Week 34
Your baby is about 43.7 cm (17.2 in) long and weighs roughly 1.9 kg (4.2 lb), about the weight of a honeydew melon. As always, babies vary, and steady growth over time matters more than one measurement. The nervous system is maturing, the protective vernix coating is at its thickest, and your baby is building the reserves needed for life outside.
Your own body is getting ready too: your breasts are already making colostrum. This week also looks ahead to your baby's first hours, with the routine care offered to newborns, so you can make your choices calmly now rather than in the moment. Practical safety is here as well: wearing a seatbelt properly and planning the trip to your birthplace.
Day 232 · 33 weeks 0 days
Your baby's nervous system is wiring up
The nerves in your baby's body are gaining a fatty coating called myelin. It works like insulation on a wire, letting signals travel faster and more precisely. This process is well under way now and continues for years after birth, which is why newborn movements look jerky at first and become smoother over months.
Your baby's senses are working together more. The pupils can narrow and widen in response to light. Your baby can hear your voice, your heartbeat and your stomach, and may respond to loud sounds with a startle you can feel.
The vernix, the creamy white coating that protects your baby's skin from the amniotic fluid, is at its thickest around now. It will thin out over the coming weeks, so babies born at term often have just a little left in the skin folds. It does not need to be scrubbed off; it soaks into the skin. Babies born around this time usually need some time in a special care nursery, mostly for help with feeding, warmth and sometimes breathing. Most do very well.
Try this: Spend five minutes today talking or reading aloud to your baby. Your voice is one of the sounds your baby will know at birth.
Day 233 · 33 weeks 1 day
Why newborns are offered vitamin K
Babies are born with very little vitamin K, which the blood needs in order to clot. Breast milk contains only small amounts. Without extra, a small number of babies develop vitamin K deficiency bleeding. It is rare, but it can cause serious bleeding, including into the brain, sometimes weeks after birth with no warning.
For this reason, health authorities in many countries recommend that every newborn receive vitamin K soon after birth. The usual and most effective method is a single injection into the thigh muscle. In some places an oral form is offered instead, given in several doses over the first weeks. Oral vitamin K protects less well and only works if every dose is given. The injection is quick. It can be given while your baby is skin-to-skin with you or feeding, which helps with comfort. Studies have not found the injection to be linked to any serious long-term problems.
You may hear concerns about vitamin K online. If you have questions, raise them with your care provider now rather than during the busy minutes after the birth.
Try this: Add a line to your birth plan saying whether you agree to vitamin K, and in which form, so your team knows ahead of time.
Day 234 · 33 weeks 2 days
Other routine checks in your baby's first days
Apart from vitamin K, a few other routine steps may be offered to your baby. Knowing about them now means fewer surprises.
Eye ointment: in some places, an antibiotic ointment is put in a newborn's eyes soon after birth to prevent a serious eye infection that can be passed on during birth, mainly from gonorrhea or chlamydia. Other places have moved away from giving it to every baby and instead rely on testing and treating parents during pregnancy. Ask what is standard where you will give birth.
Newborn blood screening: in the first few days after birth, a few drops of blood are taken from your baby's heel and sent to a laboratory. The heel prick test screens for rare but serious conditions, such as some metabolic and hormone disorders, sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis. These babies often look healthy at birth, and early treatment can prevent severe illness. The exact list varies by region.
Hearing screening and a check of oxygen levels in the blood, which helps pick up some heart problems, are also common in the first days. Your baby will also have a full physical exam.
None of these hurt much, and feeding or holding your baby during the heel prick helps.
Try this: Ask at your next visit which newborn tests are routine at your birthplace, and how you will get the results.
Day 235 · 33 weeks 3 days
Your body is already making your baby's first milk
Since the middle of pregnancy, your breasts have been producing colostrum, the thick, yellowish first milk. Some people notice small drops leaking now, or crusty spots on their bra. Others see nothing at all. Both are normal and say nothing about how much milk you will make later. Colostrum comes in small amounts, perfectly matched to a newborn's tiny stomach. It is rich in antibodies and protein and helps the baby's gut get going.
You may hear about antenatal expression: gently hand-expressing colostrum in late pregnancy and freezing it in small syringes to bring to the birth. It can be especially useful if you have diabetes, if your baby may need extra monitoring of blood sugar, or if there are reasons feeding might be harder at first. It is usually started from about 36 or 37 weeks, after you have discussed it with your care provider. It is not suitable for everyone, for example if you are at risk of early labour.
If you plan to try it, ask a midwife or lactation consultant to show you how to hand-express and how to store the colostrum safely.
Try this: Ask your care provider at your next visit whether antenatal expression might be useful for you, and when you could start.
Day 236 · 33 weeks 4 days
Wearing a seatbelt the right way with a bump
Car crashes are one of the leading causes of injury in pregnancy. A seatbelt worn correctly protects both you and your baby, even late in pregnancy, so always buckle up.
Placement is what matters. The lap belt goes under your bump, low across your hips and upper thighs, never across the middle of your belly. The shoulder belt goes over your shoulder, between your breasts, and off to the side of your bump. Pull it snug. Never tuck the shoulder belt behind you or under your arm.
If you drive, move the seat back as far as you can while still reaching the pedals comfortably, and tilt the steering wheel toward your chest rather than your belly. Keep the airbags on.
On long trips, stop every hour or two to walk and stretch. This also lowers the risk of blood clots.
Get help right away if you are in any car crash, even a minor one, especially if you have pain, bleeding, fluid leaking, contractions, or fewer movements afterwards. Some injuries to the placenta do not show at first, so you may need monitoring.
Try this: Next time you get in a car, check your belt in a mirror or ask someone to look: low under the bump and between the breasts.
Day 237 · 33 weeks 5 days
Plan the trip to your birthplace now
When labour starts, you will not want to be looking up directions. A little planning in these calm weeks takes that pressure away.
Find out exactly where to go. Hospitals often have a separate entrance for labour and delivery, and at night the main doors may be locked. Check where to park, whether it costs, and how long it takes to drive at different times of day, including rush hour.
Decide who will drive, and have a backup if that person is at work or out of town. Save the number of a taxi or ride service in case. Never plan to drive yourself while in labour.
If you are having a home birth, the same thinking applies in reverse: make sure your midwife can find your home easily, and that a route out is clear if you need to transfer.
Many hospitals offer tours, in person or online, of the labour unit. Seeing the rooms and learning where things are can make the day feel less unfamiliar.
For your partner: Do a practice drive to the birthplace this week, find the right entrance and parking, and keep enough fuel or charge in the car from now on.
Day 238 · 33 weeks 6 days
Which way your baby faces matters too
Head-down is only part of your baby's position. The direction the baby faces counts as well. Most babies settle with their back toward your belly and their face toward your spine, called anterior. This lets the smallest part of the head lead the way through the pelvis.
Some babies settle with their back against your spine and their face toward your belly. This is called posterior, or "back to back". It is common at this stage, and many of these babies rotate before or during labour. A posterior baby can sometimes mean a longer labour with more back pain, but plenty of posterior babies are born without trouble.
You may read that leaning forward, sitting on a birth ball or avoiding reclining sofas will turn a posterior baby. Studies have not shown that these positions change the baby's position before labour. They are harmless and may feel good, so use them if you like, but do not feel you have failed if your baby stays where it is.
Your care provider will feel for your baby's back and limbs at each visit. Ask what they find; it is your body and your baby.
Try this: Next time your baby is active, lie on your side and notice where you feel the kicks. Lots of kicks at the front can suggest a posterior position.