Twenty Ninth Week of Pregnancy: What to Expect

Shield up: In the 29th week of gestation, your offspring is honing its immune defenses, among other things. In addition, he will often make you feel his presence.

Find out here how your baby’s development progresses in the 29th week, how height and weight change in the 29th week, and why your belly can become hard more often in the 29th week.

In the 29th week of pregnancy, your baby weighs an average of 2 ½ pounds and is already 15 inches tall (about the size of butternut squash). As of now, you are 8 months along!

Your baby continues to grow rapidly at the moment. Especially, his brain grows so much from the 29th week of pregnancy that the soft bones of the skull are pushed outwards.

The head has reached the right proportion to the body. The brain’s abilities and functions are also being developed. More and more nerve cells are forming and connecting. Breathing and body temperature can already be controlled by the brain.

Your baby’s senses are refining. For example, it can distinguish between artificial light and sunlight in your belly. Likewise, the sense of smell and hearing continues to develop. The immune system is strengthened. During the last eleven weeks of your pregnancy, your baby receives many important antibodies through the placenta to protect against infectious diseases.

As your baby has grown larger, he no longer has quite as much room in your belly from the 29th week of pregnancy. When he kicks, very small bulges become visible on your abdomen. Feeling the kicks is also an exciting experience for the expectant father, which you should definitely share with him.

Relate: Third Trimester of Pregnancy: What to Expect

Mom’s belly and body in the 29th week of pregnancy

Your body is already preparing for delivery in the 29th week of pregnancy. You will notice exercise contractions more often. This is how your uterus trains for an emergency. The cervix remains closed during practice contractions, in contrast to “real” contractions.
In the 29th week, it’s time for you to cut back. Avoid excessive exertion. If you want to exercise, long walks or a visit to the swimming pool are suitable.

Fungal infections may be more common at this stage of pregnancy.

Be sure to see your doctor if you have any symptoms because infections can promote premature birth. If your baby is born prematurely now, it has a survival rate of over 90 percent.

By the way: Between the 29th and 32nd week of pregnancy, you will also have the third ultrasound examination, which is used to check the growth of your baby.

Do you already know what your child’s name will be? By the 29th week of pregnancy at the latest, your thoughts will probably be circling around it. Go on a name hunt together with your partner.

29th week of pregnancy: Your symptoms

• Calf cramps. Many pregnant women experience recurrent calf cramps during the 29th week of pregnancy. In fact, they are one of the most common pregnancy symptoms in the third trimester. However, experts still disagree about their cause. Some see the reason in the extra weight on the legs, others attribute the pain to a calcium or potassium deficiency. It’s also possible that the cramps are triggered by the pressure your uterus puts on the nerves that run from your pelvis to your legs.
• Stomach problems. You may get heartburn more often now, and stomach pain may also be common. In the 29th week, your baby is taking up more and more space in your belly, displacing your organs. The baby is putting particular pressure on your diaphragm, which can lead to pulling and twinging in the stomach area from time to time. It is advisable to eat many small meals throughout the day rather than just a few large ones. This reliefs the stomach and also prevents heartburn.
• Hair. Due to your stimulated metabolism, your fingernails and hair will grow faster.
  Constipation. The hormonal change slows down the movement of the bowels, which can lead to constipation. Taking additional iron can also promote this. Often constipation is also accompanied by a general feeling of fullness, bloating, and abdominal pain. This can be prevented with a high-fiber diet, plenty of exercise, sufficient fluids, and dried fruit. In case of persistent discomfort, please consult your: Doctor: Physician, or midwife.

The last trimester of pregnancy, which also includes the 29th week, is exhausting for you as an expectant mother – both physically and mentally. Therefore, do something good for yourself regularly and relax, for example with a warm full bath.

Throughout your pregnancy, however, your bath water should not be hotter than 98° F, as otherwise your core body temperature will rise, and with it that of the baby. To avoid putting too much strain on your circulation, you should also not spend more than ten minutes in the tub.

However, you can make the most of this time, for example by pampering yourself with moisturizing or pH-neutral bath additives or peeling. The latter, by the way, not only removes dead skin cells but also stimulates the skin’s circulation. Afterward, skincare lotions and creams are absorbed all the better.

Around the expected date of birth, a bath with essential oil and cream in warm water can even promote labor pleasantly. Your midwife will tell you which oil is suitable in which dosage.

Healthy diet

Due to the fact that your baby is growing intensively in the 29th week, a healthy diet is very important. You should take trace elements, vitamins and minerals with your food.

Of course, you can also snack on sweets and cakes, but make sure you have a balanced mixture. Since iron ensures an adequate supply of oxygen and promotes the formation of blood, the trace element is still very important for you and your baby. Your doctor will regularly check your iron balance and advise you on your diet or prescribe iron supplements if necessary.

29th-week pregnancy: the best tips at a glance

• It is better to eat several small meals in your busy everyday life. This way, you won’t experience energy loss and can access your well-distributed energy.
• For a good supply of magnesium, consume foods with a lot of magnesium such as nuts, whole-grain cereal products, legumes, spinach, and kohlrabi.
• Make sure your fluid intake is adequate: one glass per hour is recommended. Try.
• Use your free time for walks in the fresh air. This improves tension and discomfort in the back.
• Visit the delivery room of the clinics you have shortlisted for the birth.

Many women lack the motivation to exercise as pregnancy progresses. The physical stresses restrict the body in uncomfortable ways. Help your partner to regularly put her legs up to relieve the strain on her legs and back. But also motivate her to move around to a reasonable extent. Regular walks together are very helpful and give you another opportunity to talk to each other and clear your heads.

Have you already found a clinic or birth center? Then you should start practicing now for emergencies. Drive the route by car and find out where you can park. Also, have the number of the cab service ready or pin it on your refrigerator. You should also have the numbers of your midwife, the chosen place of birth, and the fire department ready for emergencies.