Your Pregnancy - Week 34

You’re now in the final few weeks of your third trimester with only 6 weeks to go of your 40-week pregnancy.

You probably feel pretty exhausted and achy but you might get a sudden burst of energy and want to organise every cupboard in the house. 

There’s a chance you could have a show this week. Not the West End kind. This is when a clump of your cervical mucus drops out. It can sometimes have a bit of blood in it too. This happens because your cervix is thinning out and widening ready for your baby to come out. But it doesn’t mean you’re about to go into labour any second. So sit tight at home unless you have any regular contractions. If you have any serious bleeding then call your midwife or maternity unit. 

And while we’re on the topic of things down below...over the next few weeks you might struggle to see what’s going on between your legs. And it’s quite common for bumps to pop up in and around your vulva and vagina. They can be anything from varicose veins or cysts, rather than bend like a pretzel with a hand mirror make an appointment with your GP to get anything lumpy checked out. 

Read: Your pregnancy: Week 33

What does my baby look like?

This week your baby hits 45cm long and passes over the 2kg mark. That’s about one and a half times the weight of your brain! 

Do you know if you’re having a boy or a girl? If it’s a boy, his testicles start to drop into the outside sack (scrotum). Both boys and girls can have swollen genitals after being born, but it usually goes down after a few days. 

Why do I need extra scans? 

You had a scan around 8-12 weeks and another around 20 weeks. But sometimes you have extra scans late in your pregnancy because:

• You had bleeding and they want to check you and your baby are ok.
• Your midwife thinks your baby measures big or small. 
• Your doctors have spotted something in earlier scans and they want to check on it. 
• Your baby has a health problem that needs monitoring. 
• You have gestational diabetes.
• Your doctor wants to check your babies movement or position. 

You’ll usually chat to the doctor or midwife after your scan. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, they’re there to help and support you. 

Have a question and don't know who to ask? How about the 70,000 mums in our supportive Facebook community?

Read: Your pregnancy - week 35