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Pregnancy Week 28
Baby Growth at 28 Weeks Pregnant
Yay, It’s finally month 7 which means you have made it to the third trimester. Now you have just two months to go until you finally meet your baby!
At 28 weeks, your baby should now weigh about 2.6 pounds and be as long as 14.5-15 inches. Your baby is growing! To put it into a different perspective, your baby should be about the size of a head of lettuce at this point.
Now your baby is developing more rapidly, sharpening the senses and preparing for arrival. The brain continues to develop and nerve cells are growing rapidly in the brain, tripling from their previous amount. At this point, your baby should be able to hear, smell, and touch.
Brain activity will show differing patterns of sleep. Your baby will start to experience REM sleep, meaning that your little one is already a dreamer! Your baby will also start to blink in the womb. Up until this point, the baby’s eyes have been closed tight for some time. Now, they are able to start blinking, meaning your baby can open and close their eyes. Perfect practice for butterfly kisses!
In addition to blinking, your baby may also start making facial expressions, like a funny face or sticking their tongue out. It’s all normal as the little one prepares to enter the world. They will continue to experience hiccups and coughing, as well as continue to practice their breathing.
You and Your Body at Pregnancy 28 Weeks
Your third trimester has begun and you are two-thirds of the way through your pregnancy. At this point, you may find it difficult to find a comfortable position or be able to sleep. This may be due to the baby starting to kick more frequently and strongly.
Now, you may find many positions uncomfortable because your baby is getting into position for birth. Your baby’s head can cause uneasiness as it settles various nerves that run behind and around your uterus. Adjusting your position should encourage the baby to move and give you some relief.
As you approach the final stretch of pregnancy, your belly continues to grow as your uterus expands. It may be tougher to find comfort, sleep, or even to find energy. Just one-third of the way to go until you meet your baby!
Typical Symptoms at 28 Weeks Pregnant
One symptom you might experience is sciatica, or tingling leg pain. This would be caused by the weight shifting in your body, causing pressure to be put on your sciatic nerve. You may feel a sharp pain in your buttocks and all the way down your legs. This can be an intense pain, but should resolve as the baby moves or you change position.
Another symptom is more sensitive skin. Even if you do not typically have sensitive skin, this can occur during pregnancy because of the hormones that are active while pregnant. Most often, the most sensitive area is the belly, because of the skin there stretching to grow during pregnancy. You may be more sensitive to more materials, chemicals, sun, or potentially even food.
You may experience more frequent bloating and gas. As your uterus grows, the pressure on the rectum causes you to lose control over some of the muscles in your body. You may also experience more frequent, sometimes hard-to-control urination as the baby has grown big enough to press up against your bladder.
Additionally, you might also experience a stuffy nose more often. This can be credited to the estrogen and progesterone levels and increased blood flow to your mucous membranes. This can cause snoring and discomfort while trying to sleep. For some relief, you can try nasal strips to help clear the nostrils.
Some other additional symptoms you may experience include:
- Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction, or SPD
- Bleeding Gums
- Dizziness
- Aches and Pains
- Braxton Hicks Contractions
Pregnancy Week 28 Tips and Advice
This week, you will need to know what your RH status is. RH Factor is a protein found on the surface of red blood cells. If you have it, you would be RH-positive. If not, you would be RH-negative. The importance of the RH Factor is that if you are RH-negative and your baby is RH-positive, the body will view your baby’s cells as a foreign substance and attack it with antibodies. To counteract this, you would get an injection known as RhoGam around 28 weeks and again 72 hours after delivery.
This week, may need to increase your iron intake. Babies absorb iron most in the third trimester. Try eating iron-rich foods such as chicken, spinach, and beef and keep up with your prenatal vitamins.
If you have a baby boy on the way, it is a good time to have the circumcision talk. If you do not have cultural or religious guidelines to follow it may or may not be a difficult decision to make. Consider talking to your provider as well as your partner at this time to plan ahead to weigh all risks associated with the procedure. You’ll also want to find out if your hospital offers circumcision or your pediatrician requires a referral to a pediatric urologist who will perform the procedures a few days to weeks after birth, if you so desire.
Speaking of planning ahead, try to schedule a hospital or birthing center tour. You can discuss options for setting one up with your provider. It is also a great time to attend a childbirth or breastfeeding class, if you are planning to breastfeed. You can take classes at the hospital you choose or locally with an instructor.
Sources:
https://www.womenshealth.gov/pregnancy/youre-pregnant-now-what/stages-pregnancy
https://americanpregnancy.org/healthy-pregnancy/week-by-week/28-weeks-pregnant/
