Can you believe you have successfully completed 75 percent of your pregnancy journey? Remember how it all started with initial symptoms of pregnancy? and now you are just 8-10 weeks to go till you deliver your baby. Well, we really pray for your healthy pregnancy until the end. Let’s now share some information about pregnancy week 31.
Pregnancy week 31: Size of the baby
The growth of your baby is by days. He is around 15 inches long and weighs around 4 pounds. Imagine a decent size coconut, that’s the size of your baby.
31 weeks pregnant in months
31 weeks means 7 months of pregnancy. Hurrah! You are just 2 months away from the delivery. During this last trimester of pregnancy, your baby grows rapidly and maturation of the systems gets finalized. Soon you are going to deliver your baby, so you should enjoy every moment left.
Also Read: How To Calculate Your Baby’s Due Date?
How much developed is your baby at pregnancy week 31?
A lot of new things are happening with your baby as he is getting ready to come out. Here is a sneak peek of that:
Brain connections
The nervous system of the baby is developing at a rapid rate and is forming millions of connections daily. You can say, he is becoming smarter with every passing day.
5 senses
There is a marked improvement in all five senses. The connections with the central nervous system are growing stronger. He can focus with his eyes and follow the light. Similarly, his smelling sense has improved a lot. Although he can’t smell anything right now your smell will be the first smell for him.
Increase sleep time
Your baby has massively increased the sleep time in his schedule and the major part of it is the REM phase. However, he is way more responsive now and can wake up in response to noise. You can add sugary meals into your diet if you want to wake him up.
Paddling and sucking his thumb
Paddling legs and sucking his thumb are among the earliest reflexes your baby develops when he is inside your womb. He is also making faces, swallowing amniotic fluid, and peeing it back through the kidneys. He also gets occasional hiccups.
Also Read: How Do Babies Get Hiccups In The Womb?
31 week pregnancy symptoms
Like other weeks the growing belly will be continuously troublesome. But it’s going to be the least of your troubles. Here are some common symptoms you can have during the pregnancy week 31:
Itchy skin
It is a usual complaint from pregnant mothers to have itching around the growing belly around the 31st week of the pregnancy. You can also have itching at other parts of the body like under the breasts or armpits.
For comfort, you can use moisturizer and drink plenty of water.
Also Read: Dangers Of Skin Bleaching During Pregnancy
Hand pain
Pregnancy swells your tissue and it can produce painful consequences. One such consequence is a pain in the wrist accompanied by tingling and numbness sensation. It is called carpal tunnel syndrome.
It normally subsides with delivery but till then you can use a wrist splinter, massage, and rest for comfort. However, in case of severe pain or irritability, you should consult a doctor.
Breathlessness
The growing baby is filling up all the space inside your belly. This pushes your diaphragm up, squeezing the lungs, and produces breathlessness. Besides, carrying a baby is exhausting itself and adds to the breathlessness.
The tip is to take as much rest as you can and avoid any heavy work. Avoid lying on your back as it will only aggravate the situation. Instead, lie on your side as it stops the baby from pressing the diaphragm up.
Frequent urination
Just like the above reason, the growth of the baby presses on the urinary bladder. This makes you pee frequently. There is no big tip to avoid it and it will stop with delivery. However, you can use the double voiding technique to lower the number of your trips to the toilet.
Backaches and leg cramps
The days become longer as your bump grows with time. Carrying the baby around all the day is not only exhausting it also puts a strain on your body resulting in severe backaches and leg cramps.
Try to relax more during the day as well and a massage from your partner will be nice. If it becomes too much you should consult your doctor.
Also Read: Pain In Ribs During Pregnancy
Sleep issues
You are having sleep trouble and you don’t know what to do? Well, it is one of the most common symptoms of the 3rd trimester and a lot of reasons behind it. Pregnancy hormones can mess with your sleep so does the growing size of the belly. There can be anxiety, pain, or frequent urination stopping you from getting a sound sleep.
You should talk to your partner or a friend about it and if needed consult a doctor.
Also Read: How To Choose The Best Mattress In Pregnancy?
Pregnancy week 31: what’s important?
You are in the third trimester of pregnancy and you have a lot of spare time to spend. What’s better to spend this time than knowing some important stuff about this phase of the pregnancy? This information will help you understand your pregnancy and make better choices.
Braxton Hick contractions
You are having cramps and pains throughout the pregnancy but suddenly you start having contractions in the lower part of the abdomen. It may be worrisome for you as contractions are usually associated with delivery. However, this is not always the case.
Once you enter into the third trimester, you experience uterine contractions. Imagine this as your uterus practicing the delivery process. However, longer and frequent contractions are signs of delivery.
Antenatal care
For your first pregnancy, week 31 is the best time for the antenatal visit to your doctor. Here is what happens during the visit:
- Your doctor will measure the size of the womb.
- The position of the baby is determined and the plan for delivery can be discussed.
- There can be some screening tests if you haven’t had them up till now.
- Your doctor will listen to the fetal heartbeat.
- An ultrasound can be performed.
- A urine protein test can be done to rule out pre-eclampsia.