Pregnancy

Twenty-ninth week of pregnancy

Welcome to week 29! The last part of the pregnancy has begun: the baby’s movements are more evident and by placing his ear on the belly, the future dad could hear the beating of his little heart.

Weight and length at 29 weeks

Month 7th month
Gestational age from 28+0 to 28+6
Length of the fetus (*) 37.6cm
Weight of the fetus (*) 1189 grams
Weight gain (**) +10kg
Moms group June 2023

 

How many months is 29 weeks pregnant?

At the 29th week you are in the seventh month of gestation.  To know the exact correspondence between months and weeks of pregnancy  you can use our conversion table .

29th week : frequent symptoms

How your body changes

The importance of iron

Your baby bump is getting bigger and bigger, and the bottom of your uterus is about 9 centimeters above your belly button.

The volume of blood in circulation continues to grow and during this last trimester it will reach 5 litres. The increase mainly concerns the liquid part of the blood, the plasma , while the  red blood cells do not increase at the same pace.

This means that the analyzes could show a slight anemia , which has no particular consequences other than a little tiredness . To combat it, try to introduce an adequate amount of iron in your diet and discuss with your gynecologist or midwife whether to take  supplements .

Varicose veins? Here are the remedies!

Increased blood volume, water retention and decreased elasticity of the vein walls, caused by hormones, can lead to the appearance of varicose veins in the legs , especially if you tend to spend a lot of time on your feet.

Try to keep active: swimming , water aerobics or a simple 30-minute walk can be a panacea for this ailment. Even a leg massage or the use of graduated compression stockings can help reactivate circulation, as well as a diet low in salt and rich in fruit and vegetables .

Fatigue increases…

Due to the increased weight of the baby bump and related symptoms, the third trimester is usually more tiring than the second. To better deal with it, remember that  the various problems of pregnancy  – such as difficulty breathing, itching , swelling or cramps in the legs – will disappear with the birth of your baby .

In any case, to alleviate all the symptoms of discomfort, follow a balanced diet , drink lots of liquids , do some physical activity and rest when you can !

How the child grows

It is about 38 centimeters long , as long as a cauliflower , and weighs just over a kilogram .

It starts to lose fluff

Your little one continues to accumulate subcutaneous fat and is increasingly less wrinkled and pinker. In addition to brown fat , which has the task of maintaining body temperature, white fat has also begun to form , which serves as an energy reserve. 

The hair is growing longer and the fingernails  and toenails will soon reach the fingertips. The fluff , on the other hand, has begun to break down in the amniotic fluid and the vernix is ​​also beginning to reabsorb itself.

Recognizes dad’s voice!

His sensory organs are well developed. She opens and closes her eyes  and turns her head towards the light source. In addition, she continues to “taste” what you eat through the amniotic fluid and, according to some studies, she already has a preference for sweet tastes .

Hearing is also very sensitive: even if the ears are still covered by the vernix, in fact, your little one perceives the sounds and vibrations coming from the outside and is already able to recognize the future dad’s voice !

Stronger bones

Your baby’s skeleton continues to harden, and about 200 mg of calcium is deposited in his bones each day . His movements of him are more and more energetic, thanks to the development of muscle tone , and the brain and lungs are maturing more and more.

The kidneys continue to filter the amniotic fluid your baby swallows and produce about  half a liter of urine each day . If you are expecting a boy, his testicles are descending towards the scrotum. If, on the other hand, you are expecting a girl, her clitoris  is not yet covered by the labia minora, which will develop a few weeks before the birth. 

Do you know that…

Right now, your baby’s heart is beating at a rate of about 140 beats per minute, much faster than an adult’s . This is because, being smaller, it has to beat faster to be able to pump the necessary amount of blood.

For the dad

  • Your baby recognizes your voice! Keep talking to him: prenatal communication has been shown to have positive effects on the cognitive and linguistic development of the unborn child .
  • This week, placing your ear on your partner’s belly, you should be able to hear the future baby’s heartbeat . It probably won’t be easy to find the right spot, but it’s worth a try!

Checks and exams to do

  • Anesthesia visit

If you think you want to use a pidural to  relieve labor pains,  book a visit with the anesthetist of the hospital where you have decided to give birth.

But be careful: since not all birth centers offer the possibility of having an epidural , get well informed about the services offered by the facility you have chosen and check that there is a team of anesthesiologists dedicated only to the delivery room.

  • Pertussis vaccination

Whooping cough is an infectious disease which, if contracted in the first months of a newborn’s life, can be very serious or even fatal . The source of infection is often the mother and the antibodies transmitted to the child by mothers who have already had this disease or who have been vaccinated many years before are not sufficient to guarantee the protection of the newborn .

For these reasons, in the last trimester of pregnancy, expectant mothers are recommended to be vaccinated against pertussis , to transfer the antibodies to the baby which will protect him until the moment the vaccination cycle ends.

When is it possible to get the vaccine?

The recommended period is between the 28th and 36th week of pregnancy.

Is the vaccine safe?

The vaccine has been shown to be safe for both the pregnant woman and the fetus.

How much does the vaccine cost?

The vaccine is offered free of charge by the national health system, just go to the vaccination service to get it.

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

Advice from the 29th week of pregnancy

  • Have you already decided  where to give birth to your baby ? You can choose to give birth in a hospital, at home or in a maternity hospital . It all depends on the progress of your pregnancy and your needs. Talk to your gynecologist or midwife and visit birth centers in your area in advance.
  • In this trimester,  your baby’s nutritional needs become maximum . So be careful to introduce a sufficient amount of protein, iron, folic acid and calcium . In particular, the absorption of iron is improved by vitamin C , which is also very useful for strengthening the venous walls . The assimilation of calcium, on the other hand, is favored by vitamin D , which is obtained by being in the sun for at least 10 minutes a day.
Dr Kathryn Barlow

Kathryn Barlow is an OB/GYN doctor, which is the medical specialty that deals with the care of women's reproductive health, including pregnancy and childbirth.

Obstetricians provide care to women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while gynecologists focus on the health of the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and breasts. OB/GYN doctors are trained to provide medical and surgical care for a wide range of conditions related to women's reproductive health.

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