What To Expect In The Final Stages Of Pregnancy?

The last few weeks of the third trimester are weeks 40 to 42. They are referred to as the final stage of pregnancy. This is the time for the due date! The mother-to-be starts getting impatient and the labor is about to begin. All the anxiety of the would-be mom is evident in her eagerness to hold her baby in her hands.

Babies take their own time to enter into the world. That is to say, only 5% of them arrive on the actual due date. Rest may choose to come earlier in the 37th week itself or later, after the 40th week.

Yet by the time a pregnant woman reaches her 40th week, her anxiety levels touch an all-time high. They are afraid about labor, their water bag breaking and other such things. These and a lot more things hound them, during this time.

They may notice mucus plug's passing that acted as a guard to cervix during pregnancy. This passing is coined as "show". Usually tinged by blood, it is clear in color. The passing of the plug initiates the labor.

Another signal of impending labor can be an abrupt gush of breakage of the amniotic sac. This flow is clear and comes down trickling. If this fluid is brown, yellow, or green in color, it may be seen a warning sign. One must be rushed immediately to the care provider. This may be a signal of the baby being in distress.   The water break can even occur hours before the onset of labor. The doctors do not let pregnant women in their final stage of pregnancy go without labor for long after their water has broken.

The final stage of pregnancy ends in contractions. These are periodic intervals of tightening of uterus. This takes place throughout labor. Labor mainly takes place in three stages. The first stage is the longest. This may start with irregular contractions that keep getting more frequent and strengthen with the passage of time. The care provider will tell the women in this final stage of pregnancy to notify about her contractions to them. One would enter transition as this phase ends.
Transition is the time when the baby starts moving in the birth canal. Then as the mother dilates fully, the pushing starts and the baby comes out in some pushes. After this, the umbilical cord is clamped and cut.

The last process of the final stage of pregnancy is placenta's birth that happens quickly.  That done, you transit from a mother-to-be to a new-mom.