Many expectant parents find the last weeks before their baby’s arrival to be fraught with a rainbow of emotions. The excitement builds as the due-date comes. This date has been the goal. Although realistically only 5% of babies are born on their due dates, we still cling to that date as if it means something bigger than it does. Just as every fruit on the same tree reaches ripened maturity at different points in time, so do our babies. One survey suggests 7 out of 10 babies are born past their estimated due dates (as a birth doula, I can say this backs-up my experiences with mothers and babies). Babies aren't just hanging around after their due date, buffing their nails and looking at their watches -- they are still growing and developing, and important changes are taking place. Babies at this late stage are storing up "brown fat," whose sole purpose is to generate heat -- this helps a newborn maintain his or her body temperature. Other last week events include: weight gain, iron storage, sucking and swallowing practice, and of course, lung-maturation.
1 Comment
Anne Junge
4/29/2014 05:38:37 am
Perfectness.
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