38 weeks pregnant

At 38 weeks pregnant, you’re considered ‘full-term’, and are very close to your due date¹. In most cases, labour will start anywhere between 38 - 42 weeks of pregnancy, and you’re probably noticing every little twinge and feeling as you wait for your baby to arrive.

It’s likely that you’ll have an antenatal appointment around about now, during which your midwife will check the size of your bump and your blood pressure. They’ll also check for protein in your urine to ensure that you’re not at risk of a condition known as pre-eclampsia.

As you approach your due date and are getting closer to meeting your baby for the very first time, here we’re exploring the 38 weeks pregnant symptoms not to ignore, signs of labour at 38 weeks pregnant, and how to make sure your hospital bag is packed and prepared for your new arrival.

Whilst your baby is now considered full-term, they’ve still got plenty of room inside your uterus, and as such you should still be able to feel them moving around right up until you go into labour². If you notice anything unusual about your baby’s movements at all, always seek advice from your midwife or healthcare professional to ensure that everything is as it should be.

At 38 weeks pregnant, your baby’s bowels contain a substance called meconium. Meconium is a green, sticky slime that’s made up of all the things that they’ve swallowed in the womb (this includes hair and amniotic fluid)¹.

Meconium usually forms your baby’s first poo after they’ve been born (look at our handy baby poo chart for more information). Sometimes this can happen during your labour, resulting in the amniotic fluid containing meconium. If this is the case, your healthcare professional will be monitoring things closely, as it could signal that your baby is stressed³.

At 38 weeks pregnant, your baby is around 49.8 cm long from their head to their heels. To put that into context, that’s about the size of a stick of rhubarb¹, and they now weigh anywhere between 3-4 kg⁴. 

Throughout your second trimester, your baby has been covered in lanugo - a soft, fine downy hair. Whilst some babies are born with some small patches of lanugo, at 28 weeks pregnant this has mostly disappeared¹.

If this is your first baby, at 38 weeks pregnant your baby will most likely have moved down headfirst into your pelvis in readiness for birth. This is sometimes referred to as your baby being engaged. As a result, you may start to feel some additional pressure in your abdomen⁴.

At 38 weeks pregnant you may also be experiencing what are known as Braxton Hicks contractions. Sometimes referred to as practice contractions, Braxton Hicks are usually painless, irregular and don’t last for very long⁵. If you notice that these contractions become more frequent and more painful, it could be a sign that you’re in labour so always seek advice from your midwife or healthcare provider for advice around the next steps.

At this point, you might still be experiencing many of the pregnancy symptoms that you’ve become familiar with throughout each of your trimesters. For example¹:

• Heartburn. 
• Mood swings.
• Leg cramps. 
• Backache.
• Swollen hands and feet. Always seek advice from your healthcare provider if this happens suddenly, as this could be a sign of pre-eclampsia⁶. 

Although the majority of pregnancy symptoms are perfectly normal and nothing to be concerned about, there are some that may require you to seek medical advice, and we’ve outlined some of these below.