Week by week: Pregnancy week - 28 (What to Expect When You Are 28 Weeks Pregnant)

This is the official beginning of the third trimester—the last leg of the journey. Pregnancy week 28 may cause overwhelming emotions, as most women suddenly feel like it's all happening too fast and they aren’t prepared enough to handle childbirth and baby care. It is best, however, to work on keeping your mind and body relaxed and rest as much as you can. Let's look at how you'll be doing on the first week of your third trimester. This is also the time you need to start tracking your baby's kicks.

Pregnancy Week 28 Symptoms

At 28 weeks, the fabulous second trimester is behind you and you are fast approaching delivery. Your baby will grow rapidly from hereon and starting this week, you will begin to experience the discomfort of carrying your baby. As the baby's weight increases, your uterus pushes deeper against all organs, so you may feel intermittent pain in your ribs and abdomen, not to mention a constant desire to urinate. These are very common pregnancy week 28 symptoms and there is no need for alarm. Make sure that you take appropriate steps to minimize the annoyance caused by these symptoms. For example, frequent urination, especially at night is one of the most common pregnancy week 28 symptoms and can interfere with your sleep patterns and leave you feeling fatigued. Reducing your intake of liquids during the latter half of the evening and before you go to bed, will help you enjoy uninterrupted sleep.

Leg cramps and backaches will become a regular feature from pregnancy week 28. In fact, you may even notice some swelling around the ankles this week. It is best to rest as much as you can and do routine stretching to ease the discomfort in your back and leg. Put your feet up as often as possible and support your back with cushions when you lie down. While you can't give up on daily chores, you can start cutting down your workload, particularly anything that involves bending or lifting weights. When you are 28 weeks pregnant symptoms such as leg cramps, swelling and itching will start bothering you. Massaging your legs often around this time helps. A woman who is 28 weeks pregnant has symptoms such leg cramps, swelling and itching. Your third trimester is only a week away and you are probably anxious about your pregnancy after keeping track of it for so long. Being 28 weeks pregnant, the symptoms are not always fun. Many of the symptoms that you may have experienced in your early stages may have eased off by now. In fact the feelings of nausea and morning sickness also subside. Around this time you will have a feeling of well-being. People begin complimenting you about your “blooming” looks when you are 28 weeks pregnant. Some symptoms such as backache, heartburn, leg cramps, constipation, and Braxton Hicks contractions begin to bother your. When you are 28 weeks pregnant, symptoms mentioned above are not necessarily the only thing that bothers you. As your baby gets stronger and bigger you will find that you find it difficult to sleep. Try and take short naps whenever possible and when an opportunity presents itself. In fact its best that you take advantage of any additional sleep that comes your way before the baby is born. When you are 28 weeks pregnant signs such as clumsiness, lower abdominal pain, varicose veins and itchiness, heartburn and indigestion, hemorrhoids, and shortness of breath begin to bother you. Another one of the common 28 weeks pregnancy symptoms is the need to urinate frequently. This happens because the uterus constantly pushes on your bladder. When you are at 28 weeks your visits to your health care provider will increase. You may have to see him/her every two weeks. Discuss with your doctor any concerns you may have about your pregnancy symptoms.

Pregnancy Week 28 Weight Gain

At week 28, your baby's muscles are developing so the weight gain in the third trimester is rapid. Any food you eat should be aimed at assisting your baby's organ and muscle growth. If you had normal or above normal weight before you got pregnant, then you should aim to gain just a pound this week. That said, do not skip a meal or eat less. Instead, focus on eating fibrous foods and consume fresh fruits and vegetables. As such, in the third trimester, women tend to gain an average of 11 pounds - roughly 3 to 4 pounds each month. When you are 28 weeks pregnant weight gain is normal and expected. You will be putting on weight during your pregnancy as there is a little one inside you and it is in the interest of the baby’s and your health that you put on weight. How much weight you put on will depend to a great extent on what you weighed before conception. If you are pregnant for 28 weeks baby weight gain is about 2 pounds and the body fat of your baby is about 2-3 percent. When you are 28 weeks pregnant weight gain is around 24 pounds and this is good as it helps nourish and cushion your baby till it is time for delivery.

When you are in your 28 weeks of pregnancy weight gain is around ¾ -1 pound. This is the last week of your second trimester and your stomach starts to protrude and you look pregnant. It is nice to put on weight but be careful not to pile on the pounds. The amount of weight you gain should depend to a great extent on what your Body Mass Index or BMI was before your pregnancy. If your BMI before your pregnancy was above normal, then be careful about the amount of weight you put on. Make sure that when you are 28 weeks pregnant weight gain is under control as this will help you take care of any complications post-delivery. Your calorie intake should be around 2100-2400 calories so that you are able to put on the expected amount of weight. As mentioned earlier weight gain would depend totally upon you and your baby. Everyone has a different pregnancy and your weight gain may be slightly different from what is expected.

Pregnancy Week 28 Ultrasound

At week 28, your baby will be 14 to 15 inches long and will weigh a little over 2 pounds. If you get a pregnancy week 28 ultrasound done, you will be able to see your baby's hair. While this differs from baby to baby, hair will be more noticeable this week. Also, your baby will now have eyelashes. You will also notice that your baby's muscle tone is more distinct and it seems more filled out. When you are 28 weeks pregnant an ultrasound may not be done unless there is a specific reason such as a complication. By the time you are 28 weeks pregnant an ultrasound will show some lovely images of your baby. Your baby is 14.8 inches in length or more and weighs about 2.2 pounds. The baby’s brain around this time begins to mature and grooves that are commonly associated with a human brain are seen. In some cases the baby will be growing hair on the head though some babies may be born bald. When 28 weeks pregnant an ultrasound will show your baby open and close its eyes if you are lucky enough. Else your baby will be seen with the eyes closed as the activities you do during the day will lull it to sleep. When you are 28 weeks pregnant an ultrasound will be able to tell you if your baby is feet-first, head-first, or bottom-first in the womb.

However don’t panic if the baby’s position is breech position right now. Many babies change positions on their own and get back to normal by the time of delivery. When in 28 weeks of pregnancy an ultrasound (Doppler test), will help you hear the heartbeat of your baby.  When 28 weeks pregnant a 3D ultrasound will give you 3D view of what your baby looks like inside the womb. Cute pictures such as your baby sucking his/her thumb, yawning or snoozing away are going to amaze you. Health care providers believe that the 3D ultrasounds can be done when you are 24-30 weeks pregnant; however there are some centers that feel that the best time for these is in 28-32 weeks of your pregnancy. At 28 weeks you are almost at your third trimester so try relaxing and doing some fun things like planning your baby shower.

28 Weeks Pregnant Bleeding

When you are 28 weeks pregnant bleeding could be due to various reasons. Bleeding during pregnancy period could be dangerous to both the child and the mother. If when you are 28 weeks pregnant and bleeding occurs it is important that you report it to your doctor immediately. The causes of bleeding at this stage of your pregnancy could be due to various reasons.

One reason could be placenta previa. Here the placenta lies near or over the mouth of the uterus or is implanted very low. If this condition occurs when you are 28 weeks pregnant bleeding can be life threatening. Abruption of the placenta when you are 28 weeks pregnant causes bleeding. Placental abruption means that the placenta is detached from the wall of the uterus. As a result of this a blood clot forms between the uterus and the placenta. Woman who are advanced in age, have high blood pressure, and excessive amniotic fluids are at risk. When the symptoms of this condition occur it could lead to bleeding from the vagina, abdominal pain, and tenderness of the uterine and contractions. When you are in your 28 weeks pregnancy period and bleeding of this type occurs it can be dangerous for both you and your child. If bleeding occurs it is important that you immediately seek medical attention. You have to be able to tell your doctor how much blood you have lost and the blood color. In some cases bleeding can be caused by sexual intercourse (recent), vaginal trauma, local lesions, cervical cancer, severe trichomonal or fungal infections, varicose veins of vulva or vagina, a ruptured uterine scar, and polyp. 28 weeks implantation bleeding does not usually happen. This type of bleeding usually occurs in the first few days of your pregnancy soon after ovulation and fertilization.