Over the next few weeks, your baby’s head may start to engage – lowering into your pelvis, possibly bringing discomfort or cramping sensations, as well as the characteristic waddle of late pregnancy.
Some unborn babies hiccup quite frequently and many newborns continue to do so after birth. You may sense your baby hiccup by your belly having small rhythmic jumps every 10 to 20 seconds or so. A very strange sensation!
Physical changes
Symphysis pubis pain
A few women experience pain at the front of their pelvis, as their symphysis pubis joint loosens. Discomfort or pain is usually felt low, in the middle at the front, just below the pubic hairline and can range from being an annoying twinge or ache to a sharp, shooting pain or a clicking sensation. The way you move can aggravate symphysis pain and sometimes the position of your baby affects the level of discomfort, especially if your baby’s head is engaged.
Back pain
Back pain is a common pregnancy complaint, so you need to take care with posture and lifting, especially if you have a small toddler.
Other considerations
Visits with your caregiver
Most women see their caregiver every week during the last month of pregnancy. This is aimed at monitoring your blood pressure more regularly, checking the growth of your baby and perhaps the position they are lying in, as well as discussing your personal well-being on both physical and emotional levels. Your visits also provide opportunities to talk about your plans for the birth and any concerns you might have. If you think of specific things you wish to ask your caregiver, write them down to take with you to help you remember.
Blood tests
A few women require repeat blood tests at around 36 weeks to check their iron levels (if this was low at 28 weeks). Sometimes iron supplements need to be adjusted if they have not helped a great deal since then.
If your blood group is Rhesus negative, you may also need another group and antibodies blood test, to continue to screen for antibodies.
Birth preparations
The placenta or afterbirth is an amazing organ that forms and grows from a layer of fertilised ovum. It implants flat against the wall of the uterus and by the end of pregnancy is about the size of a dinner plate and approximately 2cm (one inch) thick, looking very much like a body organ. Some people liken it to the human liver.
Placental rituals can mean many things to different people, which may be culturally or spiritually based. Rituals aren’t necessarily ancient in origin, they can be an accepted part of a society’s customs or traditions, such as the father cutting the cord. One ritual sometimes performed is planting the placenta under a special tree for the baby. A rarely practised ritual in western society these days is the parents choosing to have a Lotus birth, whereby the cord is not clamped or cut at all, they just wait for the cord to break down naturally and separate the placenta from the baby (taking about a 5 to 10 days).
