A huge number of women who are preparing to become a mother are concerned about the question of how many weeks a woman walks pregnant. This interest is dictated primarily by the desire to see your child as soon as possible. Of course, there is such a thing as a normal period of bearing a child in the womb of the mother. At the same time, there are deviations from the norm, when the baby is born ahead of time or, conversely, with a delay. Why is this happening? It all depends on many factors. To the question of how many weeks a woman walks pregnant, there is a simple answer: "From 37 to 42 weeks (inclusive)."
Naturally, this is a general rule. If the baby is born prematurely, then the birth will be called premature. Accordingly, when he is born at the 43rd week, they speak of a late birth.
Childbirth in due time
So, for those who are interested in how many weeks a woman walks pregnant, we emphasize once again that this period, on average, is 9 calendar months or 10 obstetric months. At the same time, women should be mentally prepared for the fact that they will have a new status by the time they give birth. However, the exact date of the birth of the baby is impossible to determine. However, many future mothers who really want to know about how many weeks a woman walks pregnant do not leave attempts and hopes to find out the exact date of birth of their baby.
It is very important to note that in the second and subsequent births, the duration of gestation in the maternal womb is approximately 37–39 weeks. The reason for this is that the woman’s body adapts to repeated pregnancies faster and easier. The people have long noticed a rather interesting detail: girls are born a little earlier than boys (38th week and 40th week, respectively). However, experts in the field of obstetrics do not see the relationship between the sex of the child and the gestational age. In their opinion, the child is born at the very moment when his body is maximally formed. Some are interested in the question of how long the pregnancy lasts if the birth of twins is expected. As a general rule, in this case, the fetus is born no more than 38 weeks, while the birth is not considered premature.
Often twins are born thanks to surgical intervention. Moreover, only the doctor determines which method of delivery will be used in relation to a woman who in the future should give birth to 2 babies.
Delivery ahead of schedule
According to statistics, approximately 7% of mothers give birth to children “ahead of schedule”. If a normal pregnancy in time is from 37 to 42 weeks, then the period of "premature" varies from the 22nd to the 37th week. Babies born “ahead of time” are poorly adapted to life outside the womb, they are not even able to breathe on their own. And only thanks to the advanced achievements of medicine they save lives. So, why in this case, the pregnancy does not last long? There are several reasons for this. Consider the most common of them.
Causes of Preterm Birth
A woman can give birth prematurely due to the presence of genital infections in her body. In an infected uterus, the fetus cannot fully form by 9 calendar months, and then the female organ begins to reject it on its own. The second reason for preterm delivery is the consequence of such an ailment as isthmic-cervical insufficiency, when the cervix due to pathologies of contractile activity is not able to hold the fetus until the due date. Among other reasons, experts in the field of obstetrics call placental abruption, the presence of congenital abnormalities of the uterus, as well as a large load on the uterus during the period of gestation. The likelihood that a child will be born ahead of schedule is high in those women who have previously had an artificial termination of pregnancy. An unbalanced diet, nervous stress can also lead to early childbirth. Of course, the attention of doctors to women who are preparing to become mothers ahead of time should be special.
Childbirth after due date
Consider now the situation when the baby is born after the due date. It should be noted that in this case, usually pregnancy lasts about 43-44 weeks. According to statistics, a similar situation occurs in 10% of women. It is easy to guess that with this pathology, the child is born with a clear delay. Let's analyze why this happens.
Causes of Late Birth
The baby does not leave the mother’s womb for a long time because she suffers from diseases of a neuroendocrine nature (overweight, diabetes mellitus, etc.). Also, such pathologies as myometrium, decreased tone, and biological unavailability of the uterus can interfere with normal childbirth in due time. The cause of a delayed birth can be associated with diseases of the central nervous system in a child (Down syndrome, anencephaly, hydrocephalus). If the baby has ailments, then on this basis he has a slowdown in the production of corticosteroid hormones, which are responsible for ensuring that he is born on time. Hormonal malfunctions can also be the cause of a late delivery, when a deficiency of catecholamines or progesterone is recorded. A long stay of the baby in the mother’s womb does not bode well for the baby. He simply begins starvation, while the placenta is aging, it begins to fulfill its function worse. A child who was born late is very much like an old man: he has dried skin, sometimes with wrinkles.
Conclusion
Future parents should approach the process of procreation with all seriousness and responsibility, since the period after which the child was born is an indicator of his health. Without fail, pregnant women need to regularly visit a doctor and strictly follow all his recommendations.