38 weeks pregnant: your baby & body are getting ready for birth

You at 38 weeks pregnant: what’s happening in your body

Breasts

Your breasts might be leaking colostrum.

Braxton Hicks contractions

You might be experiencing more Braxton Hicks contractions. Although these can feel uncomfortable at times, they’re helping to prepare your uterus and cervix for labour and birth.

Placenta

The placenta is about 17-18 cm across and can weigh up to 1 kg. It processes about 12 litres of blood an hour.

If you have a vaginal birth, the placenta will be delivered after your baby. This is usually in the first half hour after your baby is born, although it might be longer.

It’s recommended that you have an oxytocin injection after the baby’s birth to prevent too much bleeding.

pregnancy illustration, week 38

Your baby at 38 weeks of pregnancy

How big is your baby at 38 weeks?

Your baby is about 35 cm from head to bottom and, on average, weighs about 3.2 kg.

If your baby arrives this week, they’ll be considered to be born at term.

What’s happening with your baby’s development at 38 weeks?

Most of the lanugo – the fine covering of hair on your baby’s body – has fallen out.
Your baby still has a fair bit of vernix – a white, creamy substance that protects your baby’s skin from the amniotic fluid.
Your baby’s bowel is full of meconium, a dark green, tar-like substance, which will come out in the first few poos.

Note: your baby’s poos will range from black to green to yellow as your baby starts to drink milk.

After your baby is born and in your baby’s first weeks of life, your doctor or midwife will check your baby to make sure everything is all right.

Extra scans: why you might need them

Your doctor or midwife might suggest extra scans if you:

are having twins or more
have a medical condition like gestational diabetes or pre-eclampsia
have had problems in previous pregnancies.

Your health professional might also want a scan to check:

whether your baby is growing healthily
whether your baby is lying in a breech position
where the placenta is.

But if everything is going smoothly, you’re not likely to need extra scans at this stage of pregnancy.

Things to do: installing child car seats

If you haven’t had a child car seat fitted yet, do this now.

It’s illegal for any baby or child under the age of 7 years to travel in a car without an approved child car seat. This includes driving home from the hospital or birth centre.

Your newborn will need to be seated in a properly fastened, adjusted and approved rear-facing child car seat.