Pregnancy week by week · trimester 3
🥬 36 weeks pregnant: your baby is about the size of a romaine lettuce
At 36 weeks pregnant, your baby is about the size of a romaine lettuce, gaining around 28g a day, and many babies settle head down around now.
Your baby this week
Your baby is around 47.4cm long and about 2.6kg, roughly the length of a romaine lettuce. Many babies settle head down around now, though there is still variation and some take a little longer. Your baby is gaining roughly 28g a day, building up fat stores for their first days. Their gums are firm and their suck is getting stronger. Most of the lanugo has gone, and some of the creamy vernix may begin to shed into the fluid around them.
You this week
You may feel lightening as your baby drops lower, which can make breathing easier while adding pressure to your bladder and pelvis. Heaviness, tiredness, backache, swollen ankles and Braxton Hicks are common. A strong urge to nest, wash tiny clothes or rearrange cupboards may kick in. Try to balance the jobs with rest. These final weeks can feel long, and it is okay to find them hard as well as lovely.
Kind things to do this week
- Install and check the car seat, and wash the first few baby clothes.
- Set up a safe sleep space: a clear, flat, firm cot or Moses basket in your room.
- Keep going to sleep on your side, using pillows to get comfy.
Appointments around now
At your 36 week appointment, your midwife will check your baby's position and talk about feeding, caring for your newborn, vitamin K for your baby, and looking after yourself after the birth. If your baby is bottom first (breech), you may be offered an ECV to help them turn.
Questions to ask your midwife
- Is my baby head down, and what happens if not?
- What feeding support will there be after the birth?
When to call your midwife or maternity unit
If your baby's movements slow down, stop or feel different to their usual pattern, contact your maternity unit straight away, day or night. Do not wait until the next day. Please also call your midwife or maternity unit if you have bleeding, fluid leaking, a severe headache, changes to your vision, sudden swelling, or itching (especially on the palms of your hands or soles of your feet). If you have regular tightenings or period-like pains before 37 weeks, call your maternity unit too.
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Questions
What if my baby is breech at 36 weeks?
Your midwife may offer an ECV, where a doctor gently tries to turn your baby from the outside, and will talk you through your birth options. Some babies still turn on their own.
What happens at the 36 week appointment?
Your midwife checks your baby's position and talks with you about feeding, newborn care, vitamin K and your own recovery after birth.
Not sure how far along you are? Use the due date calculator.
Sources
OBubba gives general information. It is not medical advice and does not diagnose anything. Your midwife and maternity unit are always the right people to ask, any time of day or night.