Baby may have a full head of hair now, an inch or more long, but some babies are born with only peach fuzz. Speaking of hair, most of the downy coat of lanugo that covered the baby for weeks has disappeared, but you may see some on the upper back and shoulders when he arrives. Almost gone has most of the vernix caseosa, the whitish substance that also covered baby.
Most babies gain about half pound per week in the last month of pregnancy. Fat stores accumulate in the legs and arms. These layers of fat will help them regulate their body temperature. Baby still doesn't have enough fat deposits beneath its skin to keep warm outside the womb. If born now the baby would probably be put in an incubator, about 90% of babies born this week survive.
The baby is now fully formed physically and has a firm grasp reflex. They can now determine the difference between sweet and sour tastes. Premature babies born as early as 33 weeks have been observed to suck harder on a teat dipped in glucose. However, even unborn babies can detect subtle changes in the flavour of the amniotic fluid they float in. It is believed the fluid acts as a 'flavour bridge' to their mother's breast milk. Breast milk changes flavour depending on what the mother eats (such as sugar, garlic or curry) and so does the amniotic fluid. Observations of unborn babies have demonstrated that they swallow more frequently when surrounded by sweet tastes and swallow less fluid if it tastes bitter or sour.
With the exception of crying, the baby is capable of doing everything that a newborn baby will do. The baby is restricted now inside of the uterus, but still can kick and move. The baby sleeps alot of the time, just as newborn babies do. The baby's eyes move in the manner of REM sleep and researchers believe that babies can dream vividly in utero. When the baby is awake, he is listening, feeling and learning. There are billions of neurons in the brain that make trillions of connections. The baby will probably have settled into the birth position by now and your caregiver can most likely tell which way the baby is presenting.
The baby weighs about 1.7kg (1,700 grams or 3 lbs 12 oz) and measures about 43 cm from head to toe (just under 17 inches).
He has now put on enough weight to make him look a little chubby! The fine hair that covered their entire body (called lanugo) disappears from his face, but remains on his body. Most unborn babies sleep about 90% of the time, in between short bursts of movement when awake (every 1 to 2 hours). It is common for babies to be active during the evenings, when their mother is trying to sleep, between
This week marks an incredible milestone in baby's lung development. Before now, the air sacs and branches in baby's lungs were present but not functional. The lungs were not able to inflate properly. However, now there is surfactant being produced in baby's lungs. Surfactant prevents baby's lungs from collapsing outside of the uterus and the baby is able to take in air and breathe properly. The fetal ear is almost completely developed both inside and out. The baby can hear my voice and other familiar sounds that he will recognize after birth. He is putting on white fat under the skin and the skin's color is pink instead of red at this point. His fingernails have grown to the end of his fingers and he may scratch herself while he is in the womb.
