Week 38 of Pregnancy: A Leek, and What's True If You're Still Waiting
Key takeaways
- By week 38, the baby is about 49.8cm long, roughly the size of a leek, with the fine downy lanugo hair mostly gone.
- Elective caesareans are typically scheduled from 39 weeks onward, to give the lungs the best chance of being fully developed.
- Meconium is building up in the baby's bowels around now, ready to be passed shortly after birth.
- If your own pregnancy is still ongoing at this stage, that's completely normal — full term isn't officially reached until week 39.
- Pregnancies don't all follow the same timeline, and an earlier or later arrival than expected doesn't mean anything went wrong.
If you’re reading this and still pregnant, here’s what’s happening for you this week. If you’ve followed along with our week 37 article, you’ll already know that our own daughter had actually arrived by this point — a little earlier than we’d expected, which genuinely surprised us at the time.
What’s actually happening in your body
The baby is now around 49.8cm long, roughly the size of a leek, with the fine downy hair called lanugo mostly gone by this stage, though some babies are still born with small patches of it here and there. Meconium — the dark, sticky substance that will be the baby’s first bowel movement — is building up in the bowels, ready to be passed shortly after birth. If a caesarean is planned, it’s typically scheduled from 39 weeks onward specifically to give the lungs the best chance of being fully developed by delivery, according to NHS guidance on week 38 of pregnancy.
If you’re still waiting
Full term isn’t officially considered to start until week 39, so if you’re at week 38 and still pregnant, that’s exactly where most pregnancies are at this point — there’s no reason to feel like you’re behind schedule. For us, things went differently, and our daughter was already here by now. Both patterns are completely normal; pregnancy length varies more than the neat 40-week number suggests, in both directions.
Nutrition focus this week
If you’re still pregnant, the same fundamentals continue to apply — your prenatal vitamin, and the general guidance in our foods and drinks to limit or avoid during pregnancy, including any specific guidance you’ve been given for gestational diabetes.
What to discuss with your doctor or midwife
If you haven’t already, confirm your plan for going into labour naturally versus any scheduled intervention, and make sure your hospital bag and practical arrangements are genuinely ready — not just planned for “sometime soon.” As our own experience showed, things can move faster than expected.
Frequently asked questions
Is it normal to still be pregnant at week 38?
Yes, very — full term isn’t reached until week 39, so most pregnancies are still ongoing at this point.
Why are elective caesareans usually scheduled from 39 weeks?
To give the baby’s lungs the best possible chance of being fully mature and ready to work independently by the time of delivery.
What is lanugo?
The fine, soft hair that covers a developing baby’s body earlier in pregnancy. It’s mostly shed by this stage, though small patches can still be present at birth.
What size is the baby at week 38?
About 49.8cm long, roughly the size of a leek.
References
- NHS — Your Pregnancy and Baby Guide, Week 38. nhs.uk
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