In the eighth month of pregnancy, childbirth is the most recurring idea. It is necessary to continue paying attention to the bodily changes (as already mentioned in the last post of this series) but the emotional sensations and stress prior to the outcome of pregnancy will begin to be especially important.
We are going to focus the reflection of this period of pregnancy on the attitudes and habits that can facilitate the life of the pregnant woman and the situation that the fetus lives with an increasing size in a smaller and smaller space.
The situation of the mother in the eighth month of pregnancy
To the increasing difficulty of performing ordinary activities, nervousness is added because everything goes well, and since the chances of moving are less, it is easier to fall into repetitive thoughts, doubts and fears.
It is common to hear mothers in their second or third pregnancy, who have not had time to get nervous because the older children have not left them. It seems reasonable then that it is positive to find an occupation that allows you to spend time as quickly and pleasantly as possible.
Short walks and several times throughout the day can offer the opportunity of distraction combined with the facilitating effect of the return movement that walking has.
Contrast baths with two basins, one with cold water and one with hot water, are also a good option to improve the reduction of inflammation in the ankles. If there is a possibility of walking with water below the knees (by the sea shore or in children's pools), the water pressure will be beneficial for the venous and lymphatic circulation to reactivate. It must be taken into account that it is dangerous to use diuretics because they can alter the body's water balance. You can find some entries from our blog focused on edema or fluid retention.
Another important factor is that which refers to rest. On the KindsHealth website they make a complete review of the aspects that can interfere with a restful sleep and ideas can be extracted to try to make it as satisfactory and functional as possible: urinating before bedtime since the need to go to the bathroom increases during pregnancy, adopt a lateral posture during sleep to relieve pressure (as already noted in "Babies and more"), use a pillow between the legs to favor a more relaxed posture on the hip ... It is important to consider all these changes without stress: sleep is a natural activity and we can not try to control the posture for three or four hours in a row since it is normal to move, but it may offer some help to get a little more performance.
The fetus grows but space does not
The movement is life, but the chances of flotation of the fetus decrease due to the decrease in space in the uterus. The mother's daily activity will help to alleviate this situation since indirectly, when she moves, she will move the baby.
His behaviors are already very sophisticated and he begins to be prepared for birth, even if he gets ahead.
Medical considerations
The proximity of labor should make us think about how to facilitate assistance to the medical center. We must negotiate with family members or with the couple how to solve the exit in case of any emergency situation or doubt.
It is necessary to find a balance between sinking hypochondriacs and saturate the medical service and arrive at the last moment preventing a calm and calm attention. We must specify with the gynecologist and the midwife who have taken the pregnancy which are emergency signs in which we must go to review and which are the normal ones of this situation so advanced. In my opinion, in case of doubt it is better to go to the hospital and to be sent home than to remain with the concern of not knowing if we do the right thing or not (as the saying goes: "between you go and you come, along the way you you entertain "). Surely the health center staff sees it as a nuisance but it is not that it is given birth every month.
This eighth month is a particularly convenient period to care for the mother and make your experience satisfactory and rich with the intention of being physically and physically prepared for the last effort: childbirth.
