What happens at 41 weeks of gestation?
By this time the fetus occupies all the free space in the abdominal cavity. The weight of his body at this time is more than 3500 grams, and the length of the body, on average, is about 52 cm.
In view of such large sizes, the activity of the unborn child is sharply reduced: it has already taken its final position, the head is in a small pelvis. In this case, the main motor movements are carried out solely by handles and legs.
If, at 41 weeks of pregnancy, the baby is actively stirring, then this may be a signal for the mother of the imminent initiation of labor. As a rule, such movements of future crumbs are nothing but a response to the contraction of muscle fibers of uterine myometrium.
The appearance of dragging, aching pain in the lower abdomen may indicate a rapid onset of labor. Therefore, a woman should be attentive. When the contractions become regular, and the interval between them becomes 10 minutes, you can go to the maternity hospital.
What to do when 41 weeks of pregnancy are going on, and birth does not begin?
First of all, it is necessary to exclude panic, it will only aggravate the position of the woman. As already mentioned, in some cases gestation can last up to 42 weeks, which in principle is not a violation.
However, in such cases, a woman, starting from 40 weeks, is in a hospital. Here the doctors conduct an examination with the ultrasound apparatus and in the gynecological chair. The purpose of the first examination is to determine the condition of the placenta.
The thing is that quite often in later terms, there may be a so-called aging of a child's place. Such a violation is characterized by a decrease in its functional activity, which primarily affects the fetus's condition: the baby receives less oxygen, which can lead to hypoxia. It is in such cases at 41 weeks of pregnancy that the delivery is stimulated.
If we talk about why there are no contractions at 41 weeks of gestation, then the following reasons should be noted:
- an error in the calculation of the gestation period;
- endocrine diseases (obesity);
- violation of the regulatory function of the central nervous system.
What activities are performed with the unripe cervix of the uterus?
Often, when examining a pregnant woman for a long time in the gynecological chair, it turns out that the cervix is immature. By this term we understand such a state of the given department of the genital organ, in which it is dense, slightly softened, and its length is 3 cm. At the same time, the cervical canal is practically closed or only the tip of the finger passes.
Immature cervix, diagnosed at 41 weeks of gestation, requires intervention by doctors. In this case, it is possible to use a medicamentous and non-drug method.
Begin usually from the second. In such cases, use special sticks from dried seaweed, - laminaria. They are introduced directly into the cervical canal. The components of this remedy do not affect the future mother and fetus, therefore they are used quite actively by midwives.
If, at 41 weeks of gestation, the cervix is not yet ready for the onset of labor, and in response to the beginning of labor, there is no smoothing and opening, cesarean section is prescribed. In those cases when there is no birth activity, and the results of CTG and doplerometry indicate the presence of fetal hypoxia, cesarean is performed regardless of the degree of maturity of the uterine neck.