Your baby is now approximately 20 inches long and around 7 pounds.

The soft hair that covered your baby’s body while he was growing is now almost all gone. Your baby is continuing to grow the layer of fat underneath his skin. This is an important part of your baby’s ability to regulate his body temperature once he is born. Your baby is now considered full term.

Now that your baby has dropped into position, you’ll probably be finding it easier to breathe, as there is less pressure on your diaphragm.

You are probably feeling tired and frustrated by now, but try to enjoy these last days.
Usually, your waters will break towards the end of the first stage of labour, but in about 15% of pregnancies, the waters will break before labour. ‘Waters breaking’ is when the membranes of the amniotic sac rupture.

The closer you get to the end of your pregnancy, the more you will hear about effacement. This is the process by which the cervix prepares for delivery. After the baby has engaged in the pelvis, it gradually drops closer to the cervix. The cervix will gradually soften, shorten and become thinner.