Your Pregnancy - Week 31

Week 31 and you’re well into that final trimester. 9 weeks to go.

Are you feeling a bit knackered? Maybe you committed to working right until 38 weeks and you’re properly fed up. 

Every single pregnancy is different and just because Janice in the office commuted 60 miles a day and worked until she popped doesn’t mean that’s right for you. It’s hard not to feel the pressure of other people’s expectations but this is your baby and your body and you won’t ever regret taking a bit of extra time before your world changes. 

You can start your maternity leave 11 weeks before your expected due date. Even if you’ve agreed to a finish date with your employer there’s no harm in revisiting that and putting your needs first. 

Read: Your pregnancy: Week 30

What does my baby look like?

You’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts. Actually, it’s just the one coconut because that’s how big your baby is now. A whopping 41cm from head to their heel and around 1.5kg. 

If your bump feels bigger it’s not just down to your baby growing you also have more amniotic fluid. And that’s down to, wait for it...your baby weeing. It sounds gross but it’s perfectly safe. 

What’s pre-eclampsia? 

Pre-eclampsia is something you’ll hear a lot about when you’re pregnant. It’s a rare condition, with around 6% of pregnant ladies getting a mild version and only 1-2% getting a severe case. But it comes up because if you get pre-eclampsia it can be very serious for you and your baby, and left untreated becomes eclampsia which can cause seizures. 

You don’t tend to notice you have it and it’s usually picked up by your midwife or doctor when you have high blood pressure (also called hypertension) or protein in your wee (also called proteinuria). But if you notice swelling in your hands, feet or face, you have a really bad headache, any funny vision or pain under your ribs then call your midwife, GP or 111. Don’t wait. 

If it turns out you do have pre-eclampsia you’ll have a hospital check-up and they’ll decide on a treatment plan. The cure for pre-eclampsia is having your baby so expect to have lots of appointments and monitoring. You’ll likely be induced or have a C section early, around 37-38 weeks. 

Need some help and support in these last few weeks? Chat to 70,000 other mums in our Facebook group, they know what you're going through.

Read: Your pregnancy - week 32