Week 28 of Your Pregnancy

Welcome to the home stretch! As you enter your third trimester, your bump will be growing larger and heavier by the week. Before you go nursery decorating, find out how your baby is growing and what you can do to get in tip-top shape.

This week, your baby is fully formed! It weighs just over 907g¹ and is the size of a cabbage. Congratulate your baby too on reaching this new milestone! The majority of its body systems is working well, and its development would now centre around growth. Part of this involves laying down fat stores1 that will keep it warm after birth. 

Even if a baby were to be born at week 28, it would be able to breathe in air with the help of a ventilator². Your healthcare professional will also be checking your baby’s heartbeat regularly through an ultrasound or a stethoscope. If your partner puts an ear to your bump, he may even be able to hear your baby’s hearbeat1!

Managing Sleep Problems

If you’ve been feeling anxious and stressed, or hit by bouts of nausea or urges to pee, this could interrupt your sleep. Sometimes, pregnant mums may experience acid reflux symptoms such as acid reflux, a burning sensation from the stomach that reaches up to the throat. In some cases, your baby is so active that its movements keep you up at night. Wishing you can sleep like a baby? Here are some useful tips: (Yahoo) 

• Drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water a day to stay hydrated
• Exercise regularly
• Design a soothing bedtime routine that includes a warm shower, relaxing music and some warm milk
• Tuck pillows all around you to keep comfortable

Gestational Diabetes

Besides getting your beauty sleep, keep a balanced diet to ensure that baby gets all the nutrients it needs! In the third trimester, however, some women may develop gestational diabetes³ – especially women who are overweight, and women with a body mass index of more than 30 before pregnancy⁴. 

Gestational diabetes is a condition in which your body can’t produce enough insulin – a hormone that controls glucose levels in your blood. During pregnancy, you will need more insulin because of the extra demands of your growing baby. Without sufficient insulin, your blood sugar levels may become too high³! 

Unfortunately, leaving gestational diabetes untreated can lead to labour complications. Medication may be required in some cases. Alternatively, help treat gestational diabetes with a healthy diet and exercise. 

For a healthy pregnancy, consider these lifestyle changes!⁴

• Eating regularly — don’t skip meals
• Choosing low-GI foods when possible (foods that are broken down more slowly by the body, helping to keep blood sugar levels more stable)
• Eating more fruit and vegetables
• Limiting your sugar intake
• Consuming more unsaturated fats
• Monitoring calorie intake