Weight loss
Many pregnant women lose up to 500 grams of body weight right before labor due to hormones that reduce the amount of water in the body. This can be a sign for moms who are diligently monitoring their weight “charts”.
Mother will gain less weight, even weight loss at the end of pregnancy. This is normal, as the amount of amniotic fluid decreases and does not affect the baby’s weight. At this time, the mother will feel tired and want to rest more than eat.


Backache
This is a common sign of many pregnant women during pregnancy, but preparing to give birth due to the belly moving downwards, so women will feel more pain in the lower back, some pregnant women will notice pain starting in the pelvic area then rotate around the pelvis.
At this time, the muscles in the pelvic area become soft and flexible allowing the pelvic area to stretch in preparation for the baby’s birth.


Contractions become more frequent and stronger
Not like the Braxton-Hicks contractions appears in the last months of pregnancy, the contractions coming continuously and stronger is the earliest sign that the mother is about to give birth.
Mothers need to distinguish between physiological contractions and labor contractions. If the physiological contraction takes place without any rules, does not bring uncomfortable pain to the mother, lasts only about 30-60 seconds and can end if the mother changes position, the pain labor brings discomfort to the mother, the pain begins in the lower back, spreads to the lower abdomen and legs; The contractions come continuously about 2-5 minutes each time and even if the mother changes the lying position, sitting, the pain does not subside and disappear.
So what should mom do?
Mother was advised to go to the doctor when 3 episodes of pain appeared in 10 minutes.


Abdominal drop
Signs of belly drop are often easy to recognize in mothers when they are pregnant for the first time, especially mothers with high belly.
When does the belly drop?
There is no exact answer, depending on the pregnant mother, the time when the belly drops will be different, even many mothers, even though they are pregnant for the first time, have no signs of their belly dropping, even though “the belly is towering” but still have to carry the line. went to give birth. Usually, the belly will drop 2-4 weeks before the mother gives birth.
Why does the belly drop?
The time when the abdomen drops is when the fetus drops near the pelvis, only when the fetus “falls” into this pelvic area can birth naturally.
Signs of falling fetus?
- Abdomen has sunk down (it will be obvious to outsiders)
- Urinating more
- Increased pressure on the pelvic area (groin and pubic pain)
- Mom eats better and breathes easier


Cervical dilation
In the pre-pregnancy period, pregnant women are assigned to have antenatal check-ups more often, maybe once a week or more frequently in pregnant mothers with problems, this helps on the one hand. check the status of amniotic fluid, placenta, The degree of placental calcification as well as help the mother check the dilation of the uterus to assess whether the mother is ready for labor.
Many pregnant women, when the intense pain appeared, were also examined internally. During the internal examination, the doctor will wear gloves and then go deep into the mother’s vagina to check how much stool has been opened. Many mothers, although quite painful, have not opened any stools or have only opened 1 stool and are asked to go home to wait for the pain to intensify. After returning home, the mother may have brown discharge, this is the solution the doctor uses during the examination during pregnancy without worrying too much.


Bloody feet
Mothers often whisper “Three times in the blood is to give birth”, but this is not necessarily true because depending on the location of each pregnant mother, there will be blood in the legs or not, sooner or later and more or less. The bleeding in the legs to recognize the impending birth is different from the pathological bleeding, which occurs when the mother has proteinuria. For mothers who do not detect protein components when conducting a urine test, they can rely on signs of blood loss to estimate the date of birth.
Why blood down the leg?
Because the legs are far from the heart, it takes a while for arterial blood to return to the heart, leading to accumulation causing edema, besides, near the end of pregnancy with the large size of the fetus increases pressure on the veins, making it difficult for blood to return. more heart.
What do you need to do to reduce this phenomenon?
- Drink a lot of water
- Do not hold urine
- Eat lightly
- Exercise, soak your feet in hot water before going to bed to increase blood circulation
- High footrest
When the mother has blood in her legs in the 9th month of pregnancy, this can be a warning sign that the mother is about to give birth


Amniotic fluid rupture
This is considered to be one of the clearest signs that a being is about to be born. After the water breaks, the mother and baby can meet within a few hours, but the rupture of membranes only occurs in about 10% of pregnant women.
How does amniotic fluid rupture?
Amniotic fluid rupture is when the amniotic sac bursts, releasing a clear white fluid that is sometimes mixed with brown or pink fluid.
Amniotic fluid rupture is different for every pregnant woman. Many pregnant women describe the phenomenon of amniotic fluid rupture as a broken water balloon, the water flows quickly, strongly, in a stream from the vagina but there is no pain. Many pregnant women have broken water, but the amniotic fluid is only slowly small like amniotic fluid leakage.
What do you do when your water breaks?
When your water breaks after 37 weeks of pregnancy, your baby is ready to be born. Amniotic fluid is the environment that supports and protects the baby, so once the water breaks, the mother should be taken immediately to a medical facility to remove the fetus to avoid asphyxiation, lack of nutrition leading to fetal distress, stillbirth. When amniotic fluid rupture occurs, the mother should note not to exercise vigorously, which is very easy to injure the fetus because at this time the baby no longer has the protective “buffer” of amniotic fluid.


Joints stretch and become loose
During pregnancy, under the influence of the hormone relaxin, the ligaments of the joints become softer and looser than usual. Closer to the due date, pregnant mothers feel this more clearly because the joints are stretched This is a response that shows that the pelvis is expanding to be ready for the baby to be born.


Mucous plug
Normally, the mother’s cervix is always sealed by a mucus plug known as a cork. This mucus plug has a protective role for the fetus, preventing agents and foreign factors from damaging and infecting the amniotic sac.
Closer to the end of pregnancy when the fetus descends into the area near the pelvis, the mucus plug tends to peel off, called the phenomenon. mucus plug or cervical removal so that the fetus can be ejected. This mucus plug is usually white or light yellow, viscous, sticky, sometimes when it comes off, it will contain a little pink blood that we still call “leopard blood” or “fish blood”. Mothers can build up their spirits to welcome their baby within the next 1-2 days.


Urinate and defecate a lot
Peeing a lot This happens to any pregnant woman during pregnancy, but at the time of delivery, the mother’s frequency of urination is increasing. The reason is that when the fetus falls low, it increases pressure on the pelvic region, the front stimulates the bladder area to cause frequent urination, the back stimulates the rectal area, causing the mother to have a lot of bowel movements.
If the sign of frequent urination is not really a surefire for an impending “date”, then the sign of procrastination is really believable. Because, in the previous stage of pregnancy, many pregnant women always have problems in defecation, even many mothers with hemorrhoids due to pregnancy constipation have also entered this stage of preparing to break the jar. more than.


Leaky amniotic fluid
Imagine amniotic sac Like a balloon filled with water, when the balloon bursts causing a massive release of water called amniotic fluid rupture, if only a small hole is perforated, the amniotic fluid leaks only a little, called amniotic fluid. Amniotic fluid leakage can occur throughout pregnancy, depending on the stage with different consequences.
However, not all pregnant women realize this change because amniotic fluid, if not attentive, can easily be confused with urine. One way to help pregnant women distinguish that is to test with purple litmus, if the purple litmus changes color when it comes in contact with a suspected amniotic fluid, then the mother is definitely infected. amniotic fluid.
The closer to the end of pregnancy, the more attention should be paid to the phenomenon of amniotic fluid leakage because if this happens a lot, it can lead to oligohydramnios, causing many serious consequences. When amniotic fluid leaks near the time of delivery, this can be a sign for the mother to prepare for labor.

