You are 34 Weeks Pregnant!

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH YOU

With labor looming, you may be getting just a bit nervous — especially if this is your first baby. Will you have a safe birth? Will the pain be more than you can handle? Will your labor drag on for hours, or will you even make it to the hospital in time?

Studies indicate that pain and length of labor may be related to the level of maternal anxiety about the process of giving birth. Physical stress can translate into uterine muscle tension which can make contractions more painful. Stress and anxiety also increase a substance in the blood called catecholamines, which work against your body’s natural production of oxytocin. As a result, labor does not progress as quickly as it might otherwise.

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH YOUR BABY

Your baby, weighing in at four pounds 11 ounces, and measuring 40 centimeters crown to rump or 16 inches, urinates nearly a pint a day. In fact, the urine, along with sweat and other fluids from the baby, help to make up the amniotic fluid. This amazing amniotic fluid completely replenishes itself every three hours!

EATING FOR TWO

Breakfast smoothie for high energy:

Combine in a blender several different types of fruit, one cup lowfat milk, a tablespoon of Brewers yeast, two tablespoons of nonfat milk powder, and half a cup of plain yogurt.

To help avoid constipation, try these quick snacks:

  • A whole wheat bagel
  • Bean soup
  • One cup brown rice
  • One cup orange juice with pulp
  • Three cups popcorn (light on the butter and salt)
  • One cup raisin bran

FACT OF THE WEEK

Here are some tips to help you relax during labor:

  • Try a visualization technique. In the last three weeks of your pregnany, imagine yourself giving birth. Try to see in your mind’s eye as many details as possible. Visualize your baby in the perfect position for an easy and safe birth. Feel your baby moving down the birth canal with each contraction. See yourself easily coping with the contractions that bring your baby right into your waiting arms.
  • Enjoy massage with your partner. The techniques you enjoy now can help alleviate your stress and perception of pain during labor. You might want to warn your partner that you may not want to be touched as you near transition.
  • Breathe. Patterned breathing or abdominal breathing can be relaxing. If you are experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions, you might want to practice your breathing at this time.
  • Say goodbye to pain! Take a slow, deep breath, and as you breathe out, visualize all the pain, or unwanted energy, leaving your body.
  • Practice progressive relaxation. In between contractions, relax each part of your body, starting at the tip of your toes and moving all the way up to the top of your head. You might want to practice this relaxation technique as you drift off to sleep each night during the last several weeks of pregnancy.
  • Take the plunge. Water can be very relaxing to the laboring woman. Find out if your hospital or birthing center has a Jacuzzi, or even a shower, which will help you to relax as you labor and prepare to give birth.