The 28th week of pregnancy

You can probably clearly feel and even see your baby moving around in your tummy. You may even be able to identify what is a foot or an elbow! Ask your midwife or care provider to point these out to you at your next appointment when they palpate your abdomen.

With the normal steady weight gain and growth of the pregnancy, some women may experience more restriction with their own movements and maybe occasional back pain. Talk to your midwife or care provider about resources which can help support you.

Your baby is now measuring around 37 cm from head to bottom and is about the size of a large head of lettuce. Your baby will have reached around 1kg ( 2.2lbs) in weight too!*

Your baby’s lungs continue to mature, the bronchial system branches out further and blood vessels develop more and more. Meanwhile, something known as surfactant covers all the alveoli in the lungs and prevents them from sticking together. This is a really clever substance as it allows for easy breathing from as soon as the baby is born.

You may notice your baby even having hiccups inside your tummy. You have probably even thought already “that seems like they’ve got hiccups”, and you would be right! Amazingly this can actually happen inside the uterus as well!

Have you already thought about and discussed with your birth partner and care provider where you would like to birth your baby? Some mums choose to have a home birth, some prefer to go to the birth centre and others feel happiest in the hospital. Don’t be frightened to ask all the questions from your care provider to get the answers you need in order to make the right decision which feels comfortable for you and your circumstances. This might include, what percentage of women need caesarean sections at your local hospital, whether home birth is a good option, what the hospital’s policy is on assisting new mums to breastfeed. If you already have a midwife, she will be able to give you unbiased and evidence-based information about which options for labour and birth are available for you, your baby and your pregnancy.

This is also the time to start thinking about creating a birth and breastfeeding plan. It’s not too early, there’s a lot to think about and you’re probably just starting to go to prenatal classes, so many new ideas will be fresh in your mind. Jot them down as you go and then you can discuss them with your birth partner, your family and friends as well as your midwife or care provider. Doing this can help you understand the options available for you before, during and after birth, helping you to navigate what feels right for you.

Note: *The length and weight figures are average values and cannot be applied to individual cases. Every baby develops individually.