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Info Centre - Your pregnancy: 25-28 weeks
Your pregnancy: 25-28 weeks
Your baby
At 28 weeks, your baby is about 37cm long and weighs about 900g. Her skin is coated in vernix, a fatty substance that protects her against the amniotic fluid. Usually this disappears before the baby is born.
During this month, the baby will usually open her eyes for the first time. At this stage, the baby’s eyes are usually blue.
Already she is displaying signs of being right-handed or left-handed and has fingerprints.
Babies born at 28 weeks have a good chance of survival, but they would probably have to remain in intensive care for several weeks. At this stage it is hard for the baby to regulate her body temperature outside the uterus and she may have difficulty breathing.
You
You will probably be able to feel your baby kicking vigorously, sometimes in response to loud noises. The baby has settled into a sleep pattern – you may find it difficult if your baby sleeps during the day and wakes up and starts kicking at bedtime.
You will usually have your third antenatal check at 25 weeks if this is your first pregnancy, and then every three weeks until 34 weeks of pregnancy. After 34 weeks, you will have a check every week until your baby is born. If this is not your first pregnancy, you will be offered an antenatal check at 28 weeks and 34 weeks, and then every two weeks of pregnancy.
At the 25-week appointment, the midwife will also offer to check your urine and take your blood pressure, as before. She may also listen to the baby’s heartbeat to check it is normal. At this appointment, and at all the subsequent appointments, she will also measure the size of your bump. This is to just to check whether the baby is growing at a normal rate. If there is a problem, she may refer you for another ultrasound scan.
See “Screening and testing” for more information.
You may also have a blood test to check your iron levels, as some pregnant women suffer from anaemia.
If you are anaemic, you will either be prescribed iron tablets or advised to eat more iron-rich foods, such as lean meat, eggs, lentils, leafy green vegetables, dried fruit and baked potatoes. Eating these foods of course is also a good way of preventing anaemia. Vitamin C can help iron absorption, so try eating iron-rich foods with foods rich in Vitamin C, such as citrus fruits. One simple way of doing this is to drink a glass of orange juice with your meal. See “Pregnancy niggles and discomforts” for more information.
If you have enrolled in NCT antenatal classes, they will usually start about now. NCT classes are small, informal and discussion-led. Everyone has a chance to participate actively. If you don’t qualify for statutory maternity pay (SMP), ask for a maternity allowance claim pack, with form MA1 from your benefits agency. Fill it in and send it off with form MATB1. See “Maternity leave, paternity leave and returning to work” for more information.
At 25 weeks of pregnancy, you may become entitled a one-off, tax-free payment called the “health in pregnancy” grant. The grant is available to all women living in the UK, and the aim is to help you stay healthy and meet extra costs in the last stages of pregnancy. See “Health in pregnancy grant” for more information.
Week 27 is the last week that you can travel by aeroplane without a doctor’s note. With a doctor’s note, you can travel by aeroplane up to 36 weeks.
