Welcome to your week 28 pregnancy update where we outline the changes you and your baby are experiencing.

Your Baby

Baby is 37.6cm long and weighs 1.1kg. This is an amazing growth compared to just 11 weeks ago, when it weighed only about 100g, at 17 weeks of pregnancy.

Until this time, the surface of the baby’s developing brain has appeared smooth. At around 28 weeks of pregnancy, the brain tissue also increases.

Your baby’s eyebrows and eyelashes may be present. Hair on the baby’s head is growing longer. The baby’s body is becoming plumper and rounder. It’s beginning to fill out a little because of the increased fat underneath the skin.

Your baby’s lungs are already capable of breathing air as her vascular system can now handle oxygen and carbon exchange. Her brain stem is also developed enough to regulate rhythmic breathing as well as her basal body temperature! In fact, her brain has gone from having just a few cells at conception to being an organ with 100 billion neurons capable of firing off 100 trillion connections.

Just like adults, all babies are different and develop at varying rates in the womb. This information gives a general idea of your baby’s development and progress.

The Mum Update

Have you developed a waddle? You can thank your hormones for your new gait. The hormones are working to prepare your body for delivery, and one way they do so is by relaxing your joints. This allows your hips to spread, making your birth canal wider and easier for your baby to exit. Once your baby is born, your hips will tighten back up and your walk will be back to normal.

If you have enroled in antenatal classes they are probably starting around now. These classes are designed to help you make informed choices about your birth and, just as importantly, will help you meet others whose baby is due around the same time as you. For some mums the friendships formed in these groups become a key social and support network during their parenting years.

Some women complain of a bad  (metallic) taste in their mouth during pregnancy. This is called dysgeusia and is a common condition. It is probably caused by the hormones of pregnancy, which can alter or eliminate taste.

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