Your week 35 guide

Fat is filling out the limbs and shoulders. Your baby is gaining roughly a pound every couple of weeks now, and most of it is fat that will regulate temperature and provide energy in the first days. This is the main reason a baby born at thirty-five weeks looks noticeably thinner than one born at term.

Movement is becoming more wiggling and stretching than large turning. There is very little room left, so your baby cannot swing around as before. The change in character is expected; a change in how much you feel is not, and should prompt a call.

Meconium, the first stool, is collecting in the intestines. It is made of swallowed amniotic fluid, shed skin cells, lanugo and bile, and it is dark green and sticky. It normally stays in the bowel until after birth, and its presence in the fluid during labour is something your team watches for.

Pelvic pressure, hip or joint pain, heartburn, fatigue and sleep problems are all common. Pelvic girdle pain, felt at the front of the pubic bone or across the lower back, can make turning in bed and climbing stairs genuinely painful. It is treatable with physiotherapy and support belts, so it is worth raising rather than accepting.

Loosening ligaments and a shifted posture affect walking and balance. Your gait may have changed noticeably, and stairs, kerbs and slippery surfaces carry more risk than they did. This is a practical reason to slow down rather than a reason to stop moving.

Signs of labour before thirty-seven weeks need prompt assessment rather than watchful waiting. Regular tightenings, persistent low backache, pelvic pressure, a change in discharge or any fluid loss should be reported immediately. It is always better to be assessed and sent home than to wait and be right.

Learn your maternity unit's exact instructions for what to do if labour may be starting. Services differ on when they want you to ring, what counts as regular contractions and what to do if your waters break without contractions. Knowing their rules beats general advice from the internet.

Confirm practical support for the first days after birth. Someone to cook, to hold the baby while you shower, or to take other children for an afternoon makes an enormous difference. Being specific about what you want helps people help you properly. InshaAllah, asking for one specific job can make it easier for someone to support you.

Keep noticing your baby's usual movement pattern every day. This remains one of the most useful things you can do, and it costs nothing. Contact your maternity unit immediately if the pattern changes, at any hour, without waiting to see whether it settles.

Keep digestion supported: Constipation often continues or becomes more uncomfortable in the final weeks. Keep including fibre-containing foods and drinking regularly through the day.

If a prescribed iron supplement seems to be making constipation worse, do not stop it without advice. Your healthcare professional can often adjust the dose, change the formulation or alter the timing while still treating low iron safely, which matters ahead of birth.