Your week 40 guide

Your baby is full term and ready for life outside the womb. Every system needed to breathe, feed, and maintain temperature is in place, and the remaining time is spent gaining weight and continuing brain development. Nothing essential is still missing.

Weight, length and the timing of labour vary considerably among perfectly healthy pregnancies. A term baby can reasonably weigh anywhere between about five and a half and nine pounds, and both ends of that range are normal. Estimates of size from a late scan carry a wide margin of error and should be treated with caution.

Your care team may recommend additional monitoring if the pregnancy continues past your due date. This usually means checks of your baby's heart rate, movement and sometimes the amniotic fluid, because the placenta becomes gradually less efficient over time. Induction is commonly discussed somewhere between forty-one and forty-two weeks, and the timing and approach should be a conversation rather than an announcement.

Regular contractions, waters breaking, pelvic pressure or other signs of labour may begin. Waters breaking is a gush for some women and a slow trickle for others, and it is worth reporting either way because it changes the plan. Note the colour of the fluid, since green or brown fluid needs immediate attention.

Sleep and movement can be difficult at this stage. Almost every position is uncomfortable and getting out of a chair has become a project. Rest in whatever fragments you can, because sleep will not be reliably available for a while yet.

Feeling both excited and anxious is common and completely reasonable. Going past your due date is frustrating in a way that surprises most women, particularly when everyone is asking. If anxiety is becoming overwhelming rather than simply present, tell your midwife, because support is available now and afterwards.

Follow the monitoring and birth plan agreed with your care team. If you are being offered induction, ask what it involves, what the alternatives are and what happens if you wait, so the decision is genuinely yours. Take the time to ask; there is almost always time for questions.

Keep transport, support contacts and your bag ready and accessible. Everything should be at the point where leaving takes minutes rather than planning. Make sure more than one person knows the plan. InshaAllah, sharing the transport plan can leave you one less detail to explain on the day.

Rest, drink, eat as advised, and keep noticing your baby's movement. Movement matters just as much today as at any other point in the third trimester. Contact your maternity unit immediately about any change, at any hour, and never wait until morning.

Consistency over special foods: There is no special week-40 diet, and no food replaces proper maternity monitoring. Continue with varied food, regular fluids, food-safety precautions and any supplements your healthcare professional has prescribed.

Choose foods according to your appetite and comfort. If you are past your due date or have any concern about your health or your baby, contact your maternity team rather than relying on food or herbal remedies to change anything.