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Week 34
How Big is the Baby at 34
Weeks Pregnant?
By 34 weeks pregnant your baby is now almost five
pounds and just shy of 20 inches long!! More so than ever before your baby
resembles a miniature being from pregnancy 34 weeks on.
Your Baby's Growth and Development
Your
baby is continuing to grow and fill out during pregnancy week by week. In fact,
that is his primary job during pregnancy at 34 weeks and beyond. Not much
changes from 34 weeks pregnant and on except your baby is adding valuable meat
to his bones. Keep in mind that the weights presented each week in our week to
week guide are only estimates. Some babies will weigh in a bit larger and others
a bit smaller. Some babies will also be longer or shorter. Every baby is unique.
There are many factors that make estimating the weight of your baby
challenging as you continue pregnancy week by week. Many women like to get an
estimate about how big their baby is during their prenatal visits. However, most
estimates can be as much as 1 to 2 pounds off in either direction.
There
are many reasons for this. It is difficult to guess how much the baby will weigh
combined with the placenta and amniotic fluid. Even with ultrasound your
healthcare providers best estimate may be off. Ultrasound however can be a
valuable too to help predict the weight of the baby.
During an ultrasound
your healthcare provider will take many measurements to help estimate the baby's
weight and size. Among the more common measurements include the diameter of your
baby's head, the circumference of the head and abdomen and the length of your
baby's femur.
Estimates are more likely to be within ½ to 1 pound when an
ultrasound is used.
Your Growth and Development
Your uterus
at pregnancy 34 weeks is now just about 5.6 inches from the top of your navel.
You may notice that you look similar to or different from other pregnant women
who are as far along as you are. Every woman carries her baby differently. Some
tend to carry more wide, while others carry lower or higher. It really depends
on a number of factors. You may even carry differently from one pregnancy to the
next!
There are many women that believe the way you carry represents the
gender of your baby, but by and large this is an old wives tale! It is fun to
guess however, particularly if you are waiting until delivery to determine the
sex of your baby!
Changes in
You
You probably are getting a little
bit uncomfortable by pregnancy week 34. You are also likely to start feeling
anxious to meet your newborn baby during pregnancy week 34 or thereafter.
Some women start to worry about whether or not their baby will fit
through the birth canal at about this point in time. Generally your healthcare
provider will not be able to predict whether or not your baby is too big to fit
through your pelvis. This diagnosis is typically made during labor, when your
physician can determine how the baby is fitting into your pelvis.
Just
because you are petite doesn't mean that you won't be able to delivery a large
baby. There are many women who are petite that go on to deliver babies 8 pounds
or more.
Some women also start wondering when their baby will 'drop'
sometime after week 34 pregnancy. Dropping is the term that refers to the
process whereby your baby's head enters the birth canal. It generally occurs in
first time mothers a few weeks before delivery. In moms who have already given
birth, it may not happen until a day or two before labor begins.
When
you do drop you should notice a change in your abdomen. You might notice your
baby is resting lower. You might also notice that it suddenly becomes easier to
breathe, in part because you have 'lightened' your load and now have more room
available in your upper abdomen.
It is also common to start feeling some
pressure in the vagina after the baby drops. Some women worry that their baby
might fall out. Talk to your doctor if you feel the pressure is severe. Your
healthcare provider can check to see exactly how low the baby's head is. Usually
everything will be fine, you simply need to adjust to your baby sitting a little
lower than you are used to.
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