motor control develop in these last stages.

If your labor is induced, the medicine your doctor or midwife gives you may not start your labor. When this happens, you may need to have a c-section.

Your due date may not be exactly right. Sometimes it is hard to know just when you got pregnant. If you schedule to induce labor or have a c-section and your date is off by a week or two, your baby may be born too early.

Babies born by cesarean section may have more breathing and other medical problems than babies born by vaginal birth (when the mother’s uterus contracts to help push the baby through the vagina, or birth canal). In addition, once you have a c-section, you may be more likely to have one in future pregnancies. The more cesarean sections you have, the more problems you and your baby may have, including problems with the placenta.

A cesarean section (c-section) is considered major surgery for mom. It takes longer for you to recover from a c-section than from a vaginal birth. You can expect to spend 2-4 days in the hospital after a c-section, but expect to take 4-6 weeks to fully recover after you go home. You may experience complications from the surgery, such as infections or bleeding. Recovery is more painful, and breastfeeding can be more difficult. If you have a c-section, it is important to stay in touch with your health care provider even after you go home.

A baby’s eyes and ears are still developing in the last few weeks of pregnancy. Babies born even a few weeks early are more likely to have hearing and vision problems later in life because of this.

In the last few weeks of pregnancy, babies are still learning how to suck and swallow. Babies born early sometimes cannot do these things and thus have trouble feeding.