Big Baby: What's Happening at the End of Pregnancy?

[sound of baby's heartbeat] [Ellen] "There are lots of things happening near the end of pregnancy ...

both for the mom and for the developing baby."

[Dr. Riley] "The brain is developing up until the moment your baby delivers."

[Ellen] "There's maturing happening for the lungs, getting the baby ready to breathe after birth."

[Dr. Riley] "Your baby's ability to respond to feeding ...

and hold its body temperature up and ...

you know, just be able to deal with the outside world--all those sort of processes are happening at the tail end of pregnancy."

[Ellen] "And sometimes, interrupting that process before it's really complete can put the baby at risk for problems that one wants to avoid at all costs."

[Dr. Riley] "Which is why we should just wait until your baby tells us that it's ready.

And your baby will tell us that in two ways.

Either you'll start to contract, or you'll break your water.

And either one of those is a good indication that your baby is ready to come."