How Your Baby Grows During the Thirty-Sixth Week
Your son's crown to rump length is about 13 1/2 inches while his total length is about 20 inches long. He weighs about 6 pounds now and will add another pound or two before his birth. The next four or five weeks still hold a lot of time for growing.
Your baby is almost fully mature although his brain and lungs will continue to develop. The alveoli - tiny air sacs in the lungs - will continue to mature. Your son is practicing all the movements and facial expressions that they will perform outside the womb - laughing, yawning, sucking on hands or fingers.
What the Mother Feels During the Thirty-Sixth Week
Your health care provider will probably begin having you come in for a weekly checkup from now, until your birth in four or five weeks. While this may seem tedious to you, your midwife or doctor will be checking your blood pressure levels, for signs of toxemia, and the growth of the baby.
If your baby has engaged now you will have more room in your rib cage for breathing, and your heartburn will probably be lessened. However, you will have more pressure, and even sometimes pain, in your pelvis. You will probably find yourself getting up to use the restroom again through the night.
As the baby grows larger, you may worry about the baby "fitting" through your pelvis. Well rest assured that even women with small builds can give birth vaginally and safely. In fact, the size of the mother is not a good indicator of whether or not she'll be able to birth naturally without surgical intervention. For most women, unless there is a history of pelvic injury, they are able to birth their babies without surgery. The hormones that have been softening your ligaments, will allow your sacrum to move and allow the baby to pass through the birth canal.
Resources:
The Pregnancy Book: Month-by-Month by Dr. Sears
The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger
