The baby will be born in a few weeks. In this short period of time, the entire child's body must prepare for life outside the mother's belly. This article will tell you about the peculiarities of fetal development at 35 weeks.
What does it look like?
A number of changes take place in the child's appearance. He becomes more and more like a baby, because very soon the baby will be born. At 34-35 obstetric weeks, the baby develops specific facial features that are unique to him.
All the main anatomical zones on the small face of the fetus are already quite well visualized. So, in the upper half of the child's face, the forehead is clearly visible. The fetus's nose is no longer as flat as it used to be. On the sides of the face there are well-defined auricles.
The cheeks of the fetus become more and more plump every day. Such a specific roundness, characteristic of newborn babies, is given to them by fat, which begins to be deposited under the skin.
Fatty tissue is also formed in other parts of the body. The main "fat depots" in the fetus are located in the abdomen, buttocks, and extremities. At 35 weeks of gestation, the amount of adipose tissue in a child's body, according to scientists, is approximately 7%.
The importance of subcutaneous fat for a growing child's body cannot be overstated. The fat under the skin is a kind of fuel. When metabolized, the body produces a lot of energy, which is spent on all basic needs. So, without a sufficient amount of adipose tissue, the baby can quickly freeze after birth.
Basically, the baby has brown fat. It is he who accumulates under the skin, giving it a specific pink-reddish tint. However, white subcutaneous fat, although in much smaller quantities, is still present. At the final stage of pregnancy, it is very important that the baby gains more weight and does not grow in length. The increase in fat in the child's body and the active development of muscles are necessary for the baby to be ready to live independently in the external environment in the future.
The accumulation of adipose tissue in the child's body leads to a change in the proportions of the child's body. At 35 weeks, fatty layers are mainly formed in the upper shoulder girdle. The accumulation of adipose tissue around the limbs makes the arms and legs of the baby especially cute.
The skin of the fetus is covered with wrinkles. This is because the baby is constantly in the amniotic fluid. The color of the skin changes every day. So, at 35 weeks, the skin is already quite pink.
The amount of original lubricant gradually decreases. Its accumulations are found mainly in places of natural folds on the child's skin. So, there is a lot of primordial lubricant in the neck area, in the armpits, in the ulnar and popliteal fossa, and also in the folds on the abdomen.
Lanugo (special hairline) in the baby is gradually decreasing. Thin vellus hair simply falls off the surface of the fetus. The growth of hair on the head, on the contrary, increases. Eyelashes and eyebrows also grow actively.
It is important to note that an individual pigment begins to appear in the hair, which determines the color of the hair.
Movement
By this time, the motor activity of the fetus also changes. Already a relatively large baby becomes very cramped in the uterus.
The child will soon begin to descend into the pelvis. There will be significantly less space in the small pelvis than in the abdominal cavity, which is why the baby is trying to "group". He, as a rule, crosses his arms and legs, and lowers his head a little. At the same time, his chin becomes closer to his chest.
It is already difficult for a baby who weighs more than two kilograms to actively move in the uterus, but he still makes active movements. Often they are manifested by the fact that the child "kicks" the walls of the uterus. Since the fetus is already quite large and large, the pregnant woman feels its movements quite clearly. In some cases, the expectant mother may even feel that it hurts if the child is pushing hard.
Almost every pregnant woman monitors how intensely and often her baby pushes. It is important to remember that other symptoms should be monitored while doing this. If the expectant mother has severe abdominal pain or leakage of amniotic fluid, she should definitely consult with her gynecologist.
In some cases, labor may begin somewhat earlier than the scheduled date. In such a situation, one should not hesitate to see a doctor. This is especially important if the baby is in breech or breech presentation.
Anatomical features
By the 35th week, the baby has already grown quite strongly. With each subsequent day of pregnancy, the baby will gain more weight than it will grow in length.
Measuring the size of the fetus is a very important indicator of the course of intrauterine development. Conducting special ultrasound tests provides doctors with a lot of information about the size of the fetus. If in the previous weeks this information was more necessary for them in order to assess how the development and growth of internal organs in the fetus is going on, now it is needed mainly for drawing up the correct tactics of obstetrics.
After the examination, a conclusion must be drawn up, which reflects all the measured parameters of the baby's body. This conclusion is evaluated by a doctor who monitors the course of pregnancy.
Doctors use special clinical signs to assess the size of the baby at each stage of pregnancy. For this, the parameters of the most important anatomical parameters are determined. The rates applied for this gestational age are presented in the table below.
How is it developing?
An important task of the upcoming final period of pregnancy is to prepare the fetus for a new "mode of work", as well as for the transition to a qualitatively new environment. For this, it is very important that all major organ systems of the baby are well formed and able to function. The final period of pregnancy (third trimester) is a very important period.
The child who is in the mother's womb is able to experience his own feelings. This unique feature is due to the fact that the baby's senses are well developed. These nerve analyzers are necessary for the body in order to be ready to respond to environmental factors. Doctors call this feature adaptation, that is, the ability to change the body under the influence of the external environment.
In order for the baby to be able to listen to the sounds around him, the baby develops the ability to hear.
The fetus at the 35th week already quite well distinguishes the voices of its parents, and daddy's voice usually gives him a little more pleasure, since it is lower in timbre. Scientists have found that at this stage of pregnancy, the fetus perceives sounds of this particular range better.
The ability to distinguish between light and dark is another skill that a child has. It is important to note that the child will fully respond to light only after his birth, and for now he only has reflex responses that have a protective function. For example, when bright rays hit the face, the baby will instinctively close the eyelids and even try to turn away from them.
It is interesting that at this time the child is already able to dream. This ability is facilitated by the strong development of the brain. It already has a lot of grooves and convolutions. The higher nervous activity in the fetus increases every day. This contributes to the fact that the child has more and more reflexes. At this stage of pregnancy, the child sleeps for almost 18-20 hours a day.
The development in the fetus of special receptors on the tongue - taste buds - makes it possible to determine taste. This ability continues to develop every day. The baby determines the taste of amniotic fluid when swallowed. During this biological act of "feeding", there is also a specific training of the respiratory muscles of the fetus. In the future, strong pectoral muscles and a diaphragm will allow the baby to take his first independent breath in his life.
After the fetus has drunk the amniotic fluid, it usually hiccups. This process is a completely normal baby's reaction. Moreover, fetal hiccups are necessary for the full development of its digestive system.
By the 35th week, the child's body is already ready to move into a new environment for him. The baby has already formed and even started to work with the cardiovascular and nervous systems.
A baby born at 35 weeks gestation is viable. The possibility of existence outside the mother's womb is due to the fact that the fetus already has its own heartbeat, and after the first breath, independent breathing appears. However, not all babies born at this time may be ready for life. In this case, special care and a complex of rehabilitation measures are required, which are carried out by neonatologists in specialized departments of hospitals.
The ability to breathe spontaneously is due to a fairly good development of lung tissue. A person's own breathing is impracticable without the presence of a special substance in the lungs - a surfactant. A surfactant is necessary so that the alveoli - the pulmonary vesicles - do not stick together when breathing. With each subsequent day of pregnancy, the amount of surfactant increases.
How is it located in the womb?
The position of the fetus in the uterus is a very important clinical indicator. The choice of obstetric tactics depends on how the fetus is located in the womb. The doctor chooses the method of carrying out obstetric assistance so that during childbirth the risk of dangerous birth injuries and injuries to both the mother and the fetus is minimal.
Doctors call the position of the baby in the womb as presentation. There are different options for presentation. To determine it, doctors must identify where the largest parts of the fetus are located.
The longitudinal cephalic presentation is most favorable for birth. In this case, towards the birth canal, the first is the head end of the child's body. Moreover, during childbirth, the head will be born first.
As a rule, it is easier for the rest of the body to be "born" further, since they are smaller than the shoulders in size. This variant of presentation is called favorable because in this case natural childbirth is possible without significant birth trauma.
With breech presentation, when the fetal pelvis is directed first to the birth canal, the prognosis is less joyful. In such a situation, very often during childbirth, dangerous birth injuries occur. To reduce their development, doctors often resort to performing a caesarean section.
The transverse position, when the fetus is located across the longitudinal axis of the birth canal, is also less favorable. In this case, all large parts of the baby are perpendicular to the birth canal. Spontaneous childbirth with such a presentation is very dangerous.
By 35 weeks, the position of the baby in the uterus, as a rule, is already constant. The likelihood that the fetus will turn over again is still there, but it is already quite insignificant.
If the baby is not in the head presentation, then the expectant mother should monitor her feelings much more carefully before the onset of childbirth.
For information on how the fetus develops at 35 weeks of gestation, see the next video.
