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Week 30: 10 more weeks mama!

Fetal development in pregnancy week 30

~length
15.7 in | 40 cm

~weight
3 lbs | 1.3 kg

Woohoo! You can finally see the finish line now that you're in the final quarter of the race!!!

Whether you felt like your pregnancy's been flying by or slower than a snail scaling Everest, you've arrived in your thirtieth week and your baby's cookin' beautifully!

In animal news: the fine lanugo hair that covers their little monkey-like body will start falling off this week in preparation for the big day.

Still, don't be too shocked if your baby ape is hairier than you’d anticipated. Some babies keep their lanugo after birth - which is totally normal, and it will fall off eventually.

Checking in on the fat factory: your little porker is getting even cuter with increasingly pudgy arms and legs, thanks to their ever-growing layers of subcutaneous brown fat.

In terms of numbers, your big ol' baby should be weighing in at around 3 pounds 12 ounces (or more!) and be nearly 16 inches long!

Keep up the good work you two!

Share your baby's development on Facebook!

MY BABY'S PROGRESS: WEEK 30

Only 10 more weeks to go

If you think I'M big, you should really check out my 30-week womb-piggy: they're now nearly 4 lbs and 16 inches long! My little porker is getting cuter and cuter as they pile on the pudge to their wee ...

Tuesday at 19:16 via Baby Gaga · Comment · Like

Ketura

Week 30 Calendar Girl

February 2012

Enter my photo!

And how's mom doing?

Hey beautiful pregnant woman, have you thought about where you want to have your baby?Ultimately it's your choice and one you need to consider carefully because your experience in each of these environments will set a vastly different mood for labor, which in turn will have a direct impact on how you experience and cope with the pain of labor

In this crazy modern world, a woman usually has three choices: a hospital, a birthing center, or at home - all of which are perfectly viable and safe options, although there are several measurable benefits to less invasive birthing environments.

Hospital Pros and Cons

Pro: In the slim chance that anything goes seriously wrong, you'll have immediate access to a full medical staff and all the necessary resources to deal with the situation.

Con: If you're healthy and laboring normally, you're going to be exposed to - and potentially pressured into, a plethora of unnecessary, invasive and risky procedures and devices. Simply birthing in a hospital increases your risk of an emergency c-section.

Pro/Con: You'll have access to pain medication in the form of an epidural when you need it, but it's not without considerable risk to the mother, especially if given too early in labor.

Con: You can't sleep in your own bed at night, use your own bathtub or easily access food as desired.

Con: Medical staff may or may not be on your side when it comes to respecting your birth plan.

Con: It's expensive if you're an American, especially if you end up with a C-section.

Birthing Center Pros and Cons

Birthing Centers have popped up in the last decade in reaction to the highly invasive and risky birthing practices of many hospitals.

Pro: They're cheaper than a hospital.

Pro/Con: They rarely offer epidurals, but do have many different less invasive pain management options including a birthing tub.

Pro: They offer a gentle home-like birthing environment for women not comfortable birthing at home.

Pro: They're run by certified midwives and nurses who're trained to deal with all possible complications during labor and birth.

Con: You can't sleep in your own bed at night, use your own bathtub and food access is up to the Birthing Center.

Pro: Birthing centers are women-built, women-centered labor-positive environments that will provide you with much more psychological support during labor than you're likely to experience in the hospital.

Home Birth Pros and Cons

Pro: You're in your home, which if you've prepared the birthing space, means you'll not have to deal with anyone or anything unfamiliar or undesirable, leaving you free to focus on your labor and nothing else.

Pro/Con: You're signing up for a medication-free labor, which means you're going to have to be strong and focused during labor to get all the postpartum rewards and healing that a non-medicated labor offers.

Pro: There's very little risk of you experiencing c-section, forceps, an episiotomy, or any other risky procedures.

Con: In the unlikely chance something goes wrong and your certified midwife is unable to resolve it herself, you will need to get to the hospital when time is of the essence.

Pro: Postpartum sleep in your own bed, your own bathroom, your own food, your own space, no pushy medical staff who "knows better".

Ultimately, it's your choice and one you need to consider carefully because your labor experience in each of these environments will set a vastly different mood, which will directly impact how labor progresses and whether or not you'll have the birth you planned.