This article was originally published on May 12, 2017. It was updated on September 6, 2020 by Kirstie Landry.
Once a pregnant woman is about two to four weeks from her due date, she may experience what doctors call lightening, according to uofmhealth.org. However, lightening is just another way of saying that a woman's unborn child has dropped.
Furthermore, some women might want to ask other moms "how long did it take you to go into labor after your baby dropped?" But the truth is that lightening can happen at various times in a woman's pregnancy, and it is something that a lot of women have documented in pictures.
When lightening is taking place, the baby is moving to a lower area in their mother's stomach. Once it has dropped, she can bet that labor is coming very soon and that her days as an expecting mother are numbered.
She'll notice this right away not only when she looks in the mirror but when as she's going through through the day. She may feel a little more clumsy than usual, develop more stretch marks, and even begin experiencing contractions. Dropping is an exciting indicator that her body is counting down the days to birth.
The further her baby has moved down, the closer she is to childbirth. Usually, a baby's head is the first part to enter the world during childbirth. However, some women might not notice their baby dropping until the delivery itself.
This article gives women 15 things to keep an eye out for after their stomachs have dropped. As they experience each one, they may experience a great inconvenience, but they should remember that delivery is on the way! When they experience lightening, they can rest easy knowing that their babies are coming.
15 Clumsiness
One of the first things women will notice as their belly drops is a lack of coordination, according to babycentre.co.uk. They may find themselves bumping into things more than usual or tripping over their own feet. However, ladies should not feel bad about this, since it is very common.
Not only are their bodies changing their footing, but their hormones are also working like crazy to prepare them for labor. This, combined with a belly throwing their coordination off, can make even simple tasks feel like they're impossible.
If a pregnant woman feels overwhelmed, she should take a deep breath and remember that this too shall pass. She should try to recognize just how difficult pregnancy can be and how accomplished she is for getting even little things done throughout the day. She'll have time to conquer the world again after the baby is due. For now, though, she might have to deal with a little clumsiness.
14 Braxton Hicks Contractions
Around the time a woman's belly drops is when she'll likely notice Braxton Hicks contractions becoming a bit more intense and frequent, according to babycenter.com. These may feel like the real deal, but they are just the body's equivalent of warm-ups. As a woman gets closer to going into labor, her body will prepare her for real contractions through irregular practice contractions. It's all the fun of actual labor without actually getting a baby at the end.
She'll be able to recognize Braxton Hicks contractions by both their irregular patterns and lower intensity in comparison to true labor contractions. They last around 15 to 30 seconds long and should subside if she changes positions.
13 Loss Of Bladder Control
Nothing is quite as awful as this pregnancy side-effect, but it's true: as a woman's belly drops, it puts more pressure on her bladder. Anything, even the seemingly harmless, can be a trigger: maybe she laughs a little too hard or someone startles her from behind. These things happen and are nothing to be ashamed of, but it can be hard to keep in mind when a woman feels embarrassed.
All the extra weight on an expectant mother's pelvis can make it hard to keep control. According to mayoclinic.org, women can try kegel exercises to stay in control of their bladders. But if something happens when they sneeze, they need to know that it's normal.
12 Fatigue
Pregnancy is tiring from start to finish, but after a woman's belly drops, she may feel even more exhausted than before. This is to be expected. After all, her body is going through more changes than she can keep up with. It takes a lot to bring a baby into the world, and while the baby's father shares the blame for conception, pregnant women are doing all of the work here.
The third trimester is even more tiring than the first two as a pregnant woman's body prepares for the upcoming labor. According to arobgyn.com, this is often a sign that labor is not far off. Her belly dropping is just one of many changes she'll go through as she gets ready for the big day. With all these demands her body is putting on itself, she should remember to eat well and get enough sleep at night so that she's strong enough to make it through the labor.
11 Weird Dreams
Some women might not know what to expect when they are nearing the end of their pregnancies, so they might look up before and after pictures that other women took to document the time when each of them felt as though their baby had dropped in their bellies. If a pregnant person's belly has dropped, then that could mean that their baby has dropped.
Furthermore, something that women tend to experience in the later weeks of their pregnancies are odd dreams, according to babycentre.co.uk. Strange dreams or nightmares can be a pregnancy symptom during and through the third trimester.
As a pregnant woman gets closer to her due date, her dreams may become more vivid and feel more realistic than they have ever been before. But, she should not be alarmed. This is due at least in part to pregnancy hormones, which are also behind mood swings and lightening in the first place. It may not be ideal, but it is normal.
If these dreams trouble a woman too much, she can try writing them out in a journal or talking to a loved one about them. Getting that off her chest can do wonders for her emotional well-being.
10 Stretch Marks
If a woman is approaching the end of her pregnancy, she might wonder when her baby will drop, and she might also want some pictures taken to document that period of time in her pregnancy. She might also wonder how long it will take her to go into labor after her baby drops if she is going through her second pregnancy.
Furthermore, some pregnant women might also be curious about when and if they will be getting stretch marks. If a woman hasn't earned her stripes quite yet during pregnancy, her belly dropping might just be the final straw. Stretch marks are a normal part of pregnancy, and they happen because the woman's body is changing to accommodate the new guest. If a woman notices some stretch marks around this time, she should not stress out! They just mean that her body is flexible and doing its best to adapt during pregnancy.
These little skin tears may be irritating at first but should become less uncomfortable over time. Applying lotion before bed or when feeling discomfort can help both minimize irritation and their appearance on a person's stomach.
According to mioskincare.co.uk, whether or not they'll develop stretch marks is often up to genetics. A soon-to- be mom can ask their mom or other female family members about their pregnancy experiences to determine when they can expect to develop their own stretch marks.
9 Heartburn
During the last couple of weeks of pregnancy, women may experience some chest pain or even heartburn after eating. If they've never had trouble with heart pain before, this could be a little alarming at first. If they have never had the symptoms before, however, and they're expecting, pregnant women don't need to worry too much about their heart health.
Instead, they should look to their uteruses for the trouble. As it expands, it will push a person's stomach (and everything inside) up, making it press against other organs. This can cause some acid reflux and a burning sensation that can come and go or remain persistent over the course of a few hours.
If the pain is too much for them to manage, they should talk to their ob-gyn in-person or over the phone. They should be able to prescribe heartburn medication that can make the adjustment more comfortable. Most proton-pump inhibitors are safe to use during pregnancy, according to ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
8 Waddling
When a woman's belly drops, she might start to feel a bit like a penguin when she walks. They should notice a significant change in their stomach's position around the 36th week of pregnancy, according to babylist.com. As their body adjusts to this new center of gravity, they may find walking is a little (or a lot) more uncomfortable than before.
No doubt they've heard of the pregnancy waddle or even seen it demonstrated by some of their other mom friends. Well, as they'll find out, it's aptly named. Even simple things like daily chores can become incredibly uncomfortable, and pregnant women may find that their stomachs get in the way of just about everything.
Luckily, if a woman has made it this far, she's in the home stretch! She'll be able to walk freely in no time. The more her baby drops in her pelvis, however, the more she might empathize with penguins.
7 Leaking
Once a woman's belly drops, she might notice some breast leakage. A woman's chest changes a lot during pregnancy and, as it prepares for breastfeeding, she may experience leaking even before the baby arrives.
According to community.whattoexpect.com, plenty of women have experienced this, which shows that it is usually nothing to worry about. Also, while she might not be overly excited about this new development, she might feel a little relieved.
Why? Because this means that her breast tissue is developing the way it should, and she is ready to feed the baby once the time comes! If a woman is experiencing this, it means that her body is getting ready for this next stage in her baby's development. This can make a woman feel uncomfortable, but it is a good sign.
6 Mucus Plug Loss
After a woman's belly drops, she should notice that she is losing her mucus plug. This might not happen right away but should follow soon after. Pregnant women may not lose their mucus plug all at once, despite what is commonly thought. Many new moms report losing it over a period of several hours or days.
They'll be able to distinguish their mucus plug from other discharge by its stringy texture and pink or brownish tint. Losing it can mean that labor is on the way. A person's mucus plug is the barrier that separates their uterus from everything else, according to healthline.com. Losing it means that the body is definitely preparing to give birth.
If a woman loses her mucus plug before she feels that she should and she is concerned about premature labor, she should talk to her ob-gyn as soon as possible. Losing the mucus plug is not always a sign that labor is imminent, but it will usually follow at least within a few days or weeks.
5 Lanugo Disappears
Not only is this a period of great change for a pregnant woman's body, but it's also a time for significant fetal development. During the third trimester, the lanugo that covers up an unborn baby goes away. In fact, most of it is gone by the time the baby's mother has been pregnant for between 38 and 40 weeks, according to hopkinsmedicine.org.
For those that do not know, lanugo is the fine hair that covers unborn babies. Also, at this point, the baby is likely to be covered in something called vernix. In addition, the child's lungs should be fully developed.
4 Back Trouble
Many pregnant mothers report back pain as a symptom after their belly drops. This is an incredibly common symptom of pregnancy.
The pregnancy hormone relaxin plays a great role in loosening a woman's joints during pregnancy, according to yourhormones.info. It is, in fact, partially responsible for her belly dropping and moving forward. But as her center of gravity changes, she might experience moderate back pain. This should be relatively dull in nature, so if pregnant women experience shooting pain, they may want to look into a sciatica diagnosis. According to spine-health.com, this type of pain usually shoots down a person's leg and into their foot.
3 Abdominal Aches
As her belly drops, a pregnant woman should not be surprised if she feels some aches and minor pains. Abdominal pain is just another unfortunate symptom someone may experience thanks to the fun roller coaster that is the third trimester of pregnancy.
There are a lot of things that can cause women to have abdominal discomfort when they are close to the end of their pregnancy. According to healthline.com, some of the things that can cause this to happen include constipation, false labor, and gas. If a woman experiences anything like that during the last few weeks of pregnancy, then it is likely that labor is just around the corner.
2 Varicose Veins
Even if a woman never noticed a varicose vein in her life, she might notice a few pop up during her pregnancy. According to medicinenet.com, varicose veins are veins that have become enlarged and bulging, and one can see them through the skin. They are quite common in women, especially older women or women who are expecting a new baby. At best, varicose veins are just a new change in a person's body but in some cases, they can cause cramping or movement issues.
Pregnant women may also experience hemorrhoids after the belly drops which, as it turns out, are similar to varicose veins, according to mayoclinic.org. Luckily, if a woman didn't have varicose veins or hemorrhoids before pregnancy, they should go away after childbirth.
1 Contractions
And finally, once a woman's belly drops, she can know that contractions are on their way. It might not happen right away, but once a woman has made it to this point, she can know that real, labor-inducing contractions (not just the Braxton Hicks contractions) are on their way!
How can one tell the difference between Braxton Hicks contractions and contractions that signify the start of labor? Regular contractions are more regular, and Braxton Hicks contractions are infrequent, according to whattoexpect.com.
After a pregnant woman's belly has dropped, she should be aware that the big day is not far off. But if she experiences some odd things such as vaginal bleeding, a high fever, heavy breathing, or weight gain that happened rather quickly, then she should speak with her doctor right away, or go to the nearest emergency room.
Sources: Michigan Medicine, What To Expect, Baby Center, Babycentre, Mayo Clinic, The Women's Clinic, Mio, PMC, Babylist, Healthline, Johns Hopkins Medicine, You And Your Hormones, Spine-Health, MedicineNet