Your Nutrition Tip of This Week

Meal Prep
With a newly born baby, planning your meals in advance will help you out, so, before your baby arrives, in pregnancy week 39, try to plan ahead for nutritious meals after she arrives home.

• If you can, cook and freeze a few simple meals that you quickly can reheat in the oven or microwave.
• Stock up on nutritious foods and snacks to make mealtime easier with a newborn in the house.

Your Wellness Tips This Week

In pregnancy week 39, there are exercises you can do to prepare for labour. A squatting position during labour can efficiently open your pelvic area, allowing your baby to descend and progress more quickly. But squatting can be especially tiring for muscles in your thighs. Here are a few simple exercises that can help you get ready:

Squats¹

• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
• Slowly lower into a squat position, keeping your back straight and heels flat on the floor. (If heels tend to rise, widen your leg position.)
• Hold for 10 to 30 seconds with hands resting on your knees.
• Slowly stand by pushing up from your knees with your arms.
• Repeat five times.

Wall Sit

• Stand with your back against the wall and feet shoulder-width apart.
• Carefully slide your back down the wall with your knees bent until you’re in the sitting position (as if there were an invisible chair beneath you).
• Rest hands on your thighs for balance.
• Keep your knees/toes pointing forward.
• Hold for a few seconds and slide back up.
• Work up to 10 repetitions.

Your Baby's Development at Week 39

In pregnancy week 39, your baby is making preparations for her arrival. Changes include:²

• The waxy vernix covering her skin and the fine hair called lanugo start to go away when you’re 39 weeks pregnant. Some vernix and lanugo might remain at birth.
• Your baby gets antibodies from the placenta to protect her against illness.
• She also will get more antibodies when you breastfeed her at birth.
• For boys, the testes may descend into the scrotum.
• Your baby probably weighs between 3.2 to 3.4 kg as fat is being added to help her stay warm after birth. But it’s normal for her to weigh anywhere from 2.7 to 4.1 kg.

Your Changing Body at Week 39

In pregnancy week 39, your body makes final preparations for your baby’s first meal.

• Your breasts reach their full size. They might enlarge again after delivery until your milk comes in.
• Your breasts might begin to leak a thick, yellowish milk. This is colostrum. It is packed with nutrients and antibodies to help give your baby a great start.
• You might want to speak with a lactation consultant or attend a breastfeeding class before your baby arrives to prepare for her first meal.
• You might gain little or no weight or even lose 0.5 to 1 kg toward the end of your pregnancy.
• You might begin contractions that stop and start. Contractions that continue signal labour.

Things to Think About

Experiencing Contractions?
When you’re 39 weeks pregnant, these could be the real thing! Learn more about contractions so you can distinguish the real ones from the false ones.^3,4

• Contractions occur when the uterus tightens and relaxes.
• Some contractions are called Braxton-Hicks. These contractions are called false labour. They help your body practice for the real thing.
• In most women, uterine contractions get closer together, become more intense, and last longer as you approach childbirth.
• Sometimes contractions stop altogether.
• You can time the contractions when they start. Call your doctor when they occur closer together, intensify, or last longer.
• During a contraction, you feel pressure and pain in your lower back and abdomen.
• Your abdomen will tighten.
• Between contractions, your abdomen and uterus relax.
• Contractions help your baby travel through the vagina.
• Use a stopwatch or clock to time your contractions.

References:

¹ Healthline. 5 ways to perform squats safely during pregnancy. Available [Online] at: https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/squats Accessed on 23 Aug 23
² Medline Plus. Skin findings in newborns. Available [Online] at: https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002301.html Accessed on 23 Aug 23
³ Johns Hopkins Medicine. The third trimester. Available [Online] at: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/the-third-trimester Accessed on 23 Aug 23
⁴ Familydoctor.org. Changes in your body during pregnancy: Third trimester. Available [Online] at: https://familydoctor.org/changes-in-your-body-during-pregnancy-third-trimester/ Accessed on 23 Aug 23
* Comparison among all maternal milk in Singapore as of January 2022, as declared on the label.

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