Week 36

Carola Felchner is a freelance writer in the medical department and a certified training and nutrition advisor. She worked for various specialist magazines and online portals before becoming a freelance journalist in 2015. Before starting her internship, she studied translation and interpreting in Kempten and Munich.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

36th week of pregnancy - the child's development is complete! If it hasn't already turned, it usually does now. This means that the baby sinks head first into the pelvis. Because there is hardly any space left in your stomach, the (slower and less) kicking fists and feet create funny bumps under your skin. Find out here, among other things, how much your baby's weight is in the 36th week of pregnancy and what a stargazing child is.

36 weeks of gestation: This is how your baby is developing

The baby should slowly move into the birth position no later than the 36th week of pregnancy. That is, it spins around and slips its head into your pelvis. The baby's forehead is very pronounced due to the growth of the brain in the past few weeks. The protective cheese smear and the lanugo hair gradually disappear - the delicate pink baby skin becomes visible.

36th week of pregnancy ultrasound: That can be seen

It continues to thrive, your baby! The 36th week of pregnancy can boast a body length of about 46 centimeters. The current weight of the child is around 2,700 grams, and there are still around four weeks from the 36th week of gestation to birth. During this time you will add about 200 grams of weight per week. But even now your child would be well prepared for a life outside of the womb: If you were born in the 36th week of pregnancy, your child would be a late premature baby - still a bit lightweight, but fully viable even without medical care.

36th week of pregnancy: That will change for you

In week 36 the uterus has reached its highest level - its upper edge is now approximately at the level of your costal arch. However, the uterus does not stay that high for long, because it slowly goes "downwards" towards the pelvis.

You will still feel the contractions that push the offspring into this pelvic position in the 36th week of pregnancy as a pulling at irregular intervals and a diffuse discomfort in your skin.

The nice thing about this time, which also side effects of the 36th week of pregnancy (nausea, frequent urge to urinate etc.) can be forgotten: Your stomach is now visibly deformed when the child presses an elbow or a little foot against it and even “wanders” over the surface of the abdomen. It is true that it moves less than in the previous weeks because there is hardly any space left in the stomach in the 36th week of pregnancy. But the occasional kicks can be pretty hard!

36th week of pregnancy: That is important now

In the 36th week of pregnancy, the baby should have turned into the birthing position, because the breech or transverse position is very unfavorable and usually means a caesarean section. If the child is not yet upside down in the pelvis, it may still be possible to bring them into the upside down position by turning them outwards. This usually takes place between the 36th week of pregnancy and the 38th week of pregnancy as an outpatient procedure in the clinic.

The doctor feels the position of the child from the outside, then grips his head and rump through the abdominal wall and carefully turns the baby. Even if you have a little stargazer in your stomach, the obstetricians will try to turn the child - but only after the birth has started. A stargazing child does not lie with its face to the mother's back (as it should be), but looks at your abdominal wall. As a result, the shape of the head does not match the pelvis, which can cause complications and delays in childbirth.

Midwife tip

If the child has still not turned in the 36th week of pregnancy, you can perhaps encourage it to do so with a gentle nudge. Sometimes it helps to put your bum up: To do this, lie on your back, prop yourself up with your shoulders, and lift your bum off the floor. The osteopath can also help get the baby to turn. Another gentle method is moxing: With this technique from Chinese medicine, you hold a glowing moxa cigar in front of certain acupuncture points in order to warm them up and to get the child to turn. How well such methods work - whether in the 36th week of pregnancy, earlier or later - varies from person to person. In case of doubt, the doctor can always turn it around.