36 weeks pregnant: symptoms and baby development
Lungs most likely ready to breathe.
Third trimesterMonth 95 min read
By Solesia, from public clinical guidanceUpdated
One month to go, give or take, and it begins to feel like it. Your baby’s lungs are very likely ready to breathe air on their own now, and they can suck and swallow and digest milk, which is to say the essentials for life outside you are in place. You will see your provider a little more often from here, and that rhythm is a sign of how close things are. For you, a small leak when you laugh or cough is a relaxed pelvic floor doing its best under a great deal of weight. One more week and your baby counts as early term.
How big is your baby at 36 weeks
About the size of a romaine lettuce
18.7 in long·6 lb
Baby development at 36 weeks
At 36 weeks your baby measures about 18.7 inches from head to heel and weighs around 6.0 pounds, roughly a romaine lettuce. Their lungs have very likely matured enough to breathe outside without help, and the sucking and swallowing reflexes are coordinated so they could feed from birth.
The fine hair that covered them is mostly gone, and the vernix on their skin is thick and creamy. Their gums are firm ridges, ready for teeth that will not appear for months. They are gaining about half a pound a week, and much of it now goes to the cheeks, which is why newborns look the way they do.
There is very little room, so instead of kicks you feel pushes, rolls and the odd sharp jab of a heel. The movements should be as frequent and as strong as they have been; only the feel of them changes. If their head has not settled down by now, your provider will check at this week’s visit and talk about the options.
Your body at 36 weeks
Leaking a little urine when you laugh, cough or sneeze is expected at 36 weeks. The pelvic floor has been holding up a growing weight for months while pregnancy hormones soften it, and a sudden press from above gets past it. Pelvic floor squeezes, done daily, help now and speed recovery after birth; a pad takes care of the rest. It is a stretched muscle, not a damaged one.
Your bump is at its highest or has just begun to drop, and either is expected. High means heartburn and short breath; dropped means bathroom trips and a heavy, wide walk. Practice contractions are common and painless, and your pelvis may ache at the front or in the groin, especially on stairs or turning over in bed.
Your visits are weekly from here, and each one is short: blood pressure, urine, the size of your bump, the baby’s position and heartbeat. They matter because they catch things you cannot feel, and blood pressure is the main one. Keep them even if you feel well, and bring your list of questions.
Common pregnancy symptoms at 36 weeks
- Leaking on laughing or coughing. A stretched pelvic floor under a heavy load. Daily squeezes, and a pad meanwhile.
- Braxton Hicks. Painless practice, no pattern. Change position, drink water.
- Pelvic pressure. The head settling low. A firm chair, side lying, a support belt.
- Bathroom trips. The baby on your bladder. Empty fully, and keep drinking by day.
- Swollen feet. Fluid by evening, worse in heat. Feet up, and a daily walk.
- Broken sleep. Everything at once. An afternoon rest, and pillows in every gap.
- Backache. Weight in front, loose joints. Warmth, and let others carry things.
When to call your provider at 36 weeks
If the head is not down at this week’s visit, your provider will talk you through the options. Nothing to do before then.
Two things are worth a same-day call at any point in pregnancy: bleeding that is more than spotting, and pain that is severe or does not ease. From the second trimester, add fluid leaking and any change in your baby’s usual pattern of movement. You do not need to be sure something is wrong to call; that is what the number is for.
What to do at 36 weeks
- Group B strep swab. A quick swab of the vagina and rectum at this visit or the next. If the bacteria are there, you get antibiotics through an IV during labor to protect the baby. About one woman in four carries it; it is not an infection.
- Weekly visits begin. Blood pressure, urine, bump, position and heartbeat, every week from now until birth. Ask each time how the baby is lying.
- Position check. If the baby is still head up, your provider may offer to turn them by hand, a procedure called external cephalic version, or talk through a planned cesarean. Nothing is decided without you.
- Bag by the door. Hospital bag packed, car seat installed, numbers saved, a plan for who drives and who minds pets or other children. From here it could be any week.
Common questions at 36 weeks
What is the group B strep test?
A swab of the vagina and rectum, done between 36 and 37 weeks, that looks for a common bacterium many women carry without knowing. It is harmless to you but can make a newborn sick, so if the swab is positive you get antibiotics through an IV during labor. The swab takes seconds and does not hurt.
What happens if my baby is breech at 36 weeks?
Your provider may offer to turn them from the outside, pressing on your bump under ultrasound guidance; it works about half the time. If they stay breech, a planned cesarean is usual in the US, though some providers offer a vaginal breech birth. There is still a little time for the baby to turn on their own.
Is it normal to leak urine at 36 weeks?
Yes. The weight of the baby on a softened pelvic floor lets a little through when you cough, laugh or sneeze. Pelvic floor exercises help, and a pad handles the rest. A steady trickle that does not stop, or a gush, is different: that may be your water, and it is a call to your provider.
What is early term?
Babies born from 37 weeks to 38 weeks and 6 days are early term; 39 to 40 weeks and 6 days is full term. Week 36 is the last week before that. Babies born now do well but sometimes need short help with breathing, feeding or keeping warm, which is why waiting for labor to start on its own is preferred when all is well.
Written from public clinical guidance, including NHS: Week 36, ACOG: How your baby grows, ACOG: Changes in your body, ACOG: Preterm labor, NHS: Your baby’s movements, NHS: Pelvic pain and NHS: Signs of labour. This page is general information, not medical advice, and does not replace your provider.