28 Weeks pregnant: Baby development, symptoms & signs

Starting your third trimester

During your third trimester, your healthcare provider will continue to monitor your pregnancy symptoms, weight, blood pressure, urine, and fetal heartbeat. As you get closer to your due date, it becomes increasingly important to monitor for conditions like pre-eclampsia and to check on the baby’s position in the uterus. Day-to-day life might also become more affected in many different ways!

Work

The physical, mental, and emotional effects of pregnancy can make working life challenging. You might already be suffering from digestion issues, fatigue, and brain fog. In week 28, the size of your belly can begin to make standing and sitting for long periods of time difficult, making working even harder.

If possible, try to take frequent breaks to eat, change position, and stretch. These can all help alleviate physical discomforts. It is also increasingly important to minimize stress as much as possible. If you are concerned about the conditions of your workplace affecting your pregnancy, talk to your healthcare provider. 

Exercise

At this stage in your pregnancy, it’s important to exercise in whatever way feels best for you, while avoiding anything new or strenuous! It is normal in week 28 to start to feel shortness of breath as the uterus crowds your lungs and diaphragm. Be sure to take breaks, avoid overheating, and modify your exercise routines as necessary. As a general rule, you should be able to hold a conversation comfortably while engaging in any exercise. Also, it continues to be important to avoid any exercises that risk falling or involve being hit (like martial arts).

Lower-impact exercises like swimming, water walking, yoga (avoiding hot yoga), pilates, and stretching can be accessible ways to help your body physically prepare for childbirth. While it can seem challenging, light exercise can also help reduce muscle aches, pains, constipation, and swelling [2].

Sex

Unless your HCP recommends otherwise, It’s safe to have sex all the way up until your water breaks, or you go into labor. As your body grows, however, it can be challenging to find sexual positions that are both comfortable and pleasurable for you and your partner. While this can be frustrating and feel strange, try to remember that it is completely normal and temporary.

Your body at week 28

A growing belly and hormonal changes will continue to affect your body in week 28. Let’s take a closer look at some physical changes you can expect to notice this week, and in the weeks to come.

Hunger

As the baby continues to grow, it is normal to feel hungry all the time! Your body requires extra calories all the way up until birth. Try to ensure you are eating enough protein and healthy fats, sticking to smaller, more frequent meals to help avoid heartburn, nausea, and indigestion. Check out our guide on what to eat when pregnant for more info on eating healthily while pregnant. 

Sleep

Aches, pains, hormonal changes, and stress can begin to take a serious toll on your sleep this week. A growing uterus presses on your bladder and can require multiple trips to the bathroom throughout the night. Your changing body can also make it difficult to find a comfortable sleeping position. Consider trying a pregnancy pillow, or extra pillows, to support your neck and back. It is also normal to have vivid or weird dreams, which can be caused by hormonal changes. Poor sleep can have a knock-on effect on your mood and worsen already dwindling energy levels, so be sure to prioritize rest and be kind to yourself during the final weeks of your pregnancy.

Back pain

Back pain is a very common pregnancy symptom in the third trimester. As the baby grows and you gain more weight, this can put additional stress on your muscles. The pregnancy hormone relaxin also continues to build in the body, loosening ligaments and joints in preparation for childbirth [3]. This can put pressure on the muscles in your legs and back, and also makes standing and sitting for long periods of time difficult. Though rare, sciatica can develop in pregnancy when the sciatic nerve is irritated, inflamed, or pinched [4]. Unlike regular back pain, sciatic pain is a radiating pain along one side of your body. If pain or discomfort becomes unmanageable, or you find yourself requiring relief from pain medication, contact your healthcare provider.

In order to avoid injury and not worsen back pain, remember to avoid lifting anything heavy, and when you do have to lift something, to bend your knees and lift with a flat, straight back. Use a massage or a warm bath to help relax and sooth sore back muscles. To ease back pain, you can also try exercises that strengthen the abdominal muscles, like the cat pose from yoga: 

• Start on your knees with your hands on the ground directly under your shoulders, your knees aligned under your hips, and your back straight
• Gently engage your stomach muscles, allowing your back to rise towards the ceiling, letting your bottom and head relax downwards towards the ground
• Hold for a few moments before returning to a neutral, flat back position
• Repeat slowly for 10 times, or more, as you feel comfortable.

Your baby’s development at 28 weeks

At 28 weeks, the baby is entering its seventh month of development. During this week, the baby’s eyes will begin to partially open and the eyelashes have formed [5]. The baby also breathes on its own around 20-30% of the time, helping to strengthen the lungs and prepare for life outside the uterus [6]. The neural connections between the baby’s ear and brain also become functional around week 28, preparing the baby’s brain to receive, recognize, and react to sounds like language, music, and the environment [7].

While the baby’s size can vary, at 28 weeks, the baby weighs around 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 pounds (around a kilogram, 1000-1200g) and is around 10-12 inches (25-30cm) long [5].

Pregnancy symptoms during week 28

The third trimester can bring new pregnancy symptoms as the body continues to grow and prepare for birth. It is also possible that you might still be experiencing various symptoms from the first and second trimester. It is important to remember that each pregnancy is different and each body experiences pregnancy slightly differently. Some new symptoms that can appear beginning in week 28 can include:

Braxton Hicks contractions

Commonly called “false labor” or “practice contractions”, Braxton Hicks contractions can begin during the second or third trimester, but are not a sign of labor or going into labor. While labor contractions will come at regular, decreasing intervals and become stronger, Braxton Hicks contractions are irregular, unpredictable, and not as intensely painful [8]. They can sometimes feel like intense menstrual cramps. You can experience Braxton Hicks contractions weeks, or even months before labor begins.

Leaking breasts

It might come as a surprise, but it is possible to begin leaking colostrum, or the first breastmilk, at the start of your third trimester. You might begin to notice yellow or white staining or liquid inside your bra. You can start using nursing pads, if it worsens or if you want to prevent unwanted surprises!

Tips in week 28 

• Think diet: Continue to eat small, frequent meals to maintain your energy and avoid heartburn and indigestion. Whole grains, eggs, and dried fruit are easily digestible and can help curb hunger.

• Try gentle exercise: Continue to move or exercise as best you can. Walking, however slowly, is a great way to relieve many pregnancy symptoms. Water walking can be a great, low-impact way to exercise!

• Stay hydrated: It is recommended that you drink around 10 cups or 2.3 liters of water a day during pregnancy [9].

• Count kicks: This is a great way to monitor your baby! While you have been probably feeling movement in your uterus for some weeks, it is recommended to start monitoring movement beginning in week 28 [10]. The goal of counting kicks is to become familiar with your baby’s movements. If you are ever concerned with what you feel, or you notice changes in the movements or they stop, contact your healthcare provider. There are two ways to count kicks:

• • Lay on your side or sit comfortably. Count the number of kicks (movements) you feel in a one-hour period
  • Lay on your side or sit comfortably. Measure the amount of time it takes for the baby to kick 10 times (ideally, it should take less than 2 hours)

• Take iron: Iron levels are routinely checked throughout pregnancy, as growing a baby requires extra! Fortified grains, chicken, beef, eggs, and beans are good dietary sources of iron [11]. In some cases, however, diet alone is insufficient, and you might be advised to take iron supplements. These might have unpleasant side effects such as nausea and bloating. Always check with your doctor before taking supplements, but taking pills every other day can help ease these side effects [12].

• Get vaccinated: Depending on where you live, it might be possible for you to have the RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine this week [13, 14]. This helps protect your baby from this serious respiratory virus during their first few months of life. Check with your HCP.

Following your pregnancy with Natural Cycles

Enjoyed reading all about what to expect in week 28? Did you know you can NC° Follow Pregnancy to track your symptoms and changes happening in your body during this important last trimester? In the Natural Cycles app, you can monitor the progression of your pregnancy and individually track your pregnancy symptoms. The app also contains a week-by-week guide that informs you about your baby’s development and guides you through the physical, mental, and emotional changes going on in your body throughout pregnancy. NC° Postpartum is also there to guide and support you in the weeks immediately following birth. Why not find out if Natural Cycles is the right fit for you today?