Women’s Services
This week, your baby is as big as a acorn squash.
The following information was reviewed by Katherine Cheng
The baby moves more and more vigorously, and sometimes kicks suddenly, which may surprise you.
The baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during pregnancy. Their brain is growing rapidly so its more important than ever to eat healthily.
The expectant mother has a lot of extra blood and fluid in her body and may become more bloated and urinate more often.
Your baby is adjusting to the birth position: head down, towards the nearest exit! Your baby is also busy practicing blinking to help keep foreign objects out of the eyes. In addition to this, your baby will practice more coughing, more intense sucking movements, burping, and perhaps most importantly, easier breathing.
Your baby's activity space in the mother's body is getting smaller and smaller, but the amount of activity is still frequent and intense.
The development of the nervous system and muscle system is nearly complete, and the hearing is more developed.
Pregnant women start to feel the baby's movements strongly at 29 weeks, for example, they could feel at least 10 movements every two hours.
The expectant mother now has a lot of extra blood and fluid in her body and becomes more prone to edema. It will be more difficult for a pregnant woman to bend over as her belly grows larger. Now is the time to clip your toenails and buy some shoes you can slip on because in the next few weeks you will find that bending over is not comfortable and will gradually become more difficult.
Entering the 29th week, the uterus moves up to about 7.5 to 10 cm above the mother's navel, causing pressure on the mother's bladder causing the need for frequent urination again. Sometimes when laughing or coughing, there may be a small amount of urine discharge known as incontinence. A women's health physiotherapists can help with incontinence issues.
Due to the size of the fetus, the uterus expands, and the enlarged uterus oppresses the intestinal tract which can cause heartburn, constipation and hemorrhoids. Light exercise and movement can help to prevent these symptoms.
Entering the 29th week of pregnancy, if the pregnant woman has not taken the fasting blood glucose measurement (OGTT), it should be added as soon as possible to confirm whether the pregnant woman has gestational diabetes. During the prenatal checkup, you can also ask your doctor whether you need to check the iron content to determine the blood iron concentration. You may also need to do a blood type test and antibody screening. If your mother's blood type is Rh negative, you may be injected with Rh immune heme to prevent your body from producing antibodies that may attack bb blood.
In late pregnancy, the belly of pregnant women may become heavier and heavier. It is recommended that you sleep on your side when sleeping to reduce the forward bending of the lumbar spine. You can also do pelvic gymnastics to increase circulation in the rectal area, strengthen the muscles around the anus, prevent constipation and relieve physical discomfort.
Mothers can count the fetal movement regularly to feel how active your baby is in your womb. If the fetal movement decreases significantly, please see a doctor immediately.
You are welcome to book an appointment with an OT&P Annerley midwife to attend our maternity courses and workshops, or to consult with a nutritionist for discomfort relief and nutrient absorption.
Whether you’re planning for an addition to your family or are already pregnant, OT&P’s Maternity Team is here to help.