Pregnancy week by week · trimester 3
🍈 34 weeks pregnant: your baby is about the size of a cantaloupe
At 34 weeks pregnant, your baby is about the size of a cantaloupe, and their immune system is getting helpful antibodies from you.
Your baby this week
Your baby is around 45cm long and about 2.1kg, roughly the size of a cantaloupe. Their immune system is strengthening, helped along by antibodies passed across the placenta from you. Their lungs are well on the way to being ready, and they practise breathing movements every day. Layers of fat are rounding out their shape and smoothing their skin. With space getting tight, you will notice more wriggles, pushes and rolls, and you may even be able to make out an elbow or a foot.
You this week
Some mums feel their bump shift lower, which can make breathing easier while adding pressure on the bladder and pelvis. Backache, pelvic aches, swollen ankles and tiredness are common, and Braxton Hicks may feel stronger. You might be juggling impatience with nerves, or simply feel ready for a rest. Whatever is on your mind, your midwife is there to talk it through. You are closer than you might feel on a long day.
Kind things to do this week
- Keep up gentle movement, like short walks, alongside plenty of rest.
- Add the last few things to your hospital bag and leave it somewhere easy to grab.
- Make sure your car seat is fitted and that your birth partner knows how it works.
Appointments around now
At your 34 week appointment, your midwife will check your blood pressure, urine and bump size, and offer a second anti-D injection if you are on that schedule. They will also talk with you about preparing for labour and birth.
Questions to ask your midwife
- Can we talk through my birth preferences together?
- What pain relief options will be available to me?
When to call your midwife or maternity unit
If your baby's movements slow down, stop or feel different to their usual pattern, contact your maternity unit straight away, day or night. Do not wait until the next day. Please also call your midwife or maternity unit if you have bleeding, fluid leaking, a severe headache, changes to your vision, sudden swelling, or itching (especially on the palms of your hands or soles of your feet). If you have regular tightenings or period-like pains before 37 weeks, call your maternity unit too.
OBubba from bump to baby
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Questions
What happens at the 34 week appointment?
Your midwife checks your health and your baby's growth, talks about labour and birth, and may give a second anti-D injection if you need it.
Why does my bump feel lower at 34 weeks?
Some babies begin moving down into the pelvis to get ready for birth, especially in a first pregnancy. For others it happens nearer labour.
Not sure how far along you are? Use the due date calculator.
Sources
OBubba gives general information. It is not medical advice and does not diagnose anything. Your midwife and maternity unit are always the right people to ask, any time of day or night.