At 32 weeks:
- Your baby's bones are fully formed, but still soft
- Your baby's kicks and jabs are forceful
- The eyes can open and close and sense changes in light
- Lungs are not fully formed, but practice "breathing" movements occur
- Your baby's body begins to store vital minerals, such as iron and calcium
- Your baby is gaining weight quickly
At 36 weeks
- The protective waxy coating called vernix gets thicker
- Body fat increases. Your baby is getting bigger and bigger and has less space to move around. Movements are less forceful, but you will feel stretches.
At 40 weeks - Birth Occurs
- Your baby is considered at 'term' when he/she is 37 weeks.
- He/ she is an early term baby if born between 37 to 39 weeks, at term, if he's 39 to 40 weeks and late term if he's 41 to 42 weeks.
- A mother's due date marks the end of her 40th week.
- The delivery date is calculated using the first day of her last period. Based on this, pregnancy can last between 38 and 42 weeks with a full-term delivery happening around 40 weeks.
- Some post-term pregnancies (those lasting more than 42 weeks) are not really late. The due date may just not be accurate. For safety reasons, most babies are delivered by 42 weeks. Sometimes the doctor may need to induce labor.
