All About Baby Dropping

Amidst many other signs and symptoms, baby dropping is one of the first signs that tells your body is preparing for labor. Breaking the ambiguity of the word, baby dropping refers to the process when a baby’s head moves down into the pelvis, indicating that it’s ready to take birth. It is also referred to as lightening. Usually it occurs towards the end of third trimester of pregnancy. In many cases, it can start a few weeks before labor begins while in some cases, it occurs only a few hours prior labor begins.

When does baby dropping happen

For all the first-time mothers, baby dropping or lightening happens 2 to 4 weeks before delivery. For women, who’ve already had their first baby may not experience the drop earlier until labor begins. Thus, to be precise, it happens differently for every women. There isn’t a fixed day or week that a woman would presume their baby to drop. Mothers carrying baby for the first time experience it weeks before their labor begins because their pelvic muscles undergo an alteration to fit to the birthing position before labor may start.

Signs and Symptoms

In general scenarios, when your baby drops before labor you’ll certainly be able to tell. Nevertheless, here are five signs of baby dropping that you may notice before or just during labor.

1. Easier breath :

When your baby drops, they physically move lower into your pelvis. This releases the pressure from your diaphragm, allowing you to breathe easily than before.

2. Intense pressure:

Once your baby drops, you will feel an immense amount of pressure on your pelvis. This may make the woman feel like she’s waddling when she walks.

3. Lower belly:

When a baby drops, a woman’s pregnancy bump looks like it is sitting lower than usual.

4. Increased discharge:

With the baby dropping into your pelvis, you may be subjected to extreme pressure on your cervix. This leads to losing of the mucus plug that rests at the top of the cervix till your pregnancy reaches the finale. After you experience lightening, the mucus plug exits itself out of the vagina as a yolk-like discharge.

5. Frequent washroom trips:

After your baby drops into the pelvis, its head may tend to exert pressure on the bladder. This develops a dire need to urinate often.

What does it feel like

Baby dropping for some women may occur like a sudden obvious movement, while others may not feel anything at all. Many a times, by the end of the third trimester, women may notice that their stomach feels lighter post lightening. This is majorly because the baby then rests on your pelvis, making more room in the middle. This feeling of ample space in the abdomen region is why baby dropping is also referred to as lightening. This makes a woman feel like they’re waddling whenever they’re walking with a feeling of carrying a ball between their legs. Although in a general scenario, this is almost how a woman may feel after baby dropping, but every woman’s experience varies from time and situation.

Effects after a baby drops

To a mother, awaiting a baby’s arrival may arouse pangs of excitement and anticipation by a level each day as the pregnancy progresses. And though a baby drop may involve extreme pain, it gets overshadowed by the joy she expresses for her baby’s arrival. Here you’ll find the effects after a baby drops into the pelvis.

• Lesser heartburn:

During pregnancy you may suffer an amount of heartburn, which with your baby dropping will offer you a relief. As the compression in your abdomen reduces, your stomach acids no longer accumulate in the esophagus, thus aiding you from the frequent occurrence and severity of heartburn.

• Appetite gets better:

Having a ravenous craving is a common sighting during pregnancy and you may notice your eyes having a bigger appetite than your stomach. You may notice yourself feeling full more easily than you’d expect with a compressed stomach. However, once your baby drops, it creates more space in there for you to capacitate more food.

• Belly appears lower:

This may take a while for you to notice, especially if the drop happens slowly. You may find that your belly rests much lower than it did all the time during pregnancy. So, in order to find if your baby has dropped, you may rely on this upon your doctor or family.

• Increased contractions:

With the baby slowly moving down into your pelvis, you may find your body naturally preparing itself for labor. An increase in Braxton Hicks contractions or even real contractions may start occurring and stop without progressing into active labor.

When to see a doctor

Whichever is the case, be it first-time mothers or mothers with a second baby, it is normal for them to experience pelvic pain after the baby drops. However, there are some types of pelvic pain that may need a doctor’s attention.

You should speak to a doctor if the pelvic pain is constant or regular. If the pain is accompanied by bleeding, fever, and loss of fluids then you need immediate care of your obstetrician.

Now, roll up your sleeves and get going into welcoming your new bundle of joy in the world. You could be a first-time mother or an existing one, but to certainly tell when and what time your baby will drop is a big task. The process of baby dropping will differ from woman to woman during pregnancy. Hence, for a better idea, talk to your doctor about what you should expect during the third trimester.

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