Week 38
At about 49.8 cm from head to heel, your baby is close in length to a Stargazer lily stem (~50 cm), shown in pink and warm tones from bloom to stem.
This week at a glance
Size
About 49.2 cm (19.4 in), head to heel.
The flower
Stargazer lily stem (~50 cm) — this week’s plate, drawn at your baby’s scale.
How big is the baby at 38 weeks?
About 49.2 cm (19.4 in), measured head to heel — the size of a stargazer lily stem.1
Most of the fine lanugo that covered the skin earlier in pregnancy has gone, though some babies are born with small patches. Meconium is collecting in the bowel and will usually become the first stool after birth.
38 weeks pregnant is how many months?
Week 38 falls in the ninth month of pregnancy. Weeks and months don’t divide evenly, and your antenatal care counts in weeks — so Zohra keeps weeks, and prints the month for the relatives who ask.
That puts you in the third trimester (weeks 28–40).
What might you be noticing?
The waiting has texture. frustration or boredom can be part of this week.
Practice tightenings. painless Braxton Hicks tightenings may continue.
Sleep and digestion. sleep difficulties, heartburn, bloating, or constipation may still be present.
Sourced below.1
Choose one absorbing, low-stakes thing for the waiting: a familiar show, a puzzle, a drawer to sort. Let excitement, worry, numbness, or impatience arrive without grading any of them.
For the record: If this week had a color, sound, or weather, what would it be? — this week’s page in the app asks the same thing. All forty prompts are here.
Written from the sources above and checked against them. Not reviewed by a clinician — see the editorial policy. Zohra is a journal, not medical care; for anything worrying, talk to your midwife or doctor.