Help your baby develop in the twenty-eighth week of your pregnancy
You are now entering the third trimester of your pregnancy! As your baby’s brain continues to grow rapidly from week 28 onwards, help him or her by adding more DHA in your diet.
What’s happening this week?
Your little one is having sweet dreams, now that he or she is experiencing REM (rapid eye movement) sleepi. His or her heartbeat can easily be heard with a stethoscope.
Meanwhile, the amount of your baby’s brain tissue continues to increase this week, and your baby’s brain begins to form its characteristic grooves on the previously smooth surfaceii. Notably, over 50% of his or her energy will be directed towards brain growth over the next few weeksiii.
From this week onwards and through your final trimester, your little one will start to rapidly gain body fat in preparation for birth.
The size of a very cute cucumber, your baby is around 14.75 inches from head to toe (37 centimeters) and weighs almost 2.25 pounds (1 kilogram)(ii).
What can you expect?
The weight you have gained so far puts stress on your leg muscles, and may lead to leg and foot crampsiv.
Make this last stretch of your pregnancy comfortable and alleviate the muscle spasms with these steps:
- Massage your calves to loosen the muscle when cramps occur. You may also want to try some simple leg exercises to keep the blood flowing.
- Elevate your legs. This relieves pressure and lets your muscles get some rest.
- Exercise regularly. It may have a preventative effect on leg cramps during pregnancy, but do consult your doctor first about appropriate exercises that you can do.
What can you do to support your pregnancy?
Engage in regular gentle exercise (with your doctor’s approval) to help keep blood sugar levels at a healthy level – something that your doctor should have already checked by this pregnancy stage to determine if you have gestational diabetesv.
Do keep consuming DHA-rich foods through your final trimester to boost your baby’s brain development and also food rich in other essential nutrients like iron, zinc, copper, choline and folate which are also important for your baby’s brain developmentvi.
Your baby’s brain goes through continued rapid and complex growth during the final trimester, so it’s especially important that you consume the essential nutrients to boost his or her cognitive and emotional development. Remember that the brain is the center of vital human functions such as reasoning, problem-solving, communication, and the regulation of emotions, and that this balance of IQ and EQ will help make your child future-ready.
Now that you are in your final trimester and the day you get to meet your baby is much closer, you might be starting to visualize what things will be like after the birth. Keep track of these thoughts by writing about your dreams and hopes for your little one in a diary. Some day when your child is old enough, you could gift this diary to him or her as a precious keepsake from your pregnancy days.
