Pregnancy week 28

Pregnancy week 28 markes the start of the third trimester of Pregnancy. So what is happening with you and your baby ? First of all your baby now weighs about 2 and a half pounds or just over 1 kilogram and his or her total length is about 16 inches or 0.4 meters ! (the crown to rump length is about 10 inches or one quarter of a meter). That is a huge change from pregnancy week 6 when your baby was at most 0.16″ long (crown to rump) and weighed practically nothing ! At week 28 your uterus continues to travel upwards and will usually be about 3 inches or 8 centimeters above your bellybutton. As far as weight gain goes you should have gained somewhere in the region of 7 and a half kilograms to 11 kilograms (17 to 24 Lbs)  by pregnancy week 28.  Your baby at this stage of pregnancy has had hair growth and could more than likely breath air if he or she had to. It is at this point you can begin feeling that your baby could survive a premature birth and that is a comfort to many parents to be. In addition to having functioning lungs, baby is able to open and close his or her eyes and eyelashes are growing. If your baby is a boy then at this point in pregnancy his testicles are dropping down to his strotum. The brain of your child is developing also and the smooth surface of the brain is giving way to the typical ridged surface we associate with someone’s brain. Baby can suck his thumb(s) now and there is more definition in his or her fingers and palms. At pregnancy week 28 you should be aware that doctors often take or repeat blood tests or other tests on you. A test called glucose tolerance testing may be required. When you are visiting your Doctor you should ask him or her which way the baby is facing. He may be able to tell you.