Thirty-first week of pregnancy

The 31st week of pregnancy is a good time to start preparing the delivery bag. Your baby’s lungs are nearly mature and vision continues to improve.

Weight and length at 31 weeks

How many months is 31 weeks pregnant?

The 31st ^week marks the transition between the seventh and eighth month of gestation. To know the exact correspondence between months and weeks of pregnancy you can use our conversion table .

31st ^week : frequent symptoms

• Rib pain
• Backache
• Need to urinate often
• Pregnancy brain
• Disturbed sleep
• Clumsiness in movements

How your body changes

Space issue

The older the child becomes, the more pressure on the internal organs increases. As a result, pain in the ribs, pelvis, or back may be part of the 31 ^– week symptoms .

In order not to make them worse, pay attention to your posture, don’t lift weights and avoid staying in the same position for too long. Help could also come from some prenatal massage or acupuncture sessions: to be safe, however, entrust yourself only to the hands of expert and qualified therapists!

Softer ligaments

If on the one hand the pressure on the organs increases, on the other hand the ligaments are more stretched and could make you feel more awkward and awkward in your movements. The cause is a hormone called relaxin , which has the task of preparing the pelvic area for the passage of the baby at the time of delivery. Don’t worry, it’s just a passing phase and after the birth everything will go back to the way it was.

How the child grows

It is about 40 centimeters long , the size of an aubergine , and weighs about 1.5 kilograms .

200 grams of love

Her fingernails and toenails have now reached her fingertips and thanks to the deposit of white fat her skin is taking on that wonderful rosy color typical of a newborn . 

From now until the end of your pregnancy, your baby will grow faster in weight than in length and gain about 200 grams per week .

Incoming antibodies

Even if you start to experience a little shortness of breath, your little one gets all the oxygen they need through the placenta. Meanwhile, the lungs are nearly mature and the development of the immune system continues . This week, in fact, the production of the first antibodies by the thymus begins , a special gland contained within the chest.

Even the eye… wants its share!

While there isn’t much to see inside the womb, your baby’s vision is also improving. Now his pupils are able to constrict and dilate in response to light, and his eyes are starting to focus . Unlike the other senses, however, vision will not be fully mature at birth and it will take about six months for it to reach adult-like development.

Do you know that…

When your baby opens his eyes for the first time, he will already be able to focus at a distance of 20-25 centimeters , which corresponds to your face when you hold him in your arms!

For the dad

Even if there are still two months to go until the due date, it is better to start planning. To prepare for the big moment, for example, you can start calculating the shortest route to reach the hospital or the chosen birth point.

Checks and exams to do

Click here to see the tests you can take for free between the 29th and 33rd week of gestation

Advice from the 31st ^week of pregnancy

• Have you already started preparing the birth bag ? In addition to everything you need for you and the baby, don’t forget to pack your documents , exam folder and any birth plan . If you have any doubts about what to bring with you, ask for information at the facility where you have decided to give birth: in fact, the list of clothing and accessories required varies according to the birthplace.  And remember: hospital lockers are quite small, so… don’t overdo it!

• If you haven’t already done so, the time has come to inform you about how to request the  bonuses provided for pregnant women and mothers . Find all the useful details to obtain them on our articles: single universal allowance and maternity allowance from the municipality .