Twenty Eighth Week of Pregnancy: What to Expect

The third trimester is the longest of pregnancy and lasts from 27 weeks of pregnancy to 40 weeks of pregnancy.  Good morning!

From the 28th week of gestation, your child now closes its eyes when sleeping and opens them when it wakes up. And your uterus is already starting to prepare the “birth bed”.

Read here how the development of your baby and your body progresses in the 28th week and why you can already start thinking about breastfeeding.

In the 28th week of pregnancy, the baby absorbs immune substances from the mother’s blood through the placenta. This is the first important step in the functioning of the baby’s immune system. This provides the stimulus for your baby to form its own defenses against pathogens.

Development of the brain

The development of the brain now enters the fine-tuning stage. The furrows become more and more pronounced. Increased brain activity, which accompanies the baby’s increasing perceptual ability, can also be measured now. Here the currents could be measured, which are generated by the nerves of the stimulus conduction system. Brain currents in a human are measured by means of the EEG – the electroencephalogram.

Lung development

Your child’s lung maturation has also progressed. The branches of the bronchial tubes have branched so that after birth, air can flow through the entire lung tissue. The alveoli, or air sacs, have formed. They are important to allow the exchange of gases between the fresh, oxygenated air that is breathed in, and the stale air from the organism. A special substance (surfactant) – which is now formed – ensures that the alveoli do not stick to each other during inhalation. This is considered the surface protection of the lungs.

The baby continues to train its breathing and swallows more amniotic fluid in the process. This can cause your baby to hiccup every now and then, which you can clearly perceive from small twitches in your abdomen.

If your baby were born prematurely at this time, it would have a relatively good chance of survival.

Development of the eyes

The baby’s eyes continue to develop. When the baby is sleeping, it closes its eyes; when it is awake, it opens them. By now it is able to distinguish between light and dark, which has an influence on its sleep rhythm. But it can also see colors and shapes in a blurred form. With the next developmental steps, sharp vision is optimized. At birth, however, vision as a sense has not yet fully matured. The maturation and development of the child’s vision are not completed until the second year of life.

Size and weight of the baby in the 28th week of pregnancy

In the 28th week of pregnancy, your baby is already 14 ¾ inches tall and weighs of2 ¼ pounds (about the size of a large eggplant). Your baby’s weight gain is progressing in leaps and bounds in the near future. There are about twelve weeks left until birth. Newborns weigh an average of 7.7 lbs. The space in the uterus is well filled by the baby and you certainly feel the baby’s movements frequently now. However, your offspring can still move well and continues to do somersaults diligently.

Relate: Third Trimester of Pregnancy: What to Expect

 28th week: the expectant mom: common signs and symptoms

By the end of the seventh month, you have already gained a significant amount of weight. The baby bump has also grown, which has shifted your center of gravity and changed your body perception. You are trying to compensate for this by moving consciously. More and more, in the 28th week of pregnancy, discomfort sets in due to the weight gain and the growing belly.

Sleep problems may occur

Due to the ever-increasing circumference of your belly, you find it increasingly difficult to find a comfortable place to lie down. As a result, you cannot sleep well or sleep through the night. Time and again, you wake up at night and interrupt your sleep to get into a better sleeping position. Discover the best tips for sleeping during pregnancy.

The fundal position of the uterus, i.e. the upward extension of the organ, is exactly between the navel and the costal arch in the 28th week of gestation.

Fetal movements increase

Your baby is taking the space left in the uterus for intense play and exercise. The baby’s movements may also rob you of sleep or concentration from time to time. The vigorous movements can now also be clearly visible from the outside. Sometimes a small bulge appears, caused by the pressure of a little foot or hand. If you are expecting twins, this will naturally increase.

The father-to-be or the grandparents-to-be now also enjoy contact with the baby. The position of the baby cannot yet be clearly determined in the 28th week of gestation. At the moment, your child is still assuming any position it wants.

Practice contractions make themselves felt

Your belly continues to practice for birth and train for the first contractions. This causes your belly to become hard repeatedly, and unpredictably. The hard belly goes away after about a minute and is not painful or dangerous for the baby.

Uterus presses on the organs

If at night it is the difficulty in sleeping through the night that plagues you, during the day you are accompanied by the frequent urge to urinate combined with many trips to the toilet. The weight of the uterus and the baby press on the bladder, reducing its capacity. Therefore, you now need to go to the toilet more often. The pressure of the uterus also makes itself felt in other organs, which means that every now and then you suffer from heartburn or feel pain in the kidney region.

Painful legs

Swollen feet and ankles, thick legs – especially more so in summer – and muscle cramps are other complaints that are more common now. Therefore, you should take good care of yourself, which means:

• Rest more often!
• Make sure you eat a healthy diet with plenty of magnesium!
• Put your legs up more often!
• By elevating the legs, the blood and also tissue water can circulate better and does not “sink” in the lower extremities.

Learn more about the nutrients you need now to alleviate or prevent such discomfort.

On the 28th week, the mother’s weight gain is unstoppable. Your belly continues to grow and grow. As your pregnancy progresses – that is, even in the 28th week of pregnancy – stretch marks may appear on your skin, especially on your belly, breasts, hips, and thighs. However, most experts agree that it is not much you can do about it. However, applying body creams or oils certainly won’t hurt.

Moreover, this problem is genetic. If your mother had stretch marks, you will probably get some too. The good news is that in most cases, stretch marks fade after birth. Still, want to take some action? Here are some tips to prevent stretch marks.

As your belly grows, your body’s center of gravity shifts. In addition, your joints and ligaments are loosened. As a result, you may often bump into tables or trip over your own feet. For this reason, it is better to wear flat shoes and especially avoid hurry and stress as much as possible.

28th week of pregnancy: Your checklist

• Your skin is stretching – apply lotion to itchy areas.
• Choose flat shoes to avoid tripping and for your back.
• Make sure you eat enough healthy food.
• You can now start running errands for your clinic bag.