As you are wrapping up your 2nd trimester, and rounding the corner into your 3rd trimester, your body is shifting gears into the “feeding and growing” stage of pregnancy. This is the sweet spot in pregnancy for most women.

Your baby will be gaining roughly 1/2 lb of weight per week. Your amazing body will be compensating for the growth of the baby. So you’ll start noticing more changes in your body. Your pelvis and back may feel more pressure (and sometimes pain) as the weight of the baby distributes over your pelvis.

This is a good time to begin focusing on preparing for your birth.

• DOULAS: If you haven’t already hired a doula, we HIGHLY recommend you have one for your birth. Doulas are the perfect addition to our team. They focus on keeping your comfortable while we focus on keeping you safe. They will help us serve you by helping you stay comfortable so your labor progresses well.

• GESTATIONAL DIABETES SCREENING: We plan to draw labs at 28-weeks to see if you have Gestational Diabetes. Please read this article to understand the process.

• GBS AND PROBIOTICS: At 36-weeks you will be offered Group Beta Strep testing. We recommend you begin supplementing with a probiotic for vaginal health now to improve your microbiome before that test. Learn about GBS testing and how to support your microbiome to have a healthy birth.

• SLEEP: Begin to learn the skill of sleep! Sleep skills will help you as your body changes. They’ll be even more important after you have your baby. This article is a starting point for learning sleep skills.

• MAKING MEMORIES: We put a lot of emphasis on things you can do to prepare physically for birth. This article focuses more on the sentimental parts of your birth.