Pregnancy Calendar - 40th Week

For the mother:

You have now reached the 40th week of pregnancy at which you are expected to bring your child into the world.
The process of childbirth is divided into three phases.
The first and more prolonged phase consists of the pains of labour when uterine contractions dilate the cervix making it easier for your baby to leave the uterus and cross the genital tract.
During the second phase we have the culmination of confinement which lasts from 10 minutes to 3 hours and it is the time the baby is born.
The third phase involves the removal of the placenta which is the easiest part of labour and occurs almost automatically.