What to expect 28 weeks pregnant?
What to expect at 28 weeks pregnant. Good news – once you reach 28 weeks pregnant, this marks the start of your third trimester. Three months to go until you meet your baby – you are on the home straight!
How big is baby at 28 weeks pregnant?
At 28 weeks pregnant your baby weighs an average of 1kg. This is the same as a 1 litre bottle of water. They are around 38cm long but will be all curled up inside you.
What is baby learning at 28 weeks pregnant?
This week your baby has been studying hard and they have learnt to blink! They have also been practicing lots of skills ready for the world including hiccupping, sneezing, coughing and sucking. If you have an ultrasound from now you may see them using these new skills, such as sucking their hand. Your baby has also now learned to do rapid eye movement sleep so will be spending some time sleeping (let’s hope this is a skill they perfect ahead of birth!).
Those little lungs of your baby are now nearly fully formed, although baby is not ready to be born yet. Baby’s lungs, will still need to mature and grow.
What to expect 28 weeks pregnant – my body?
For you, heading into the third trimester you may start to feel more uncomfortable as your growing baby, placenta and the amniotic fluid are starting to take up more and more space. It’s really common for symptoms, similar to those common in the first trimester, to return… boo. These include needing to wee frequently, heartburn, and sometimes nausea and vomiting.
28 week Midwife Appointment
This week you should visit your midwife. If you are approaching the 28 week mark and haven’t made an appointment yet, then call your GP surgery (or maternity clinic, community midwife) to book one in. 28 weeks is the week that your midwife will begin to measure your bump with a tape measure. This is called a symphysis pubis to fundal height, sounds fancy eh? And may be written in your notes as SFH. Your midwife will measure from your pubic bone right to the top of your uterus. Roughly for every week pregnant you are, your bump will measure that in centimeters. For example, at 28 weeks pregnant your bump will measure roughly 28cm. Cool huh?
Remember though, this is a rough guide. There is a 2cm leeway each side. Even with this leeway, your midwife is focusing more on the trend of your bump’s growth. So if you are always a cm or two ahead but you stay on that same pathway then that is fine. Your midwife is looking mostly at changes in growth – it is one of many screening processes to keep an eye on you and baby. If your midwife notices a change in growth pattern she may refer you for a growth scan. Your midwife will measure your bump now at every appointment.
Your midwife will also check your iron levels at this appointment by offering you a blood test. It is very common to lose blood in labour so it is important to check that you have a good store of iron ahead of birth. Low iron can also affect your energy levels and make you feel really tired, so it is important to make sure they are at the right level.
Your midwife will also take bloods to check your blood group and your antibodies. Also if you have a risk factor Gestational Diabetes it will be at this point you will be referred for a glucose tolerance test. You can read all about how do you test for Gestational Diabetes here.
Watch the full video of 28 weeks pregnant with midwife, Beth.
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