Welcome to the third trimester – the final stretch! ;)
During the third trimester, weeks 28 – 40+, baby and parents try to stay comfortable and prepare for birth! If you’re a list person, check out Mother Rising’s third trimester checklist.
When is the best time to take a birthing class? Ideally a class that ends somewhere in the middle of the third trimester. If you’re planning for a hospital birth, sign up for the hospital tour to help prepare for birth. Once you see where you’ll be giving birth, it’s much easier to visualize and mentally prepare for what’s to come.
Read Birth Stories
Stepping into the unknown of childbirth can feel daunting! One way to feel more courageous is to read others’ stories – hospital births, home births – all of it. If they did it, I can do it too, you know? Positive birth stories shared between women can encourage those on the cusp of giving birth. We’re in this together.
Birth Affirmations
Third trimester mamas sometimes read birth affirmations to help prepare for birth. Saying positive and encouraging words to yourself is extremely helpful to counter the negativity that comes from others and within. On the other hand, if traditional birth affirmations aren’t your thing, I’ve got some funny birth affirmations for the third trimester. They make me giggle.
If your hospital bag for birth is packed, your lactation cookies have been baked, but labor hasn’t started, you may start to wonder about ways to induce labor on your own at home. Believe it or not, the average first time mom gives birth during her 41st week of pregnancy. That’s why its best to not get so fixated on a due date, but rather a due month.
It’s SO HARD to not know when or how labor will unfold. The unknown is so uncomfortable. One way parents try to understand (or predict!) what’s to come is to ask for a vaginal or cervical exam to know how dilated their cervix is. If your cervix is 0 cm, 3 cm, or 5 cm dilated, most parents are tempted to use that information to predict the future.
0 cm = I’ll be pregnant for another 2 weeks.
3 cm = I’m having a baby this week.
5 cm = My baby will fall out tonight.
None of these statements are true! The thing is, vaginal exams don’t predict the future, they just show us what the body has already done.
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