35 Weeks Pregnant? Here’s What No One Tells You (But You Need to Know!)

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EP 110:

You’ve made it to 35 weeks—congrats, mama! 🎉 But here’s the deal… everyone tells you about the swelling, the waddling, and the endless bathroom trips. What they don’t tell you? The science-backed changes happening in your body and brain right now that can completely change how you experience birth.

In this episode, I’m breaking down:

•  The surprising way your brain rewires at 35 weeks (hello, “mom brain” with a purpose)
•  The hormone nicknamed “nature’s epidural” that ramps up before labor
•  Weird but normal late pregnancy symptoms no one prepares you for (like carpal tunnel + vision changes)
•  How your baby actually helps trigger labor when they’re ready
•  Fresh prep hacks you can start now to make birth smoother

If you’re in the home stretch and feeling all the feels, this episode will give you confidence, clarity, and some serious “oh wow, why didn’t anyone tell me that?” moments.

✨ Ready to feel fully prepared for birth and breastfeeding? Grab your spot in the Bump to Bundle Blueprint
— my step-by-step birth + breastfeeding prep course.

📌 Ready to go deeper?

Resources & Links Mentioned in This Episode:

• 💻 Join the Bump to Bundle Blueprint 
• 🎥 Birth Prep Academy - YouTube 
• How NOT To Tear During Birth

Episode Transcript

(00:05):
Hi, I'm Stephanie Poole, founderand CEO of Birth Prep Academy.
I'm on a mission to helppregnant moms prepare for their
first hospital birth.
I'm sharing revealingconversations about what it
really takes to successfullytransition into motherhood.
So join me.
Here to discover things likewhat to expect in childbirth,

(00:27):
how to prepare for your birth.
We'll also talk aboutbreastfeeding and so much more.
I'm so grateful to share it allwith you right here on Oh Baby,
the podcast created for pregnantmoms preparing for their first
hospital birth.
Let's get started.
All right, mama, you've hit 35weeks.

(00:49):
Congratulations now withcongratulations out the way.
Let's cut to the fluff.
Everybody tells you the basicsright now.
Things like the baby's size isabout the size of a melon.
Watch out for swelling practicepatients.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We get it.
But here's the truth.

(01:09):
There's some things happening inyour body at 35 weeks that your
doctor probably isn't tellingyou, and honestly, they can make
or break how you feel walkinginto birth.
So stay with me.
Because today I'm spilling thelittle known science of week 35,
things that affect your brain,your hormones, your sleep, and

(01:33):
even how your labor might start.
And trust me, once you knowthese, you'll feel way less in
the dark about these last fewweeks.
All right.
Now I got a quick question foryou.
did you know that your bodymight already be releasing a
hormone at 35 weeks that's beennamed the natural epidural?

(01:55):
Yep, it's real.
And by the end of this episode,I'm gonna tell you how to work
with it to make your birthsmoother.
But first, let's talk aboutweird shifts happening inside
you right now that no one reallywarns you about.
Alright, first up is the factthat your brain is rewiring Yes.

(02:18):
Literally, research shows thatduring late pregnancy, your gray
matter actually shrinks incertain areas.
Not because you're losing brainpower, but because your brain is
rewiring itself to focus onbonding and protecting your
baby.
That pregnancy, brain fog thatyou're feeling, well, it's your

(02:39):
brain's way of clearing space toprioritize what really matters.
All right.
Now let's talk about youruterus.
Your uterus is building acommunication system.
Yep.
At 35 weeks, your uterus hasextra oxytocin receptors forming
every single day.

(03:00):
That means that your body isgetting more sensitive to the
hormone that triggerscontractions, translation.
The stage is being set forspontaneous labor.
You're not broken.
Your body's just in prep mode.
All right, now let's turn ourattention towards sleep.

(03:20):
Sleep isn't just disrupted bybaby kicks.
Studies show that your circadianrhythm actually shifts in late
pregnancy.
Melatonin.
The sleep hormone rises at nightand it actually works with
oxytocin to start labor.
So when you can't sleep at 2:00AM That's partly your body

(03:42):
training for those middle of thenight feeds and possibly even
priming for labor.
Okay.
Now let's pivot through someoverlooked symptoms that
actually mean something.
First up, carpal tunnel syndromein pregnancy.
I know.
It's weird, right?
I was really shocked by thiswhen I first learned about it as

(04:03):
well.
But the key here is knowing thatswelling can actually happen in
late pregnancy and it cancompress nerves in your wrist
causing numbness or tingling inyour hand.
If you feel that, then you cantry this hack here.
Simply shake your wrist, keepyour hands elevated at night.
Or you can even try using asplint.

(04:24):
The good news is if it startedduring your late pregnancy
stage, it will likely disappearafter birth.
So hang in there, mama.
Alright, now let's talk aboutvision changes.
Yes, blurry vision or dry eyesaren't random.
They're linked to your hormoneshifts and increase of fluid.

(04:47):
So now here's a hack.
You can use lubricating eyedrops and try wearing sunglasses
outside.
Now I say that, but at the sametime, If you notice that your
blurred vision also isaccompanied with headaches or
swelling, then I want you toreach out to your provider as

(05:07):
soon as possible.
I always like to encourage mymom.
That it's better to be safe thansorry.
So if you see a cluster of thosesymptoms, again, blurred vision
with headaches and swelling,then you need to reach out to
your provider immediately.
Okay, so next up is VividDreams.

(05:28):
Now, we've talked about this inprevious episodes, but in case
you are new here, I wanna circleback and touch on it because
with your hormone shifts late inpregnancy, you may really start
to see an uptick in those vividdreams Now.
Again, if this is your firsttime, let me just briefly.

(05:49):
Explain what's going on.
You have your hormones that aresurging and a little bit of
anxiety because of this upcomingbirth, and with that, you start
to have more REM sleep, so a lotof moms.
Actually report dreaming abouttheir labor or even

(06:10):
breastfeeding before the babyarrives.
Now here's a hack to just helpyou calm your nerves about these
dreams if they're a bitunsettling at times.
And that's just to use thesedreams and the clues that they
are sending you about yoursubconscious worries.
And the best thing to do here isjust to grab your pregnancy

(06:31):
journal.
And journal about them, right?
Get your thoughts out on paper.
Usually that helps us to putthings in perspective.
And you can also try talking toa close friend, family member,
and of course your partner,, andletting them know how you feel.
A lot of times just getting thatout, getting it off your chest

(06:52):
as they say, tends to help awhole lot.
So try that.
Now I also wanna touch a bit onincreased vaginal discharge.
This is your cervix producingmore mucus to protect baby from
infection.
Now if you notice anything thatfeels a little off, if you
notice any blood in thedischarge, I encourage you to

(07:15):
reach out to your providerbecause it's always helpful to
have them just look ateverything and make sure that
you are progressing, in thenormal fashion.
If there is anything to beconcerned about, they can always
catch it early, as long as wekeep that.
Communication open.
So be sure to reach out to themif anything fills off, um, in

(07:37):
regards to your vaginaldischarge.
Now let's really focus ourattention towards some of the
behind the scenes that's goingon this week.
Some of the sciencey thingsthat's happening with your body
that you likely are not evenaware of what's going on, but it
is happening.
So it's time to get excited.
Just knowing about some of thesethings now in the intro, you

(08:01):
know, I talked about nature'sepidural, right?
Well, let's start there.
Around this time, your bodyramps up beta endorphins.
That's a natural pain relievinghormone.
and these are the same chemicalsthat athletes get when they have
what's called a runner's high.

(08:21):
The more relaxed and supportedyou feel, the stronger they work
for you in labor.
Now let's talk about your babyand learning your voice.
You know, we've talked aboutthis previously in other videos
as well, but I also wanna circleback to this because at 35
weeks, your baby cannot onlyjust hear your voice, but they

(08:43):
can also recognize patterns.
And rhythms yes.
Talking, singing, or reading outloud actually calms them after
birth because they already knowyour voice.
Now, if you've been along forthe ride, you've probably
already started talking to yourbaby a bit more based on some of
the other episodes.
But in case you're new here,now's a good time to start,

(09:05):
mama.
So keep that in mind.
All right.
The last s sciencey thing that Iwanna kind of cover into this
week's episode is the colostrumyour breast might leak a little
golden fluid, and that's becausecolostrum has already started to
form.
Your breasts are changing everyweek, preparing for this new

(09:28):
baby and preparing to breastfeedthat golden fluid that you may
see that leaks out from time totime.
Maybe after you've gotten offthe shower or you go to change
your clothes and you notice.
It either in your bra or maybecrusted around your breast.
That is colostrum and that isyour baby's first liquid gold

(09:50):
meal is packed with antibodies,and if you notice it.
It's time to celebrate.
It just simply means that yourbody is doing its job.
Yay.
Now, if you don't notice it, itis still happening.
It's still working.
And I've had clients that havebeen on both ends of the
spectrum.

(10:10):
Some will tell me they noticeit.
When they're getting dressed andsome will say, Nope, I didn't
have it at all, but I felt, mybreasts getting bigger or more
tender.
And those are also signs aswell.
So it's happening, mama, whetheryou see it or not, but
especially if you see it, goahead and celebrate.
Okay.
I thought it would be fun toreally tackle this myth as well.

(10:33):
And that is the one that sayslabor just starts when it
starts.
Mm.
Kind of, but not exactly.
There's new research thatsuggests that there's actually a
biological conversation betweenyour baby's lungs and your
uterus.

(10:54):
Once your baby's lungs aremature enough, they release a
protein in your amniotic fluidthat signals to your body and
says, okay, I'm ready.
Let's do this.
So if you've been worrying thatyour body won't know what to do,
trust me, it's a team effort andthere's a lot going on behind

(11:14):
the scenes, but it truly, yourbody is truly working to serve
you, so just keep that in mind.
All right.
Now you know me.
I like to add in some practicalthings that you can do to just
get you ready in the mindset andto help you start preparing for
the birth that you want.

(11:35):
First off, I want you topractice open mouth.
Open pelvis.
Studies show that keeping yourjaw relaxed can actually help
your pelvic floor relax duringlabor.
We do a deep dive on theconnection between this inside a
bump TOB bundle blueprint andhow to really leverage this to
have a smoother ber.

(11:55):
I want you to start practiceinhaling with an open jaw.
You can even try it now.
It trains your body for the bigday, so the more you do it, the
more your body will jump in andknow what to do when the big day
comes.
All right.
Now let's talk about balanceover strength.

(12:15):
Now gentle movements like catcow stretches, pelvic tilts, and
sitting on a birth ball canreally help to align your pelvis
and encourage your baby to getinto the optimal birth position.
So keep those positions in mindand practice them often.
All right now.
If you've been following alongweek by week, you know that one

(12:37):
of the things that I reallyhammer is hydration.
It is so important, and that'sbecause dehydration is a major
trigger for Braxton.
Hicks.
Aim for steady sipping insteadof chugging, because I know it's
a lot.
You got a lot going on in yourtummy, so chugging it down may
not necessarily work for you,but steady sipping instead of

(13:00):
chugging, should help you inthat area as well as adding
electrolytes, especially ifyou're noticing a lot of
tightening in your belly.
so here's the deal.
35 weeks isn't just aboutcounting down the days.
It's about using this windowwisely.
Your body is rewiring, yourhormones are prepping, and your

(13:23):
baby is literally helping totrigger labor.
The more you understand what'shappening, the calmer and more
confident you'll feel.
Now, if you enjoyed this episodeand you wanna dive deeper, you
really want to feel confidentand prepared for your birth,
then I want you to check outBump to Bundle blueprint.

(13:44):
It gives you insider knowledgeand tools that most moms just
don't get until it's too late.
I walk you through birth prep,pain coping strategies, and
postpartum so that you are notfiguring it out under pressure.
Just check the link below andgrab your spot.
Don't wait until Labor to learnbecause Mama, the prep you are

(14:05):
doing right now is what sets youup.
For the birth that you want.
Now I want you to drop a commentand tell me what's been your
most unexpected and weirdestsymptom at 35 weeks.
I read all of the comments, sojoin me below and let's have a
quick chat.
I will see you in the nextepisode.