Pregnancy Week 33 (SSW 33): Do not be afraid of the dam massage!

This is how the baby develops in the 33rd week of pregnancy

In the 33rd week of pregnancy your baby has a size of about 44 centimeters and a weight of 2,000 grams, Now the 9th month of pregnancy begins and the date of birth is getting closer! Meanwhile, more fat is stored under your baby's skin, and his skin becomes smoother and less red.

Baby's head is developing

The brain volume of the child is now increasing, and the brain functions are further affected by this. In the 33rd week of pregnancy, the child's head circumference increases by about 1.3 centimeters.The skull plates of the head are still soft and flexible. After all, your head will soon have to push through your pelvis and that will be easier if the skull plates can slide over each other. Until well after birth (The large fontanelle closes only 18 to 32 months after birth), they are not connected by bony structures, but by outer and inner skin layers - the so-called fontanelles. After birth, parents can feel the soft spot above the baby's forehead, where the large fontanelle sits. A tip for later: In the first year of life you should keep an eye on the fontanelle. If the spot on the head is somewhat sunken and forms a small hollow, the cause may be a lack of fluid in the baby.

The skeletal development is now largely completed, the bones of the baby continue to harden.

Pregnancy calendar: This happens in the 33rd week of pregnancy (3rd trimester) with your body

Between the 33rd and the 34th week of gestation, the amniotic fluid in the abdomen reaches its highest level. Some pregnant women then have up to two liters of amniotic fluid in the stomachwhich, however, slowly reduces until birth. You may be more often now Senkwehen Feel, because the baby is now slowly in birth position and lowers deeper into the pelvis. This has the advantage, however, that yours Shortness of breath better again becomes ? because the pressure in the upper abdomen diminishes. The water retention are normal at this stage, feet, legs and hands are particularly affected. What you can do against water retention, we reveal in our article on the 27th SSW. This will increase a little until the birth date? especially if your baby is born at higher summer temperatures. The chest is already working hard VormilchIt may be that a few droplets are already emerging from the nipple. If this happens more often, you can get some nursing pads.

So you can prevent a dam rupture during pregnancy

At birth, the tissue in the vagina and around the perineum (that is, the area between the vagina and the anus) is greatly stretched as the head passes through. So strong that it sometimes comes to a dam rupture or an episiotomy must be made. Can you do something to prevent it? Midwives recommend a dam massage.

Dam Massage: That's how it works

When it comes to dam massage, it scares many. The area around the anus is just a sensitive. He comes to the birth of the focus, because it often comes in natural births to a dam. About six weeks before the expected date of birth, midwives recommend stretching this area with regular massages. This keeps it more flexible and increases the likelihood of this area being unhurt.

You need: a pure olive or wheat germ oil, but you can also use a special dam massage oil (for example from Weleda).

1. Put one leg on the edge of the bathtub or chair.
2. First insert one, then two or three oiled fingers into the vagina and massage in a U-shape with gentle pressure for 5 to 10 minutes towards the intestine.
3. Massage once a day until birth.

If you do not want to massage, you can do the following exercise to stretch the dam tissue:

Stand with your back to the bed, squat on your legs, leaning your back against it. The feet are flat on the ground. Keep as long as possible. This exercise can be done several times a day.

Private Practice - Georgia On My Mind (April 2024).