32 Weeks Pregnant: Pain Management During Labor

32 Weeks Pregnant

In this article:

• Pregnancy Week 32: All About You
• Pregnancy Week 32: All About Baby
• How Big Is Baby?
• Most Common Pregnancy Questions
• Multiple Madness
• For Your Partner
• Fun Fact

Are you planning for a natural birth?

Considering an epidural? Use pregnancy week 32 to find out what your options are and how your decision can impact both you and Baby.This week your baby should be in a head-down position. Ninety-six percent of all babies present head first by the time labor begins. If your fetus is breech, your provider might consider turning it manually. Read more information on fetal presentation.

Are your friends throwing you a baby shower?

Start planning your layette list—here's what you need to begin!

Pregnancy Week 32: All About You

Only a few weeks to go and you're probably counting down the days! No wonder, with all the aches and pains throughout your body. But along with a sore back and swollen ankles, you may notice less painful signs that delivery day is around the corner. A whitish to clear fluid may leak out of your breasts. This foremilk, called colostrum, will sustain your baby for the first few days of his life if you choose to breastfeed. You may also have a whitish, vaginal discharge called leukorrhea. This is normal throughout pregnancy and will increase as you approach delivery.

Alternatives to Medication
You have a lot of choices when it comes to pain management during childbirth. What kind of strategy you go with is an extremely personal decision. You should consider several methods and even combinations and backup plans as you think about delivery day.

Here are a few popular methods pregnant women use to go through labor medication-free.

Lamaze: You've probably heard of Lamaze, an approach to childbirth that encourages women to be active during labor by moving around and using breathing strategies versus medication to cope with pain. Your partner is a key part of making this method a success. This practice has been around since the 1960s and remains popular today. To fully understand Lamaze, locate an instructor in your area by going to Lamaze.org.

The Bradley Method: A cousin to Lamaze, the Bradley Method also relies on women being active participants in labor. In Bradley Method classes, couples learn deep-breathing strategies to cope with labor pain. It's expected that your partner will help you focus on these breathing exercises as well as other strategies during labor. (Contact Bradleybirth.com for more information.)

Even if you haven't attended classes in Lamaze or the Bradley Method, you may still try an alternative route to deal with pain. A certified nurse midwife or doula may guide you through labor with a variety of coping strategies.

Water therapy: Warm temperatures and soothing water can help your body relax, potentially making labor and delivery easier. If you're not ready to give birth in the tub, you can still experience the benefits of water therapy in the shower. "Women don't realize how soothing water can be until they're in the water," says Dr. Joanne Motino Bailey PhD, and a certified nurse midwife. Dr. Bailey says water therapy is "underutilized" as a method of pain relief in labor.

Movement and body positions: During childbirth class or even at the instruction of your certified nurse midwife during labor, you can try several body stances to ease your pain. For example, you may find the rhythmic motion of rocking back and forth helpful. To help you focus and move labor along, "Try to stay upright and go walking," suggests Dr. Bailey.

This is certainly not a comprehensive list of what's available when it comes to managing childbirth pain without medication. Along with these methods, there are plenty of others such as acupuncture, hypnosis, and more. 

Research any coping strategy you intend to try before delivery day and discuss your desires with your healthcare provider. Some hospitals are more accepting of certain options than others; for example, some hospitals don't have watertubs for childbirth, and some physicians may not be prepared to deliver your baby in the shower or with you under hypnosis.

Around this week you may experience an increased discharge called leukorrhea. Your expanding uterus is pressing against your diaphragm, and you may find it more difficult to catch your breath. This will get better once the baby "drops" (usually about two to three weeks before delivery). Try sitting up straight and sleeping in a propped up position to alleviate any discomfort you might be feeling.

Another point to be aware of this week is to watch for any increase in swelling. Swelling of the feet is normal in advanced pregnancy, but if you experience facial swelling, severe headaches, abdominal pain or nausea, contact your doctor immediately. You may be suffering from preeclampsia.

Pregnancy Week 32: All About Baby

Just like you, your unborn baby will establish a daily routine. You'll notice at times your baby is active and wiggly, while at other times you can't feel her movements. Once your baby's born, she'll most likely continue with her in-utero pattern. Along with a routine, your baby has favorite positions too. A favorite of many unborn babies is to have their heads down, rumps up towards the ribs (conveniently, the perfect position for labor).

How Big Is Baby?

Your unborn baby weighs around 4 pounds and stretches to over 16 inches in length (crown to heel). Baby is about the size of a zucchini.

Most Common Pregnancy Questions

Who can be with me during my labor and delivery? And what's a doula?
Most hospitals allow one other person in the room in addition to your partner. If you decide to have another person present for your delivery, choose carefully. Make sure that this person will be there to support you and your partner.

A doula can be a great asset to you during labor and delivery. She is trained to help a woman and her partner in different aspects of the birth experience. Many women connect with a doula during pregnancy and begin to form a relationship that helps establish trust and connection for labor. Doula, translated from Greek, means "woman's servant". A doula can provide emotional, educational, and logistical support to you and your partner during the delivery process.

Some doulas will provide support during labor, while other may also offer postpartum support to aid your recovery at home. A postpartum doula can assist with newborn baby care and breastfeeding while you are settling in to your new life with our baby.

It is important to ask for references when selecting a doula. You will want to make sure you spend a fair amount of time with her before birth if she is to act as your labor support person. (you want to feel comfortable with her and trust her).

DONA (Doulas of North America) offers certifications and enhances the level of professionalism and knowledge so that she can be an asset to your experience.

A doula is not a nurse and cannot and should not diagnose, treat, or medicate. However, in a hospital setting, a doula can be an asset to your nurse by offering continued support and physical assistance to you.

Some of the things a doula may do during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum include:

• Offer advice and planning tools during pregnancy
• Help you putting a birth plan together
• Offer massage during labor
• Coach you with breathing during pushing or laboring
• Offer assistance while you're in the bathroom, taking shower, or with walking
• Offer Position suggestions for pushing or laboring
• Collaborate with your labor nurse
• Offer you support (and help your partner help you!)
• Assist you with breastfeeding and baby care postpartum
• Offer emotional support
• Help take photos during delivery
• Some doulas may offer meal preparation postpartum

Multiple Madness

Last-Minute Preparations
By this point your nursery is probably starting to take shape. There are a few last-minute (and often not thought about) items you should put on your to-purchase or to-create list.

• A feeding/diaper changing log. For some, it's easiest to have a separate log for each baby (different color paper helps differentiate). Keep each on its own clipboard or have one clipboard with the logs one after the other. Find a convenient place in the nursery to store it. Hanging it on the wall near the feeding/changing area is a great idea.
• A nightlight or lamp on a dimmer switch. You'll need to see in the middle of the night, but that sudden burst of bright light won't be good for you or the babies (no reason to go blind!).
• Maxi pads (for you, not the babies). The hospital will likely send you home with some, but you'll need them for many weeks to come. Purchase a variety that comes with multiple absorbency-level pads in one box.
• We've mentioned this before, but be sure to make and post a "Please Knock" sign over your doorbell. There's little more frustrating than dozing off or finally getting your babies to sleep only to have a delivery man or well-meaning friend ring the bell.

Remember, you don't have to have it all at-the-ready from Day One. You'll slowly acquire (or invent) additional sanity-savers required to make it all work—one day at a time.

For Your Partner

Preparing the Nursery
Planning the nursery can be a fun and creative experience for parents-to-be. You and your partner may already have ideas for what you'd like to do with your new baby's environs. Imagine what it will be like to bring your baby home, put her to sleep in her own room, and cuddle together as a family! Don't be afraid to let yourself get caught up in the excitement of it all.

The 32nd week of pregnancy is a big milestone. From this point on, your baby can be born and be perfectly healthy, and if she's at a good weight, she may not even need to spend much time in the hospital. Once your wife's pregnancy reaches this point, it is a good idea to start getting everything ready. (If you wait until the last weeks of pregnancy, you may find you waited too long!)

This is also a good time to ask friends and family which gadgets and baby supplies made parenting easier (and which were deemed unnecessary or unhelpful). These may be things people don't register for, but parents don't want to live without. Seemingly small conveniences, such as stroller straps, night lights, and car window shades, are all great assets that can ease your role of raising Baby.

Fun Fact

Although researchers are still debating the effectiveness and safety risks of water births, according to the National Library of Medicine (NLM), preliminary studies point to the positive effects of a tub delivery. In one study, conducted over nine years in a Swiss hospital, women who delivered in water had fewer episiotomies, perineal tearing, and less blood loss than women who birthed in beds.

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