The short answer
38 weeks = 9 months
At 38 weeks pregnant, you are about 9 months pregnant — in month 9 of your pregnancy and in your third trimester.
Not sure of your week? Use the pregnancy week calculator to find it from your last period, due date or conception date.
Still early term, and still busy: the brain and lungs keep maturing right up to birth, and fat keeps building for temperature control.
About the size of a leek
size comparison
49.8 cm
crown to heel (19.6 in)
3.1 kg
average weight (6.8 lb)
The lanugo has mostly gone, and the vernix is thinning to a light coating in the skin folds. Meconium is accumulating in the intestines, ready to be passed as the first bowel movement. The eyes are usually blue-gray or dark at birth and will settle into their final color over the coming months.
Sizes and weights are averages — healthy babies vary widely, and your scan measurements are what count.
Feet and ankles may be at their puffiest, and rings and shoes can feel tight by afternoon. Contractions that come and go without a pattern are common and can be tiring. Appetite may shrink because there is so little room for the stomach.
Common symptoms this week
14
days to go
2
weeks to go
266
days so far
At 38 weeks 0 days you are 266 days into a 280-day pregnancy, which leaves 14 days — 2 weeks — until 40 weeks. That number drops by one for every day you move through this week. Remember the due date is an estimate: only about 1 in 20 babies is born on it, and most arrive within two weeks on either side.
Next milestone: 7 days until full term (39 weeks 0 days).
Week 38 is still early term. The distinction matters: babies born at 37–38 weeks have slightly higher rates of breathing and feeding difficulty than those born from 39 weeks.
The term labels are set by exact week and day, not by month: early term is 37 weeks 0 days to 38 weeks 6 days, full term is 39 weeks 0 days to 40 weeks 6 days, late term is 41 weeks 0 days to 41 weeks 6 days, and post-term is 42 weeks 0 days onward. All four fall inside "9 months pregnant", which is exactly why your care team never uses months for this.
A calendar month averages about 4.3 weeks — not 4 — so you can't just divide your week number by four. Instead, months of pregnancy are counted as uneven buckets of 4 to 5 weeks, arranged so the full 40 weeks fits into 9 calendar months. Week 38 falls in month 9, in the third trimester.
Your care team will always use weeks and days rather than months, because screening windows and term definitions are set by exact week — months are just the everyday shorthand. For the full conversion, see the weeks to months chart, or go the other way with the months-to-weeks guide.
Your notes will show a week and a day — 38+3 or 38w3d, for example. Pick the exact day you are on for its own day count, countdown and month answer.
| Week + day | Shorthand | Days pregnant | Days to go |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38 weeks 0 days (this page) | 38+0 | 266 | 14 |
| 38 weeks 1 day | 38+1 | 267 | 13 |
| 38 weeks 2 days | 38+2 | 268 | 12 |
| 38 weeks 3 days | 38+3 | 269 | 11 |
| 38 weeks 4 days | 38+4 | 270 | 10 |
| 38 weeks 5 days | 38+5 | 271 | 9 |
| 38 weeks 6 days | 38+6 | 272 | 8 |
At 38 weeks pregnant, you are about 9 months pregnant — in month 9 of your pregnancy and in your third trimester. Months of pregnancy are counted as uneven 4–5 week buckets so that the full 40 weeks fits into 9 calendar months.
38 weeks is in the third trimester, which runs from 28 weeks 0 days until birth. Full term begins at 39 weeks 0 days.
About 2 weeks until the 40-week mark — though only about 1 in 20 babies arrives exactly on the due date. Most are born within two weeks on either side of it.
At 38 weeks 0 days you are 266 days into a 280-day pregnancy, so there are 14 days left until the 40-week mark — that's 2 weeks. The count drops by one for each day you move through week 38.
38 weeks is 266 days, counted from the first day of your last menstrual period (38 × 7 = 266). Add the days into your current week for the exact figure — for example 38 weeks 3 days is 269 days.