The average baby is about 20 inches long and weights approximately 7 1/2 pounds at birth, but anywhere between 5 lbs. 11 1/2 ounces and 8 lbs. 5 3/4 ounces is a healthy range for newborns.
Your amniotic fluid, once clear, is now pale and milky from your baby's shedding vernix caseosa. The outer layers of skin are also sloughing off as new skin forms underneath. In TV Land pregnant women always break their water ¡X in the middle of a crowded room, of course ¡X just before going into labor. If you've been worrying that this scenario will happen to you, you can stop. Membranes rupture in less than 15 percent of pregnancies, and when it does happen, the baby's head tends to act like a cork at the opening of the uterus. (If you lie down, however, you may notice fluid leaking.) You should stay calm ¡X it may be hours before you feel your first contraction ¡X and call your doctor or midwife right away. Though your body will produce more amniotic fluid until the baby is born, your doctor may decide to induce labor to reduce the risk of infection.
And if the week passes and there's still no baby? Don't panic ¡X only 5 percent of babies are born on their scheduled due date. Most doctors wait another two weeks before considering a pregnancy overdue.
¡@