Your baby is the size of a cantaloupe melon 2.1kg and measures 44.5cm (head to heel)…
YOUR GROWING BABY
The brain is working enthusiastically forming all of the millions of complex connections needed for learning in the outside world. While this is happening your baby may be sleeping much more and possibly even dreaming. This can be monitored by the rapid eye movement (REM) during sleep.
Your baby’s brain is not the finished article at birth and will triple in size in the first year. At the age of one your baby’s brain is three-quarters the size of that of an adult.
The lungs are maturing well and healthy babies born now are at less risk of needing extra help with their breathing, but may still need extra care after birth and require monitoring in the neonatal nursery.
WHAT’S HAPPENING TO YOU
By this week, fatigue has probably set in again and your tiredness is perfectly understandable. Now is the time to take frequent rests and conserve your energy for the big day.
Your vision may seem blurry and a decrease in tear production can leave your eyes dry and irritated. An increase in fluid in the eye can change their shape so you may find you are more near-sighted or far-sighted than usual. These changes are temporary and your eyes will return to normal after you’ve had your baby.
Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes that occurs only in pregnancy when the body can’t make or use enough insulin to meet the extra demands of pregnancy. Gestational diabetes can be controlled by keeping physically active and making healthy changes to the diet such as cutting down on sugary foods and replacing them with starchy foods like pasta and rice and eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. But, for one in five women, medication and/or insulin injections are required during the rest of the pregnancy.
NEED TO KNOW
Things for you to consider during week 34 of your pregnancy:
- See your midwife every two weeks from now on to assess your wellbeing.
- Contact your midwife/maternity unit immediately if you experience any vaginal bleeding.
- If you wear contact lenses you may find glasses more comfortable these days.
- If you have gestational diabetes you have a two-in-three chance of developing gestational diabetes in a future pregnancy. You are also at higher risk of developing diabetes later in life so you should have an annual blood check which you GP can arrange.